Recap for April 15, 2007

Intros-

Janice Miller-Director of Housing development and head of Salishan Project of THA

Rosalind’s Story

Michael Mirra-THA Presentation about Salishan

Largest housing project. Largest redevelopment in history of Tacoma Dome in 2011ish 200 million.

Ambitious in development and in social justice goals.

History:

Built in 1942 very fast and in some ways viewed as temporary. 2000 units. Started as emergency war-time housing—shipyards (Holly Park, Rainier Vista, and High Point, in Seattle and West Park in Bremerton).

Started redevelopment era with 855 units. Tearing up as well as down. One of first racially integrated communities—known as a gateway community for necomers. Public housing is more hospitable to groups that the private housing market won’t serve.

New Salishan will include 1200-1300 new units of which 350 will be for purchase.

Creates mix of renters and owners, mix of incomes, home ownership by low income. No Mc Mansions. Partners are Quadrant Homes and Habitat for Humanity (about 20 homes) and 11 homes preserved from original and will be sold to low income families.

Over 100 of relocated families moved to homeownership.

Salishan is a Hope 6 development important program but somewhat controversial because people relocated could not return. In Salishan, increase in units affordable to relocated families.

THA “Social justice organization with a technical mission”rent determined by income.

Traded public housing units for Section 8 units because gov’t has never paid to maintain public housing where as Section 8 has money for maintenance.

Partners: 2 senior “high-rises”(Korean Women’s Assoc., American Baptist Homes of the West), Kimi and George Tanbara Medical & Dental Clinic (Community Health Care),

Various types of community space - Family Investment Center, Education & Training Center (MDC) WSU, TCC TPS in this building. Childcare, culinary arts program that will run a deli in the building.

Services are necessary companion to housing. People are coming to the housing authority as most needy and vulnerable in order to stabilize, prosper and also be more competitive for housing dollars.

Other community assets are: Lister school, Blix, Roosevelt, McIlveigh,, Salishan Shine Project: parks with recreational equipment, outdoor gathering places

Perspectives are different when talking about public housing versus other attempts to make housing affordable.

Residential involvement:
Design meetings architects
Relocation Plan Salishan Residential Council -Relocation and Reoccupation Plan

Want to live in new Salishan? If no got a Section 8 voucher. If yes, want to stay and move around during construction, or move out temporarily. Tried hard for the rest to only have to move once during construction. Some people changed minds on interim. Preference if can’t move everyone back at once. Seniority, family has a disabled member, person is a senior. Phase one had 60-70% people who used to live in Salishan.

Tried to have jobs done by minority/women-owned businesses – goal was 22% total is actually 37% local spending on materials etc.

Phase I is done, ribbon cutting on Int’l Center rentals are complete and occupied and homes are sold.

Phase II underway—construction to finish by 2009

Phase III on shelf while seek funding fro infrastructure

Tax credit partnerships own actual homes, not THA. Rich people invest so they can get tax credits. MMA is one of the main investment syndicators who have 2 or 3 major corporate investors.

Tax credit financing doesn’t make housing affordable to lowest income people. What makes housing affordable for Salishan are other layers of subsidy—namely Public Housing dollars and Section 8 dollars.

Have lost lots of public housing. Tacoma has fed rural poverty by eliminating assests available to low and moderate income. How address the trend, in light of social justice mission.

It’s true that public housing is decreasing because it’s not sustainable, but when focus on number of units rather than how they’re financed, you see that Salishan will have an increase in units affordable to the neediest families.

Waiting lists—3500 on Section 8, 2500 on public housing list.

Difference between need and capacity:

Housing wage=what you have to make to afford a rental unit on private rental market. In Tacoma $15.15 median income for rental families is $10.

Number of sheltered and turned away from shelter in Tacoma 3,000 and 7,500 turned away.

If talking about food it would be widespread malnutrition with pockets of starvation.

How many past renters are owners now? 17-20. About 100 others purchased homes elsewhere.

Dexter--one of the reemerging issues in public discourse is cross and crown—sacrifice vs reward. MLK said the nation has the capacity and the resources to end homelessness. Yet for some reason we are moving in the opposite direction. Salishan, while making a good faith effort, it’s only a speck in the big picture. Challenge to us is can we go to a place of really dreaming big? About solving the problem of homelessness in the country?

Dick--Find natural allies to come up with policies that challenge the way our society is structured.

Eve—ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once but to stretch out

Charhys—good to use models that work and replicate community by community. It will be a more grass roots effort because it’s a revolution and it’s not going to be funded.

Tom--We have the capacity but we also are dealing with a design that was never intended to build community. If we are going to build community we have to get at design—both that which exists and that which we want to see.

Dexter—we need to sort out who we are. Can be a place where the Michael Mirra’s can come and talk about the piece that they do and we can have a conversation about how we multiply what we do. How do we grow our numbers? But we multiply our effect more if rather than try to grow here, we encourage similar groups to develop at the places they are.

Finally, we ought not to be naïve—“the devil is in everything” and we have to “stand on the crooked and cut straight”. Be shrewd and practical.

David—“Why People Hate Americans” chapter—the hamburger and other American viruses.

Announcements:

11:30am - Sharon Schauss, 02-06 work done at Foss at World Affairs Summit. Went from 1/3 of students receiving achievers scholarships being college ready to 98% and how they did it. UWT Carwein Auditorium.

10:30am on Friday - Conversation 45 min. in Museum of Glass auditorium. What is the responsibility of a community toward its artists—should they be paid at a program such as this summit? Keith S, Charhys, Luke, Eve, Dexter, others?

Fri. Eve. Dexter speaking A. Phillip Randolph, Seattle Chapter annual dinner. 6pm

Charhys and Keith 8PM TSOTA next to Djembe Soul on Broadway Side

My Sister’s Pantry 1st and 3rd Monday and 4th Sat. from 10:30-12:30 1st Congregational Church @ 209 S. J St.

Eve— April 22nd--2nd of 4 part workshop by Courage and Renewal “Action and Inaction in Dealing with Racism—9am – 1pm Bush School in Seattle. Need people of color.

June 9 – How Does Race Impact the I organizations and Institutions of our Community

Sept. 29th Bridging the Race Divide

All will culminate in a weekend retreat.

Dexter Gordon received an Equal Justice Award from Fair Housing Center of Washington

June 18-20 Take Back America Annual training conference opportunity to send someone who wants to step up and either run a campaign or run themselves.

Keith B. this Sat. 21st 2012 event One Heart Café All Ages doors open at 7:30

April 21st Langston Hughes Film Festival Rosalind’s “Tootie Pie”

Dr. Lara Evans “E-Racing: When Race and Gender are Missing from the Classroom”