NJPAC Hosts Panel Tackling the Affordable Housing Crisis

The panelists included Amir Khan, Founder and President of the nonprofit New Beginnings; Julia Orlando, Vice President of Integrative Services at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center; and Luis Ulerio, Director of Newark’s Office of Homeless Services.

Ahead of the discussion, NJPAC made the 2017 Frontline documentary Poverty, Politics, and Profit, about the affordable housing crisis, available to the audience. 

In this film, correspondent Laura Sullivan investigates the housing crisis, encountering women who have struggled to obtain affordable housing, forcing them to stay at other people’s homes or even in their cars. 

Their challenges are the result of various factors, such as the 2008 financial crisis, mental health issues, and a limited number of Section 8 vouchers and properties available through these vouchers.

“I truly empathize with the two women who were lucky enough to get a voucher,” said Orlando. “So to get a Section 8 voucher… it really is winning a lottery. And to see them then not be able to obtain housing and have to lose that voucher and go back on a waiting list. I’ve had that experience with folks.”

As a result, Orlando stressed the challenges of securing affordable housing in 90 days and finding landlords who will accept Section 8 vouchers. 

She also shared her experiences with “NIMBYism” as a board member of Habitat for Humanity in Bergen County, having witnessed how people fear developing affordable housing due to their lack of understanding. 

This has impeded communities from providing homes to those who desperately need them.

While housing can be one of several problems people face, some are unable or unwilling to address health issues because they are too preoccupied with finding a place to stay. 

For example, Ulerio recounted meeting a woman who didn’t go to a doctor’s appointment until a year after she obtained more stable housing, and this was her first appointment in many years.

This proves that housing is only the beginning of a person’s road to recovery, and usually, they can only start after obtaining a home.

“Housing first is the only way. It’s the only way we’re going to make a difference,” said Ulerio.

While the panelists agreed that helping people find housing should be the top priority, they also argued that they should continue to work with them even after they’re housed. These people remain at risk of losing their homes, whether it be due to financial changes or behavioral health issues.

The panel also raised the topic of the “working poor,” or ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). 

Citing his own experiences growing up in poverty in Newark, Ulerio discussed how working families like his have struggled to “close the affordability gap,” working low-income jobs and paying high living costs. 

Though housing costs are higher and wages have yet to catch up with them, Ulerio brought up Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s continued efforts to develop more affordable housing in the city. 

He also noted the rapid rehousing programs in Newark designed to provide short-term housing as quickly as possible. 

While there are resources made to help people find affordable housing, Orlando emphasized how each person’s case is unique, and they need to design programs that can cater to the specific needs of individuals who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless.

“Different people need different things. People are struggling in different ways,” said Orlando.

Overall, this panel discussion displayed the challenges that Americans have faced and continue to face in the ongoing affordable housing crisis.

 It is unknown how the housing market will be affected in the second Trump administration. However, it is clear that responsibility also lies with the people to take action to support their neighbors and help them obtain and sustain affordable homes.

“So I think it’s really important that, as a community, whether it’s Newark or here in Bergen County, that we understand the breadth and the multitude of different places that we can affect and change,” said Orlando.