SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Más de la mitad de californianos entre 30 y 70 años de edad pagan tanto por su vivienda que no pueden ahorrar para el retiro, indica una nueva investigación de la AARP. El grupo habla en apoyo de la Iniciativa Senatorial 2 (“Senate Bill 2”), la cual grava las transacciones de bienes raíces para pagar viviendas más asequibles.
Defensores del adulto mayor piden al Gobernador Jerry Brown que haga algo sobre la crisis de vivienda – y lo presionan para que empiece por firmar la Iniciativa Senatorial 2 (“Senate Bill 2”).
La ley aumentaría la cuota por registrar ciertos tipos de documentos inmobiliarios, excepto la venta de propiedades comerciales y residenciales. Aumentaría unos 250 millones de dólares por año, dinero que se destinaría a la vivienda asequible.
La Directora estatal de AARP California, Nancy McPherson, dice que el precio medio de una casa anda por los 450 mil dólares –más del doble del promedio nacional. Pero en las principales áreas metropolitanas, los precios son todavía más altos.
“Si vives en el área de la Bahía, Silicon Valley, donde el precio medio por una casa es de $1.1 millón, y si ves el Condado de Los Ángeles, donde el precio medio llega a los 700 mil dólares, asombra lo que cuestsa vivir aquí en comparación con otras partes del país.”
La AARP recientemente hizo una investigación llamada “El Sueño de California,… o su Lucha”. Entrevistó a adultos trabajadores entre los 30 y 70 años, y encontró que más de la mitad dicen que están pagando tanto por su casa que no pueden ahorrar para el retiro. Y el 61 por ciento ha considerado salirse del estado debido a los elevados costos de la vivienda.
McPherson agrega que la AARP está tratando de combatir el síndrome de “En mi patio no”, que es cuando la gente apoya la vivienda barata pero se opone a que se construya en su área.
“Cómo podemos ayudar a los residentes a entender el beneficio de tener variedad de casas, que acepte gente de todo nivel, que les dé los servicios que necesitan, en su comunidad? ¿Cómo pueden pagar lo que cuesta vivir en sus barrios?”
La SB-2 es parte de una serie de iniciativas que tratan de resolver varios aspectos del problema de la vivienda. El Gobernador tiene hasta la próxima semana para firmar la ley, vetarla o dejar que se convierta en ley sin firmarla.
La iniciativa SB-2 está (en inglés) en: http://pnsne.ws/2ypMZWN
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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared toward improving the state's homelessness prevention and mental-health systems.
Cox said homelessness and housing were among his top priorities heading into 2024. He asked the Legislature for about $128 million in his budget to address the issue. While Cox wasn't granted the full amount, he said he's pleased with the more than $81 million to be used to alleviate homelessness in Utah.
"It was a grueling session, it was a difficult one," he said, "but we ended up in a great place."
One of the bills, House Bill 394, now requires the state's Homeless Network Steering Committee to create a funding appropriation formula to ensure these funds are being distributed statewide.
Senate Bill 26 will make changes to Utah's behavioral-health licensing provisions. It's intended to remove barriers for people entering the profession and increase the number of mental-health providers.
Cox called the passage of a total of nine bills a "historic achievement."
State Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, is a co-sponsor of House Bill 298, changing the state's current Homelessness Council to the Utah Homeless Services Board. It specifies a goal of having more people exiting homelessness than entering it. Clancy said the law also creates standards for programs to track their progress on reducing homelessness, drug abuse and camping.
"We're looking at accountability metrics," he said, "and making sure that as people flow through our system, that we measure success based on how many people can move on to self sufficiency."
Clancy said he realizes that a mother fleeing domestic violence with children will need a much different intervention than an individual living on the streets. He contended that Utah will now have better policies in place to help connect people to more tailored services.
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As New York housing advocates demand state lawmakers pass a bill to keep landlords from evicting renters without "good cause," a new report cautioned them about getting what they wish for.
The New York University report found good cause eviction can create long-term challenges for tenants and landlords, including discouraging maintenance investments in new and existing housing, increasing costs to resolve disputes and landlords screening tenants more rigorously.
Vicki Been, Furman Center faculty director at New York University, said alternatives could help improve landlord-tenant relations.
"One would be expanded access to legal counsel," Been pointed out. "What we know is when tenants have counsel, they're much better able to raise the kinds of issues that might be causing them to withhold rent; maintenance issues, other kinds of problems."
She added tenants are much more likely to go to housing court and fight for themselves rather than give up quickly. Other alternatives include exemptions for different kinds of buildings and increasing the range of rents deemed unreasonable, to prevent sharp increases. Several New York towns have declared housing emergencies due to high rent prices, part of what is driving statewide eviction increases.
Good cause eviction's financial effects stem from landlords being required to prove in housing court their reasons for not renewing a renter's lease. It means housing court cases could run beyond the average 133 days to settle. Been noted the protections do not help people looking for apartments and could affect housing availability.
"It doesn't add anything to the supply," Been pointed out. "Indeed, it may limit the supply, in the sense that tenants who enjoy these protections may stay in a bigger apartment, even once their kids are grown, or those kinds of things."
She added housing reforms like good cause eviction must be paired with other regulatory changes.
Not all New Yorkers agree with how they want state government to handle this. A Marist Poll found some people want rental assistance vouchers prioritized, while almost one-quarter said they want more funding for new rental housing development.
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This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Renaissance Children's Center, which serves low-income families and those experiencing homelessness with infants and children up to the time they enter kindergarten.
Susan Dunn, director of the center, said many kids who have spent time in the 6,600 square-foot facility in Lakewood have lived in transitional housing, in cars, or have camped out with their parents as they work to get back on their feet.
"The children are coming here while the parents are looking for work, and going to school, and just rebuilding their lives. And it's a safe place for the children to be and learn and grow," she explained.
Launched in 2005 and operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, the center has eight naturally-lit classrooms and two outdoor play areas. Kids get breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack prepared onsite by a professional chef. Children have space to direct their own learning experience. And a social-skills curriculum helps prepare kids to succeed in school and beyond, by building emotional competence and strengthening their ability to play and solve problems with others.
The center's staff is trained in trauma-informed education, and mental health services are available for children and parents. Dunn said most of the trauma kids experience stem from living in poverty. Many have been separated from their parents because of behavioral-health issues or incarceration, and adds that consistency is key to their recovery.
"They know when meals are served. Everybody sits down at the table and eats together, so there's that community. And then our classrooms are very home-like. It doesn't look like a schoolroom as much as it looks like a living room and a home," Dunn continued.
The center's woodsy outdoor spaces serve as a natural-learning classroom, which promotes math, science, literacy and other skills. Dunn said children get to connect to nature and experience new ways of learning.
"A lot of the kids, they don't really have a big backyard, and so our playgrounds are their big backyard. They get to use their muscles and their skills to climb and check out bugs and rocks and all kinds of things like that," she said.
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