According to Matthew Desmond, the Keynote speaker at the NYS CDFI Coalition Conference in Albany last month, “Without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.”
His research shows that a typical poor working family spends at least half of their income on housing costs, and sometimes 60-70% of their income just on rent and utilities.
Greg Maher (second from left) of the Leviticus Fund joined moderator Eric Dahl of M&T Bank (L) and panelists Jenny Yang of Enterprise and Mike Borges of the Rural Housing Coalition to discuss affordable housing challenges.
Greg noted, “A home is an essential anchor of safety and stability for a person’s life. Good things happen to people and communities when they have decent affordable housing.”
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for Upstate New York, the panelists shared how they are playing a role in efforts to address the chronic shortage of safe and affordable housing.
As we mark our 40th anniversary year, the Leviticus Fund continues to focus on our mission of serving individuals and communities who are often forgotten.
Since 1983, we have invested over $194.2 million in projects to build, expand, or improve homes, childcare centers, charter public schools, health centers, and economic development in cities, towns, and rural areas across our region. Inside each of these projects are lives that have been enriched — over 25,000 of them, from infants to the elderly.
We hope you’ll save the date for our 40th Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at the Apple Bank for Savings in New York.
