MPC reaches out to national partners to support EAH legislation - Metropolitan Planning Council

Skip to main content

MPC reaches out to national partners to support EAH legislation

MPC presentations in Atlanta, Ga. and Michigan describe employer-assisted housing successes in Illinois and encourage partners in other states and regions to support the Housing America's Workforce Act.

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.

More posts by Samantha

All posts by Samantha »

MPC on Twitter

Follow us on Twitter »


Stay in the loop!

MPC's Regionalist newsletter keeps you up to date with our work and our upcoming events.?

Subscribe to Regionalist


Most popular news

Browse by date »

This page can be found online at http://archive.metroplanning.org/news/3436

Metropolitan Planning Council 140 S. Dearborn St.
Suite 1400
Chicago, Ill. 60603
312 922 5616 info@metroplanning.org

Sign up for newsletter and alerts »

Shaping a better, bolder, more equitable future for everyone

For more than 85 years, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) has partnered with communities, businesses, and governments to unleash the greatness of the Chicago region. We believe that every neighborhood has promise, every community should be heard, and every person can thrive. To tackle the toughest urban planning and development challenges, we create collaborations that change perceptions, conversations—and the status quo. Read more about our work »

Donate »