National Public Housing Tenants Association Advocate and CEO of Can I Live, Inc. Racquel W. Jones, launches The WEALTHFAIR Tour to address the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) NEW Privatization Program called “RAD,” The Rental Assistance Demonstration.
With housing authorities getting overrun by sophisticated developers and their attractive deals, low-income residents living in public housing are left to fend for themselves as they search for Section 8 vouchers in a market that singles out and disfavors their income.
The harsh reality is that residents are hearing only one part of the story — a promise of new homes with new stoves and refrigerators, while the rules that empower communities (i.e., equity and ownership) are being withheld.
Root of the Issue
In a prerequisite to receiving the voucher, public housing residents are having to sign away their rights to return to the property in hopes to cash in on the promise of Choice that the Section 8 Voucher Program offers, and most importantly, make a desperate escape from their infested molded, rodent-packed prison cells that they call home.
The WEALTHFAIR Tour demands that HUD applies the same rules that developers receive through their cozy RAD deals (i.e., soft loans) to residents who cannot find homes as renters in this volatile real estate market. The Tour’s Policy Agenda seeks to address fairness, equity and inclusion for America’s poorest families who are disproportionately represented by black and brown communities.
The Organization’s Policy Partner has submitted a request for public information to the local housing authorities and its cities to show the inconsistency in both the city’s 5-year consolidated plan and the Public Housing Agency’s (PHA) five-year plan.
While both entities are expected to work together to solve the issues of homelessness, poverty and affordable housing, neither of the plans are meeting the demands.
RAD Deals to Release Economic Opportunities
HUD’s Office of Recapitalization (the division that approves the RAD deals) has also received a request for public information in hopes that they will release the RAD deals, which showcase the developers who are claiming the lion’s share of this new wealth surge sweeping the nation.
With more than 10 billion being leveraged in private funds, the tenants’ group wants to know where the jobs are that trigger training, employment and contracting opportunities through Section 3 — a federal law that requires entities who receive various HUD funding to ensure low-income families have access to economic opportunities.
In combination with holding HUD, city officials and Public Housing Management accountable, Can I Live’s goal is to move One Million Moms OFF Welfare (1MMOW) by 2035 using a series of deliberate strategies for Program administrators, Policymakers and Participants of various social welfare (entitlement) programs.
Tapping into The WEALTHFAIR Tour
This tour is a “National Scavenger Hunt” to locate the $18.9 billion in federal opportunities for low-income people through HUD’s Section 3 program. Over the course of the three-year WEALTHFAIR Tour, the 37-foot RV will visit the poorest public housing communities in 300 of America’s most prosperous cities in order to:
Establish & Re-establish New Resident Councils
Reignite Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) programing
Advocate for Real and Lasting Policy Change
Their motto is: “WE DON’T WANT WELFARE, WE WANT WEALTHFAIR!”
Unlocking Change
In a country where inflation has skyrocketed and gentrification is the new land grab, mothers on welfare are behind in the market.
The WEALTHFAIR Tour can be found providing education, awareness and motivation to engage HUD-Assisted Families in understanding their rights as it pertains to relocation, opening small businesses and contracting with the local PHA, homeownership utilizing the section 8 vouchers, and resident management entities.
The WEALTHFAIR Tour policy push addresses the #1 reason why moms on entitlement programs don’t work.
They call this the Welfare Cliff — a punitive way to disincentivize families from working by immediately cutting off vital services, such as health insurance, food and cash assistance, all while increasing their rents and payments for subsidies. Families have no way to ever grow themselves off the dependency of the Welfare System.
The WEALTHFAIR Tour kicked off its campaign at the Annual Public Housing Authority Directors Association (PHADA) annual conference. The conference was comprised of Public Housing Executive Directors, Commissioners, Tech Vendors, Consultants and PHA Board Commissioners. CEO RW Jones and her partner Dr. Kimberly Muktarian spoke to associations grouped on how to fill in the gaps by contracting low-income residents as well as policies that will assist Public Housing residents in moving from poverty to prosperity.
The fully-wrapped RV is coming ready with an arsenal of information, resources and tools to help families escape the dependency of government programs.
The next stops are New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA on June 19-30, 2022, where the South East Regional and South West National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) will gather to discuss trends and best practices in the Public Housing Industry, one the group hopes will help build economic development strategies for HUD-assisted families.
CIL CEO says, she’s not holding her breath, as the sense of urgency has been dismal, simply because of HUD’s refusal to hold local PHA’s accountable to tax payers’ dollars.
If you are interested in bringing the WEALTHFAIR Tour to a local city, the organization can be reached at https://thewealthfairtour.com/
CONFERENCE CALENDAR
Showcasing at the SERC NAHRO Conference: June 19-22, 2022 https://www.serc-nahro.org/2022-annual-conference/
Showcasing at the SW Texas NAHRO Conference: June 27-30, 2022 https://www.swnahro.org/82nd-annual-conference
Showcasing at the National NAHRO Conference: September 22-24, 2022 https://www.nahro.org/events/national-conference/
Ultimate Come-up Conference in Partnership with Abilene Housing Authority: July 12-14, 2022 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-ultimate-come-up-fss-conference-abilene-texas-tickets-321554908387
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