Changing the Narrative – The Need to Shift Away from Biases When Building Housing
by Matthew Haas, Holos Communities Board Member
In the last 30 years I have worked as an architect, a project manager, a lender, an originator, and a fund investment manager. I am deeply dedicated to community development and, as a longtime Holos Communities board member, am passionate about creating spaces for all. My time in the housing space has taught me that addressing root causes of systemic inequities in how we fund affordable housing development is crucial to ensuring we build a more inclusive future for all.
The solution to our housing and homelessness crises is simple – build enough affordable housing for everyone. Yet our industry has long battled the narrative that we shouldn’t be “giving people free stuff” like housing or support services for mental health, despite study after study finding that providing housing and support systems is what best serves our communities as a whole. And yet all of us, even the most well-intentioned advocates, often harbor deeply held biases about who in society “deserves” to be poor, on the streets, or who doesn’t deserve help.
These biases seep into our city, state and federal responses to the housing and homelessness crises, where we see language like “entitlements,” “benefits” and “compliance” (known as EBC for short). While the language may be straightforward, it’s those internal biases, the hidden sentiment behind words like these, that set up a biased framework for determining who is entitled to receive benefits from tax-payer funded support. Are they compliant enough to receive it?
Are we designing a bureaucracy that strengthens our social safety net and strengthens communities, or creating biased, overly burdensome obstacles to achieving those goals?
In Los Angeles, Mayor Bass’s Inside Safe initiative is struggling to move 1,400 people into permanent housing, not because there aren’t enough rooms but because of these obstacles. “…[Federal] rules require lots of documentation before someone can be housed…’You literally have to prove income eligibility. In other words, that you’re poor enough, you’ve been in a tent. Why do I need to do that?” Mayor Bass said in an interview with AirTalk, LAist’s public affairs show.
How do we shift this perspective, both in community development circles and in the general public? Why do we focus on questions of entitlements, benefits and compliance? Why is it that we look down on entitlements for renters (like Section 8 housing vouchers and other forms of services subsidies) but not for homeowners (like the single-family mortgage interest deduction)?
“[Federal] rules require lots of documentation before someone can be housed…’You literally have to prove income eligibility. In other words, that you’re poor enough, you’ve been in a tent.”
This obviously didn’t happen overnight, nor will it be solved as quickly. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (US HUD) has a long history of exclusionary, biased and racially based practices. Other funding programs that have come along since, including IRS Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) — the primary funding tool used to develop affordable housing today — have similarly biases and overly burdensome requirements. So how can Holos Communities and other well-intentioned developers foster well-being for individuals, families, and communities?
After nearly 30 years in this industry, I still believe that the community development plays a critical role in shaping, fostering, preserving, and uplifting communities. Despite its problems – like overly complex hurdles and unnecessary burdens placed on renters seeking housing – I am hopeful that there is room to evolve by having difficult conversations and questioning existing systems. Everyone deserves to have their basic needs met and to have the opportunity to pursue a fuller life and community development should be a steppingstone and not an obstacle in that process.
Matthew Haas
Matthew is a dedicated community and housing development finance professional. He is currently SVP & Senior Banker for Key Bank Community Dev Lending & Investing covering CA, AZ, NM & NV. Matthew has over 25 years of industry experience in New York City, Chicago and Southern California.
You can read Matthew’s full bio here.