Blog

Here you'll find the latest information about what's happening at our member organizations, opportunities in the community, and the latest news from the Legislature. Also VAHC Staff share their thoughts about the housing crisis in Vermont.

David Martins

Mar 29, 2021
2 min

ACTION ALERT: Support universal, stable, affordable housing at the federal level!

Congress and the White House will soon get to work on the “American Recovery Plan,” a potentially $3 trillion infrastructure and recovery package. This presents a tremendous opportunity to advance many of the HoUSed Campaign’s bold housing solutions!. To ensure stable, affordable housing is universally available, Congress must include in any infrastructure and recovery bill these priorities: An expansion of rental assistance to every eligible household. $70 billion to repair

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New Report: Affordable Housing Supply in Vermont is Insufficient, Especially for Families with the L

David Martins

Mar 18, 2021
3 min

New Report: Affordable Housing Supply in Vermont is Insufficient, Especially for Families with the L

The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, a new report released today, March 18, 2021, by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), finds a national shortage of nearly seven million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income (ELI) renter households, those with incomes at or below the poverty level or 30% of their Area Median Income (AMI). Nationally, there are just 37 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 ELI renter households, and se

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David Martins

Feb 17, 2021
1 min

ACTION ALERT: Sign on to support increased Congressional funding for housing and homelessness resour

From our friends at the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC): Advocates for housing, community development, and ending homelessness are working together to urge Congress to provide the highest possible funding for HUD and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) housing and community development programs for fiscal year (FY) 2022. NLIHC encourages all our member and partner organizations to sign on to the letter at: tinyurl.com/4vq836e6 In the coming weeks, Congress wil

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SIGN-ON: Urge Moderators to Ask About Housing Solutions in the September Presidential Debate

David Martins

Aug 7, 2019
2 min

SIGN-ON: Urge Moderators to Ask About Housing Solutions in the September Presidential Debate

From the National Low Income Housing Coalition: During last week’s second round of Democratic debates, several presidential candidates talked about affordable housing solutions for the first time ever in a presidential debate. Eleven presidential candidates have released major plans or other proposals to address the housing crisis, with most of the plans centering on the needs of the lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness, and more are coming soon. The can

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David Martins

Jun 26, 2019
2 min

House Passes Robust Spending Package for Affordable Housing

From the National Low Income Housing Coalition: The House approved by a vote of 227-194 on June 25 a five-bill FY20 spending package that includes robust funding for affordable housing and community development investments at HUD and USDA, as well as several positive amendments. This outcome is due in no small measure to advocacy across the country and to the leadership of strong congressional champions, including Transportation–HUD Appropriations Chair David Price (D-NC) and

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Vermont Housing Wage is $22.78, According to New Report

David Martins

Jun 18, 2019
2 min

Vermont Housing Wage is $22.78, According to New Report

A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) found that Vermont’s “housing wage” – the hourly wage our neighbors must earn to afford a two-bedroom home at fair market rent (FMR) – is $22.78. The report, Out Of Reach, provides rich context and data that show a mismatch between the cost of living and wages that extends far beyond Vermont across the rest of the country. To put $22.78 into context, the average renter in Vermont earns $13.40 an hour, which i

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David Martins

Jun 3, 2019
2 min

Celebrate the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action!

Each year, the National Low-Income Housing Coalition and its state partners organize a”Our Homes, Our Voices” national week of action oriented towards ensuring the creation, preservation, and quality of low-income housing throughout the United States. This year’s week of action is May 30th through June 5th. In Vermont, we kicked off the action with Northgate Resident Ownership Corporation, one of VAHC’s members, as they celebrated 30 years of perpetual affordability. As the w

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David Martins

Apr 15, 2019
4 min

Rental Assistance is One of the Most Effective Anti-Poverty Policies

More and more 2020 presidential candidate hopefuls are sponsoring anti-poverty and economic development bills that offer a glimpse into their policy positions. Many affordable housing advocates have already buzzed about how the 2020 primary presents an opportunity to put housing at the forefront of policy debates, and a few of these proposed bills add fuel to that fire. A team of researchers recently analyzed five of these bills – from Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Sherro

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David Martins

Apr 5, 2019
2 min

New national poll shows support for solutions to the affordable housing crisis

Last month, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)’s national campaign, Opportunity Starts at Home, released the results of a nationwide public opinion poll about the affordable housing crisis. The poll is the first in several years to gauge the public’s opinion on these issues – and the results underscore the importance of the work that VAHC, its members, and members of NLIHC do. Below are some of the key findings of the poll, from the fact sheet: 91% of people sa

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David Martins

Jan 2, 2019
3 min

From NLIHC: House Democrats Move to End Government Shutdown

The following brief comes from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. It contains a ton of useful information about the government shut down ahead of Democrats’ control of the House of Representatives, and it’s filled with insights about upcoming spending bills and how they relate to affordable housing. House Democrats Move to End Government Shutdown Parts of the federal government continue to be shut down, as lawmakers and President Trump continue to disagree on funding

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David Martins

Dec 13, 2018
1 min

Action Alert: Sign On to Protect and Expand the National Housing Trust Fund

From the National Low-Income Housing Coalition: NLIHC is re-invigorating the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) campaign to bolster support for this first federal resource in a generation dedicated to building and preserving homes for the lowest income people. The relaunch of this campaign already has over 1,600 organizations that have signed on in support. Check to see if your organization has signed on here. If it has not, endorse the campaign today! There are new opportunit

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David Martins

Mar 23, 2018
6 min

CORRECTION: Good news from DC – *FY 18* housing & homeless funding best since 2010 (not F

Apologies for the error in both the subject line and text of last week’s post on the omnibus federal spending bill. The bill funded the remainder of FY 2018, not FY 2019. The mistake has been corrected in the subject line and in the email below. Of course this does not take away from the good news, but it’s for the current federal fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2018, not the next. Dear Coalition members and friends, As you may have heard by now, the Omnibus bill fundin

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David Martins

Nov 10, 2016
1 min

Save the Date – NLIHC Forum to Address Affordable Housing Landscape Post-Election

NLIHC’s 2017 Housing Policy Forum in Washington, DC, April 2-4, 2017 will convene thought-leaders, policy experts, researchers, affordable housing practitioners, low income residents, and leaders from Capitol Hill and the new Administration to discuss the post-election landscape for affordable housing in America. The Forum will explore emerging challenges and opportunities given the leadership changes in Washington and the best strategies for achieving positive affordable hou

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Vermont's Rental Housing Affordability Gap Continues to Grow

David Martins

Jun 13, 2016
2 min

Vermont's Rental Housing Affordability Gap Continues to Grow

BURLINGTON, VT – In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent in Vermont, renters need to earn $21.13 an hour, or $43,947 a year. This is Vermont’s 2016 Housing Wage, revealed in the annual Out of Reach report released late last month by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, and today by the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition. The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a family must earn

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Annual Report Finds Vermont Rents Continue to Climb Out of Reach

David Martins

May 19, 2015
3 min

Annual Report Finds Vermont Rents Continue to Climb Out of Reach

Burlington, VT – In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent in Vermont, renters need to earn $20.68 per hour, or $43,017 a year. This is Vermont’s 2015 Housing Wage, revealed in a report released today. The report, Out of Reach 2015, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition. The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a fam

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Save the Date: 2015 NLIHC Housing Legislative Forum and Leadership Reception, March 1-3

David Martins

Jan 30, 2015
2 min

Save the Date: 2015 NLIHC Housing Legislative Forum and Leadership Reception, March 1-3

Register now for the 2015 National Low Income Housing Coalition Legislative Forum and Leadership Reception, which will be held on March 1st – 3rd at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. Join the National Low Income Housing Coalition and other affordable housing advocates from around the country as we engage with renowned thought and policy leaders to Educate, Advocate, Activate – NOW! The 2015 NLIHC Housing Legislative Forum will be packed with dynamic, powerhouse p

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NLIHC Call to Action: Urge Congress to Replace Sequestration with a Balanced Approach to Deficit Red

David Martins

Dec 19, 2014
2 min

NLIHC Call to Action: Urge Congress to Replace Sequestration with a Balanced Approach to Deficit Red

Sign on today to a letter urging lawmakers to act quickly to stop sequestration from taking effect in the upcoming fiscal year. Sequestration in FY16 would impose additional deep cuts to important nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs, including HUD and Rural Housing Service housing programs. Join advocates from around the country in calling on Congress to stop these cuts from going forward. Sign your organization on by COB on Monday, January 5. BACKGROUND In 2011, Congre

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Affordable Rental Housing Still Elusive For Extremely Low-Income Vermonters

David Martins

Aug 27, 2014
2 min

Affordable Rental Housing Still Elusive For Extremely Low-Income Vermonters

A new report published in the National Low Income Housing Coalition‘s Housing Spotlight shows just how difficult it is for Vermont’s lowest income renters to find housing that is affordable to them in the current rental market. The report, Housing Spotlight: The Affordable Rental Housing Gap Persists, shows that there were just 39 rental homes affordable and available for every 100 extremely low income households in Vermont in 2012, the last year for which data was available.

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David Martins

Apr 21, 2014
1 min

Last Day to Register Online for NLIHC's 2014 Housing Policy Conference

Today is the last day to register online for NLIHC’s Housing Policy Conference and Lobby Day. Regular registration closes today, April 21, at 11:59 pm EDT. Advocates, providers, residents, and policy professionals from across the country will come together at NLIHC’s Annual Housing Policy Conference next week. To mark NLIHC’s 40th anniversary, the conference will spend time looking back at the past 40 years of low income housing, and on moving forward with solving the housin

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David Martins

Apr 17, 2014
3 min

Governor's Council on Pathways From Poverty Featured by NLIHC

The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition played an early role in the development and formation of the Governor’s Council on Pathways from Poverty. The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently profiled the Council: ___________________________________________________ When the 2014 Vermont State Legislative Session opened in January, advocates were pleased that Governor Peter Shumlin (D) was committed to addressing growing po

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