January 14, 2020 Meeting

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our last meeting. It was a rainy night, but a treat to have Bambie Hayes-Brown with GA ACT join us for her legislative rundown. You can find links to the hand-outs here:

The highlights of her presentation included:

  • HR164, which supports a dedicated state-wide housing trust fund
  • Support for increased funding to the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless (and advocating for funds not to be cut with the budget cuts)
  • GA ACT will review how they can support City of Decatur’s strategic plan
  • They are also advocating for census participation, which ties directly to federal aide received.

Housing Day at the Capitol is Wednesday, February 26, 2020- A day of advocacy training and engagement. This event is free, but registration is required and can be found here.

On the Decatur side, Paula gave a brief rundown of the Affordable Housing Task Force’s recommendations.

On the DeKalb side, we are thrilled to have been selected by the Emory Community Building and Social Change Fellows program to focus on updating the Kensington MARTA Station LCI plan, along with a census of existing affordable housing in the area. Our first meeting with the students was Monday, January 27th. If anyone is interested in working with the students, please reach out to Emily.

Sara Patenaude was featured in the Washington Post. Read her editorial on HUD’s new proposed housing rules and how they would deepen segregation here.