A recent Atlanta Regional
Housing Forum featured presentations by national workforce housing developer Unidev,
the CEO of the local Visiting Nurses Association, and MPC EAH
consultant Samantha
DeKoven. The conversation
centered around opportunities to increase workforce housing opportunities by
partnering with employers who face workforce issues when employees cannot afford
to live close to work.
Meanwhile, MPC housing consultant
Dawn Stockmo gave the keynote address – focusing on the connection between
housing, transportation, jobs and the environment – at the Northwest Michigan
Council of Governments’ Creating Housing Choices Regional
Conference.
At both events, MPC highlighted the need for the Housing
America's Workforce Act, which
proposes a $0.50 federal tax credit on
every dollar an employer invests in EAH.
Illinois
has
learned a great deal about the bottom-line
business value of affordable, workforce housing, and has seen meaningful
outcomes -- both in terms of employees served and responsive housing policy
change at the state and local level. This is precisely the sort of activity
needed at the national level. For more information on EAH achievements and
accomplishments in Illinois
,
or to pursue an EAH initiative within
your community or company, please visit
REACH
Illinois.
While housing professionals and
policymakers struggle to support the millions of Americans affected by the
subprime meltdown, now -- perhaps more than ever -- the country needs creative
strategies for leveraging new resources for homebuyer education and counseling.
Increasingly, employers see their self interest in investing in such counseling,
and protecting their own employees from the kind of instability that results
from predatory lending and potential foreclosure.
