Portland Tenants Union

The City Council has repeatedly shown that given the choice between a thoughtful interrogation of the underlying causes of the city's housing crisis and a convenient and wilful ignorance that continues to permit a small number of companies to prey on the most vulnerable of our residents, they will invariably choose the latter. In this Letter to the Editor, Cait Vaughan directly calls them out, and challenges all of us to demand meaningful leadership for our community. Thanks, Cait!

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/09/15/letter-to-the-editor-city-officials-fail-to-do-enough-for-tenants-in-housing-crisis/

Letter to the editor: City officials fail to do enough for tenants in housing crisis - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram During a recent meeting addressing housing security, City Councilor Spencer Thibodeau stated, “We are not the Affordable Housing Committee; we are the Housing Committee.”

Gentrification isn't just about cultural homogeneity; it's about economic justice and vitality. Having affordable housing so folks can live within a reasonable distance of their job is good for everyone.

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21627628-difficulty-people-have-getting-jobs-makes-unemployment-unnecessarily

The geography of joblessness The difficulty people have in getting to jobs makes unemployment unnecessarily high

A little assistance goes a long, long way. Something to remind Jon Jennings when he starts talking about 'right-sizing' the city and similar nonsense.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/bit-cash-can-keep-someone-streets-2-years-or-more?utm_source=sciencemagazine&utm_medium=facebook-text&utm_campaign=helpthehomeless-6490

A bit of cash can keep someone off the streets for 2 years or more Study shows efficacy of programs that aim to stop homelessness before it starts