ON HOUSING
Jodie Evora, accompanied by her son, shares her experience with housing insecurity at the UIA action.
On May 17th, UIA held a community action meeting on housing at the First Unitarian Church of New Bedford. With over 150 people in attendance, community members came together with elected officials, non-profit organizations, and representatives from the business community to address New Bedford’s housing crisis. The evening’s conversation covered increasing rents, rising home prices, and the growing number of people experiencing homelessness and housing instability in the City of New Bedford.
The focus of the community meeting was increased funding for housing, both at the local and state level. UIA asked the city for $10M in additional funding to address housing and homelessness in New Bedford. To read more about this event, click here.
PRESS COVERAGE
The Standard-Times - Residents call for action on New Bedford's housing crisis
UIA leaders meet with Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan to discuss community house needs in August 2021.
With the onset of uncertainty and job loss ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic, existing and heightened housing concerns became a new focal point for UIA. There was a big need for rent assistance and UIA created a response fund to help people with rent payment, as we also advocated for the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to prevent people from losing their housing at a time when a sense of stability was needed more than ever.
In order to give input on where the city should be directing the federally provided Cares Act and ARPA (American Rescue Plan) funding, UIA met with the Mayors offices and Community Development Agencies in Fall River and New Bedford. It is an ongoing priority to meet with agencies such as the South Coastal Legal Services and Catholic Social Services to advocate for support to families who continue to receive eviction notices and continue to have a need for rent assistance.
To read more about UIA’s efforts to meet housing issues exacerbated by COVID, link here to read an article in the newsletter from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
UIA held a Housing Press Conference February 15, 2022 on the Housing Crisis in New Bedford and what the City can do about it, beginning with the $80M in ARPA COVID Relief Funds. Click here to read UIA’s Housing Report and click here for the event press release.
