Study of the SNO Mass Housing Mobility Program in Massachusetts

The Century Foundation has recently released its report The Walls of Exclusion in Massachusetts: How Three Mothers Had to Overcome Discriminatory Zoning Laws to Improve the Lives of Their Children” which highlights the ongoing Supporting Neighborhood Opportunity in Massachusetts (SNO Mass) housing mobility program. supports Housing Choice Voucher families with school-aged children making moves to communities with high quality schools, parks and open space, and healthy, safe environments. SNO Mass helps families take advantage of the “choice” aspect of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

This voluntary program provides a wide-range of supports to help participating families to access and attain residential stability in higher opportunity neighborhoods; locations with high-performing schools, low poverty rates, and environments that have demonstrated positive health and well-being outcomes for children and adults. Click to view the SNO Mass brochure in English. 

According to the City of Worcester's Recap Solutions, to be eligible for the SNO Mass program a household must: (1) be a RCAP Solutions Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher participant in good standing; (2) have at least one child in the household under the age of 18; and (3) currently live in a non-SNO Mass Opportunity Area. The program then provides dedicated counselors that give helpful information to consider the family’s needs and preferences, pre-move counseling connecting to available landlords and units, financial assistance to help with moving costs, security deposits, and other fees, post-move counseling to support the household in its new neighborhood; and potentially higher voucher value to pay any higher rent for apartments in high-opportunity areas.

SNO Mass high opportunity areas are neighborhoods that have educational and health benefits for the participating family, such as high-quality public schools, parks and green spaces, supermarkets with healthy food options, low poverty rates, and high employment rates. The SNO Mass team will provide custom housing search and support to help determine which opportunity areas are best for the family.

SNO Mass provides Special Supports to families who choose to move to a high opportunity area, namely, help with housing search, apartment listings in opportunity areas, potentially higher voucher value, transportation to view apartments, information on schools and assistance with transfers, and financial assistance with moving costs, security deposit and other fees before and after the move, and assistance in locating resources and services in the new community.

Property Owners who rent a unit in RCAP Solutions’ designated SNO Mass Opportunity Areas to a SNO Mass Participant are eligible for several supports and incentives. Click here to see if the unit is located in a designated SNO Mass Opportunity Area.

Mobility Works helped to begin the mobility program in 2019. 

SnoMass, now extended statewide, is funded and overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

Click here to see Mobility Works and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council's listing of all  current mobility programs in the US.

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Sources: 

https://tcf.org/content/report/walls-exclusion-massachusetts-three-mothers-overcome-discriminatory-zoning-laws-improve-lives-children/

http://www.rcapsolutions.org/sno-mass/

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/supporting-neighborhood-opportunity-in-massachusetts-sno-mass-program

 

Bloomberg Philanthropies Recognizes Baltimore for Using Data to Improve Lives   Baltimore is one of the first 50 cities to have achieved "What Works Cities Certification" in "recognition of its use of data to guide decision-making and improve residents’ lives." What Works Cities Certification - purportedly the "national standard of excellence in data-driven city governance" - essentially measures the extent to which city leaders use data and evidence in  decision-making. This is a national initiative by Bloomberg Philanthropies to help cities use data and evidence more effectively to tackle problems. Some 16 of the 50 cities were honored earlier in 2021. "What Works Cities Certification" assesses cities on their data-driven decision-making practices, such as whether they use data to set goals and track progress, allocate funding, evaluate program effectiveness, and achieve desired outcomes from contracts with outside vendors. It also measures whether cities are publicly and transparently communicating about their use of data and evidence. Bloomberg Philanthropies found that in the last year Baltimore has shown measurable progress on these data practices, such as (1) the Mayor’s Action Plan, which lists the goals the administration is committed to making significant progress on and accomplishing; (2) Open Baltimore, the City’s public data portal, providing data, downloadable files, ability to analyze and visualize data like COVID-19 dashboards, see Minority- and Women-Owned Business Finders, and data about Baltimore’s City Budget and spending; and (3) the Department of Housing and Community Development’s CoDe map, with citywide housing data used in community development and strategic planning, to track rent support, and survey building code enforcement. This map has been used by 120,000 in the past year and by the city’s legal aid effort to fight COVID-19 evictions.  The Certification program began in 2017, with cities over 30,000 population eligible to participate. Cities are awarded Silver, Gold, or Platinum Certification "depending on their level of data sophistication." All 50 cities that have achieved Certification is here. The program was developed by Results for America with the What Works Cities Certification Standard Committee, and supported by the other What Works Cities partners: Harvard's Kennedy School, Johns Hopkins University, and the Behavioral Insights Team. Over 200 cities have completed a Certification assessment, comparing their practices against the developed standards.          *****  Source: Office of the Mayor press release, December 15, 2021.

 

Register for NLIHC Virtual Housing Policy Forum                             2022 on March 22-23! December, 2021 Register TODAY for The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)’s Virtual Housing Policy Forum 2022: Achieving Housing Justice on March 22-23, 2022, 12:30-5:30 p.m. ET on March 22 and 1:00-5:30 p.m. ET on March 23. The forum will feature keynote speakers and panels on: Racial Equity and Housing Justice with MacArthur Genius Awardee LaToya Ruby Frazier; the HoUSed Campaign for Universal, Stable, Affordable Housing – Progress To-Date and Road Ahead; Capitol Hill Insiders Panel; Ending Rental Arrears to Stop Evictions; Achieving Renter Protections; Expanding the Multi-Sector Affordable Housing Movement; Best Practices in Organizing; and Discussions with Members of Congress and Senior Administration Officials. This also is an opportunity to network with other attendees. The forum will provide a selection of interactive sessions with NLIHC experts on: Our Homes, Our Votes 2022: Non-partisan Voter and Candidate Engagement; Disaster Housing Recovery; Effective Media/Social Media Strategies & Practices; and Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The NLIHC is dedicated to achieving racially and socially equitable public policy to ensure the lowest-income people have quality homes that are accessible and affordable in the communities of their choice. Register Today!

The NLIHC's mailing address is: National Low Income Housing Coalition 1000 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005

 NCRC TO HOLD DECEMBER 15 WEBINAR ON REDLINING AND THE CRA

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) with the civil rights firm Relman Colfax  PLLC will hold a free webinar entitled "CRA and Race: How can the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) be updated to directly examine race and better combat redlining?" 

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, December 15 at 1:00 pm ET. Register now.

The Community Reinvestment Act was enacted to ensure much-needed investment and capital makes it to low- and moderate-income communities. But NCRC's research has shown that the majority of communities that were redlined in the 20th Century are still lower-income and also predominantly communities of color. Redlining was a practice rooted in racism, and the only way to combat and reverse the impact of redlining is to address race directly.

Recently, NCRC and Relman Colfax PLLC have released a report calling on federal regulators to add race to the scope of CRA and finally hold banks accountable to the communities they serve.

NCRC and Relman Colfax are teaming up again to host the upcoming webinar, CRA and Race: How can the Community Reinvestment Act be updated to directly examine race and better combat redlining? 

Speakers include: (1) Dedrick Asante Muhammad, Chief of Membership, Policy & Equity, NCRC; (2) Brad Blower, General Counsel, NCRC; and (3) Glenn Schlactus, Partner, Relman Colfax PLLC.

Register now to make sure you don’t miss this important discussion with NCRC leadership and the authors of the report. 

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Source: NCRC release, December 3, 2021.

 The Legacy Of Redlining On Black Maternal Health

The discriminatory practice of redlining first targeted neighborhoods with immigrants and people of color. These were labeled “red” and designated “hazardous” by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, and banks, realtors and public officials used those maps to deny loans and other investments in those neighborhoods. 

Despite being outlawed more than fifty years ago, redlining policies continue to affect these communities today, especially Black populations living in inner-city communities. Over time, this disinvestment has led to housing instability and poor health rates in these communities, which, in turn, led to adverse effects on Black maternal health and birthing outcomes, which persist today. 

Neighborhoods that were once redlined continue to show increased risk of preterm birth rates in Black mothers. Historic and continued housing instability there have been linked to maternal health complications, including hypertension and other neonatal risks. The JAMA Open Network found that preterm births in once redlined zip codes occurred at a rate 1.5 times greater than elsewhere. The legacy of redlining has contributed to racial health inequality and increased risk of preterm births and other complications for Black mothers. 

Redlining’s contribution to housing instability has also led to overrepresentation of Black people among the homeless population, thus significantly increasing the risks for Black maternal health and birthing outcomes. 

Housing instability can also precede gentrification, where rising housing and rent prices force residents to vacate their homes to be replaced by wealthier and usually Whiter residents. The attendant tensions may lead to high-stress environments that also increases the chances of a premature birth, among other negative effects. 

Premature births are associated with numerous negative health conditions including both short- and long-term cardiovascular issues and social and behavioral issues. Because the US healthcare  system continues to not serve Black communities well, health inequities persist over time. 

There has been some progress in improving Black maternal health. In 1977, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was designed to combat the effects of redlining by encouraging investments in underserved communities. The reality is that the subsequent funded projects have not appreciably improved Black maternal health, or health equity in general. 

To counter the decades of disinvestment and address Black maternal health outcomes, hospitals and health systems should continue to partner with banks under the Community Reinvestment Act to foster low-income and minority group health equity. The increased investment in maternal healthcare centers, neonatal care units, and other vital health services, would hopefully improve health outcomes while also combatting the legacy of redlining. Additionally, modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act to increase support for inclusionary zoning and other affordable housing efforts could potentially promote the reduction of poverty in redlined communities, therefore creating an upstream effect for Black maternal health outcomes.

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Source: https://ncrc.org/the-legacy-of-redlining-on-black-maternal-health/?mc_cid=398f0c9d11&mc_eid=27528965c8.

 

December 1, 2021

Register today for MCCR's trainings on the following topics - space is limited! Fair Housing: Know Your Rights​ Public Accommodations: Know Your Rights ​Please note that MCCR is currently conducting all trainings and programs virtually. To request an accommodation, please contact Spencer Dove at spencer.dove@maryland.gov​​. Fair Housing: Know Your Rights Wednesday, December 8, 2021 10:00am to 12:00pm Register at mccr.events/FairHousingDec2021 This workshop will provide basic information on the Fair Housing law in Maryland including issues around disability and sexual harassment. Please join us for this informative workshop from the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights about the laws under the Fair Housing Act which provide protections that exist for all Marylanders. One of our most fundamental rights is to live peaceably where we choose - where everyone has equal access to neighborhoods of opportunity. Fair housing is the right of all people to buy, sell, or rent residential property, and to live where they wish without discriminatory criteria. Having chosen a place to live, we are guaranteed the right to reside there peacefully, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, marital status, source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. There will be emphasis on current issues such as disability and sexual harassment as it pertains to housing.​ Public Accommodations: Know Your Rights\ Thursday, December 9, 2021 10:00am to 12:00pm Register at mccr.events/PADec2021 This workshop will provide basic information on the Public Accommodations law in Maryland including definitions and scenarios.

Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships

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