Tag: Habitat For Humanity

President Jimmy Carter Remembered

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President Jimmy Carter in Remembrance

President Jimmy Carter Goes Home

Editor:  Jimmy Carter’s state funeral is over and he has gone home.  Rest in Peace, Jimmy. 

 

By Cate Rees-Hessel with Wes Hessel

 

Man of the People

I have many sweet and wonderful memories of President James Earl Carter, Jr., a man of God and true humanitarian, dedicated to social justice, human rights, and the betterment of regular everyday Americans, no matter their color. He embodied integrity. Jimmy made it one of his missions while in office to promote fair elections globally, and to eradicate serious diseases worldwide. His Presidency, despite economic challenges, and long lines at the gas pump, was full of historically important achievements, such as the establishment of a brand new Bureau of Labor and Democracy at the State Department, as well as creating the Cabinet-level Departments of Education and Energy. President Carter architected peace between Israel and Egypt with the Camp David Accords; additionally he made our country’s National Park System a strong priority.

Up Close…

I had the pleasure of being in Mr. Carter’s company twice. I recall as a teenager standing in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on a cold day during the tail end of his re-election campaign, waiting for his motorcade to arrive outside of Gimbel’s department store, my hair in curls, dressed in a blue plaid coat and tan *pleather gloves. The crowd was large and enthusiastic,  but I managed to get up front.

…And Personal

The strong media presence and sea of people made it difficult to see President Carter. Realizing this, Jimmy jumped up to stand on the back seat of his convertible vehicle – he had a bit of pancake makeup on for the cameras, but that million dollar smile was completely genuine. I was thrilled, he stood right in front of me in the car and I gave him one of my big beauty pageant smiles in return. He noticed me and bent down to shake my hand – just as his fingers nearly touched mine, a Secret Service agent got between us, then the motorcade sped away. I was so very impressed that he cared enough to take a young girl’s hand in a large crowd. He had no idea I was even old enough to vote but he saw me smile and reached his hand out.

My Vote

I did vote for him, the very first person I ever voted for; in my very first election. Sadly, he was not re-elected. I am embarrassed to admit it, but I was a registered Republican at the time. But, I knew that the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, cared enough about people to try to shake the hand of a teenager in the huge crowd. That act of kindness, truly touching, not political, was just nice.

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Affordable Housing: When?

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Affordable Housing: When?

By Jones William and D.S. Mitchell

Struggling Families

HUD is one of the most important departments of the federal government.  A primary function of HUD is to provide subsidized housing for the nation’s poorest citizens. One-in-four poor Americans receive a housing subsidy. Through rent subsidies HUD turns “un-affordable housing” into “affordable housing”. Most people receiving housing subsidies are the elderly and/or disabled. Without government help low-income people are in danger of eviction, and homelessness.

Affordable Housing Under Ben Carson

HUD Secretary Ben Carson will  through budget requests and accompanying legislation, increase rent burdens for everyone in HUD subsidized housing. The timing for this action is difficult to understand. “As homelessness increases and affordable housing and the housing crisis intensifies in communities across the country, the administration is focusing its efforts on increasing rents and other burdens for the lowest income and most vulnerable households,” said Diane Yentel, president & CEO NLIHC (National Low Income Housing Coalition) in a Feb. 5, 2018 editorial.

An Uncomfortable bed

Affordable housing in America has become both a social and economic crisis, with those on the lower socio-economic strata being forced to bear the brunt of the suffering. The most recent estimate of homelessness in the United States is 553, 000. That’s about the size of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Location, Location

Cities such as New York, Seattle, and San Francisco have higher than average living costs. In Seattle the minimum wage is $13.00 per hour.  Despite such a high minimum wage it would still require $26.00 per hour just to keep up a modest one bedroom apartment under the 30% established affordable housing threshold.

The New Minimum Wage

An American worker must earn no less than $20.30 per hour to afford even a modest two bedroom apartment and not pay more than 30% of his income on rent and utilities. Take note, that is triple the federal minimum wage. It means the worker earning the current minimum wage “would need to work 16 hours a day, every day of the year to be able to afford a basic two bedroom apartment. If someone is sleeping eight hours a night, they would only have time to work or sleep-and that would be it” says Andrew Aurand, V-P for research at the National Low Income Housing Coalition which is responsible for the study. This may be just one of the reasons that Bernie Sanders found such a devoted coalition among voters old and young.

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