Dr. Stephen Sills (Center for Housing and Community Studies) received new funding from Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) for the project “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice for the Surry Home Consortium.”
The project involves compiling, analyzing, and mapping local jurisdictional, state, and national data sources on residential housing disparities for the seven federally protected categories: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Handicap, Familial Status, and National Origin. Local mortgage markets, house sales, public housing, voucher programs, market rental patterns, fair housing complaints, and other data points will be referenced. Collection of primary data from stakeholders and key informants through public and stakeholder meetings and interviews will aid in providing a comprehensive understanding of fair housing in the region. The analysis also includes review of all the jurisdictions’ laws, regulations, and administrative policies, procedures, and practices and an assessment of how those laws, etc. affect the location, availability, and accessibility of housing. Based on the analysis, they will develop conclusions pertinent to equal access, free choice, and equitable outcomes in the housing for all despite race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and handicap needs, and produce a Fair Housing Plan recommending a course of action on how to address any identified impediments to fair housing choice.
Sills also received new funding from Reinvestment Fund, Inc./Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the project “Invest Health Greensboro Creating a Pipeline of Asthma-Safe Housing Projects.”
Safe and affordable housing can act as an upstream “prescription” for asthma. Greensboro is presently positioned to engage and develop upstream policy and program solutions to tackle health issues that are exacerbated by substandard and unhealthy housing. By investing in affordable housing and supportive services, municipalities and health systems can leverage financial resources to improve housing quality. The proposed pipeline of building projects will address the link between substandard housing and asthma and build a healthier community with affordable, quality housing opportunities for more than 26,000 individuals in the city who suffer from chronic asthma (CDC 500). The goal is to meet the needs of those most affected by 1) targeting substandard homes in neighborhoods most impacted by respiratory illness, while 2) helping to improving the quality of existing housing and reduce household utility and healthcare costs, and thereby 3) improving health conditions and reducing disparities. This project requires collaboration and continued systems/policy changes by institutional actors as well as direct input from those most affected. The project brings together a team of community members, housing advocates, a major health system, developers, municipal officials, and data scientists.
Addionally, Sills received new funding from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro for the project “Cottage Gardens Community Resource Center.”
The UNCG Center for Housing and Community Studies has been invited to collaborate with Mustard Seed Community Health, the Collaborative Cottage Grove, the Greensboro Housing Coalition, and Cottage Gardens Apartments to operate a resource center for residents of the 177 unit apartment community and beyond. The principal mission of this site will be to provide community health outreach and act as a two-way conduit for resources and referrals. In addition, staff and students will provide tutoring, basic health checks, counseling/therapy, referral and case management, and health education. UNCG will be partnering with the Mustard Seed Clinic, Collaborative Cottage Grove, the Greensboro Housing Coalition, Cone Health, as well as NCA&T and Guilford College as referral partners, health care assistance, and volunteers.
