Holsten Chicago
By Alan Zais, executive director, Winnebago County Housing Authority - June 10, 2015
“The broader lesson of our analysis,” Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren write in their 2015 study on Moving to Opportunity, “is that social mobility should be tackled at a local level.” But how can local governments address an issue that requires a regional answer? The study demonstrates the impact of social mobility using the Housing Choice Voucher, yet this is also a limited tool for local governments that are restricted by jurisdictional and political borders. How can local governments find other housing tools that reach across these borders? Further, how can local governments encourage families to move to opportunity and not lose sight of the original neighborhood investment?
The Rockford region has embarked on a series of diverse partnerships that bring together many resources to accomplish a regional program. In one example, the Winnebago County Housing Authority’s nonprofit component receives foreclosed donations through Winnebago County and the National Stabilization Trust Fund. The houses are rehabbed by Youthbuild and rental assistance provided through the Rockford Housing Authority’s Project Based Section 8 program.
By strategically choosing a vacant and distressed foreclosed home in an otherwise unaffected neighborhood, this program returns a home to the property tax rolls; stabilizes the neighborhood, surrounding home value and property tax contribution; and allows low- and moderate-income families with the Rockford Housing Authority to move into homes in other cities outside of Rockford, expanding access to education, employment and supportive services in other communities around the Rockford region that they are interested in moving to. By using an existing home, these families seamlessly blend into the community. The neighborhood can now see public housing as a welcome solution to combatting vacancy, the local government can implement a politically feasible solution to the negative iconic public housing image and a low income family has the ability to choose beyond the city’s borders.
In another example, the Winnebago County Housing Authority, Rockford Housing Authority, Boone County Housing Authority and Freeport Housing Authority have come together to stabilize a large neighborhood and provide housing and employment opportunities to families beyond the many county borders. In this instance, a local hospital was struggling with recruiting entry-level employees and decided to create an employee residence and campus to overcome the transportation barriers facing many of their employees. As part of this effort, the Freeport Housing Authority is providing employment training; Rockford and Winnebago Housing Authorities are providing housing; and Freeport, Rockford, Winnebago and Boone County Housing Authorities are recruiting low-income families interested in accessing this opportunity for housing and employment opportunities. Through this collaboration between housing authorities and hospitals, families have been able to overcome regional and transportation boundaries to access employment opportunities within walking distance of their homes, and the neighborhood, government and businesses not only welcome but encourage this innovative strategy. The program has proven a strong success and its dramatic impact becomes more visible as this outreach is to a five county region covering 2,748 square miles and a population of 473,317.
These are just two examples of housing strategies that the Rockford region is implementing to remove jurisdictional boundaries that harm families from moving to opportunity, while finding ways for local governments to welcome regional programs beyond their immediate regions. The Rockford region has focused on promoting household mobility and neighborhood investment while still addressing the originating neighborhood disinvestment. The Chicago region has been working through the Regional Housing Initiative to pilot both place-based and mobility efforts that are more efficient from a government spending point of view and increase housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. Combining our lessons from the Rockford region with those from the Chicago initiative, we are looking to partner with the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development and the Metropolitan Planning Council to formalize a similar entity in the Rockford area. What we’ve learned is that tools beyond vouchers and many regional partnerships are necessary to increase housing mobility in areas of opportunity and promote community investment, and that such multi-governmental partnerships and low-income family mobility opportunities are not just possible, but can also be welcome.
Alan Zais is the executive director of the Winnebago County Housing Authority.