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A post shared by Central City Concern (@cccportland)

This post is an example of common purpose as one of the seven C’s of change as outlined by Susan R. Komives in her book “Leadership got a Better World”. I felt this post was important to share as it shows CCC’s awareness of the possible negative environmental consequences when developing new housing facilities. CCC runs off the common purpose of providing housing to those experiencing homelessness while also being mindful of environmental factors and doing their best to make a sustainable and efficient facility for their members.

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A post shared by Raphael House of Portland (@raphaelhousepdx)

This post is an example of commitment as one of the seven C’s of change as outlined by Susan R. Komives in her book “Leadership got a Better World”. Raphael House has been committed to assisting domestic violence survivors for 40 years and works to provide a domestic violence hotline to call, emergency shelters, and works to help their participants seek housing options and address housing barriers that arise from being domestic violence survivors.

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A post shared by Easterseals Oregon (@eastersealsoregon)

This post is an example of collaboration as one of the seven C’s of change as outlined by Susan R. Komives in her book “Leadership got a Better World”. This post shows the importance of listening as an aspect of collaboration. As listening to those with disabilities and not assuming their wants and needs is crucial to providing them assistance.

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Adam Walls, an affordable housing director and CEO of the 5812 Group, a Chicago real estate company that specializes in affordable housing. Adam discusses rethinking affordable housing, he discusses redlining and the impacts of gentrification on neighborhoods. He discusses the impacts on the African American community when banks would have it written in the deeds the house could not go to any non Caucasian individual. He talks about the power banks have in that they dictate where people can live and who gets loans. He also talks about “blockbusting” where bank owners would go up to white home owners or building inspectors and try to convince them to sell their home by convincing them minorities were moving in and the white family needed to move out. Then the house would then only be able to be sold to white individuals. Adam Walls discusses that these economic disparities caused by redlining and blockbusting can only be corrected by affordable housing, and proper investment. Adam pitches the idea of having investors who would support the affordable housing projects. His goal is to create a highly quality of life regardless of zip code, and believes the housing market will soar as a result.

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Blog Deliverable #6

The article “Critical success factors (CSFs) for sustainable affordable housing” shows how sustainable affordable housing could be counterproductive. As well as providing major issues in the social housing sector in England in regards to sustainable housing.

The findings could inform policy-makers on CSFs (Critical Success Factors) for sustainable affordable housing. The findings of this article are helpful for possibly providing policy-makers with tools on how to provide sustainable affordable housing. The CSFs identified were economic, environmental, and social. These factors can be expanded to 5 features: 1. Adequate funding and provision, 2. Affordability, 3. Security of lives and properties, 4. Provision of infrastructure services, and 5. Community development and social services.

Evidence from the study shows that sustainable development such as greenery is crucial to social housing provision (SHP); this is because of the impact on housing construction on the environment. Having a green environment is vital to an individual's success and happiness within their affordable housing option. The paper discusses the importance of stability and security of lives. They point out the flaws in sustainability in current programs. The need for stability is demonstrated through the success of social services being so beneficial to maintaining sustainable housing and residents’ satisfaction. The article argues the necessity for sufficient funding which can be used for social services, environmental friendly materials. The article argues that by providing these things, affordable housing can promote users' welfare and quality of life.

The article “Women housing rights, affordable housing for female-headed households, case study: City of Tehran” points out the various challenges of female-headed households in Tehran such as economic pressure, lack of sustainable income, social problems, psychological issues, misconceptions from society. The article argues that along with all these barriers, the lack of affordable housing has impacted female-headed households in having to live in marginalized areas of Tehran. The solutions proposed were for Tehran to provide low-interest housing loans, forgiveness of bank installments for female-headed households with children and without income.

The articles are similar in that they advocate for affordable housing as a solution and right of individuals to have stable, sustainable, and affordable housing, Both agree that there is not enough affordable housing for the demand there is. Both agree there has to be sustainability

APA Citation:

Oyebanji, A. O., Liyanage, C., & Akintoye, A. (2017, April 8). Critical success factors (csfs) for achieving sustainable social housing (SSH). International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212609016301248

Ghaedrahmati, S., & SHahsavari, F. (2019, September 6). Women housing right, affordable housing for female-headed households, case study: City of Tehran. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJHMA-05-2019-0055/full/html

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Deliverable #5

Dr. Marisa Zapata, director of PSU’s Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative Interviews the executive director of Home Forward Michael Buonocore. Michael talks about his experience being at Sisters of the Road along with working at Home Forward and how Sisters of the Road’s impacted his work ethic of being mindful of how to systematically change homelessness by providing things such as jobs and affordable housing. Michael points out perceptions of houselessness he would change such as many people’s assumption they know everything about houselessness, and he wishes people would be more comfortable with learning about the complexities. He points out there are no simplistic solutions, and how he wishes people were more open to building relationships with the individuals experiencing homelessness. They also discuss the many reasons people “prefer” to live outside such as shelter settings, systematic failures of hospitals, and the justice system. Most importantly they point out that there are people who live outside where that is the safest experience they have had up until then. They still deserve the opportunity for housing but they have already been failed by the systems in place before. They also discuss Home Forward as an organization, how their Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher works, and what subsidized housing is. As well as the barriers and why it takes so long to create affordable housing such as funding coming from multiple sources. Lastly, they touch on the importance of having committed and local political leadership motivated to end houselessness, at a federal and local level.

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DELIVERABLE #5

The song Take Me to Church by Hozier discussed Catholic Church discrimination against the queer community, in this song specifically homosexual men. This song has been powerful for me since I was a queer child in Catholic school who faced a lot of bullying from staff and students alike. I remember this song when I fell in love for the first time, and it became a huge scandal where I was called into the Priest’s office and told not to corrupt his “sheep”. This song highlights the brutality faced by queer people under Catholic ideology. In this song it specifically covers physical brutality, but the lyrics also allude to mental brutality as well with constantly being beat down and “starving faithful”. The song shows the unique predictaments of religious queer people and feeling isolated from religious communities due to discrimination. The song demonstrates the conflictingness of having a pure and loving same-sex relationship, and how it can be criminalized in religious communities.I resonated a lot with the lyrics “only then I am human, only then I am clean”, in reference to rituals of the Catholic Church as I was harassed a lot for not getting “Confirmed” into the Catholic Church as a child, and it inevitably affected my grades as well due to biases. The whole video is hard to watch but the lyrics are so powerful. I have gone back to this song since I was in 7th grade and have felt moved by it ever since.

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This article is the second of two articles covering opposing views on the affordable housing discussion. This article by SFGATE lists some of the pros and cons of affordable housing on topics such as below Market Rental Prices, Land and Resource Utilization and Safety and Property Maintenance.

For the market rental prices, they list the con being that affordable housing would mean more people housed which may stretch out community resources. This in itself is also a pro, however, as it means more people are housed and utilizing the community. This article also fails to highlight that low income households not able to afford rent and those experiencing homelessness would put more strain on the community resources. The pro the article lists is that more people in the community would have more disposable income, thus increasing the local economy.

Regarding safety and property maintenance, the con listed is that stating that affordable housing does not always mitigate high crime rates. The article states that the Justice Policy Institute report on Housing and Public Safety found some evidence of association between affordable housing as well as decreased educational performance, higher incidence of drug-related crime, and negative health outcomes. However, this article fails to explain how affordable housing can lead to these things, instead of these factors being in place for those with low income who affordable housing would serve. The article lists the pros in regards to safety and property maintenance that members of affordable housing receive benefits such as safe spaces for their children to grow up, property cleanliness and maintenance upkeep, with some also having surveillance and security.

The article brings up some of the cons for land and resource utilization being that some people argue the type of people utilizing affordable housing will bring down property value to the neighbors. This ideology in itself lacks empathy and is basing low income individuals as ex-convicts and a danger to the neighborhood. The pros the article lists however is that building affordable housing facilities allows increased in employment increase, and economic growth from construction.

APA Citation:

Starr, G. (2020, November 17). Pros & Cons of public housing. Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://homeguides.sfgate.com/pros-cons-public-housing-8497.html

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This is the first two articles highlighting opposing views on the affordable housing discussion. This article highlights the positives of affordable housing as being a beneficial aspect to someone’s health. Studies have shown that housing is an essential factor in recovery, whether that be physical, mental, or addiction recovery. Without housing, there can be no stability which is the foundation for recovery. Being able to maintain housing is crucial as the event of housing loss is often already caused by instability, such as having factors like lack of social support, substance abuse, or family dysfunction. These dysfunctional factors on top of losing housing can negatively impact someone’s psychiatric conditions and recovery. At the end of the day, those experiencing losing their housing lacks stability and are left in survival mode where their focus must be on surviving each day, instead of being able to focus on improving their recovery. CareOregon’s senior worker Mellick commented in the article “To Improve Outcomes, Health Systesms Invest in Affordable Housing”, stating that “The barriers to better health are very connected to the barriers to homelessness and vice versa. [People are] never going to go to be able to manage their chronic health issues without stable sleep, without stable housing. (1)”

Being in a survival state can make individuals more susceptible to maltreatment. Many people experiencing homelessness report that when going to a medical appointment, they are often treated poorly or labeled as a “drug addict” and thus does not receive adequate treatment. I myself, while working in a homeless shelter, have gone to medical appointments with participants of the homeless shelter and witnessed firsthand the discrimination they can face. The short disgusted tone doctors will blatantly display to their clients in front of the client’s own case manager should not have been as surprising as it was. I have also gone with housed individuals to the doctor’s office as a caregiver and seen the same hospital’s employees treat the housed individual with greater patience and trust in what the individual is saying. After witnessing this, it makes all too much sense why those who cannot afford housing and are currently experiencing homelessness, would often rather let their medical needs go unsupported if it means to be treated with harmful distrust. These negative experiences of being mistreated after becoming homeless, is another example of the loss of stability losing a house can cause and its impact on health treatment.

Living outside or in shelters can also lead to other medical conditions arising, causing the need to increase for health initiatives and interventions. “A significant problem in addressing health problems is the reluctance of physicians to care for and treat the homeless.”(1) Homeless link Chairty showed “a high percentage of health problems among the target group of its social work where 73% of people responding to the survey admitted to physical health problems, and 80% were suffering from some form of mental illness or disorder.” Research in the United Kingdom has also shown, “people in homeless shelters to be eight times more often affected by psychiatric disorders, and those sleeping on the street eleven times more often affected than the resident population.” (1) Success has already been shown for housing as an initiative for health. Reports have shown that avoidable emergency department uses fell by more than half in the period of 2011-16". (1)

APA Citation:

1. Tuller, D., & Bovell-Ammon, A. (2019, July 1). To improve outcomes, health systems invest in Affordable Housing: Health Affairs Journal. Health Affairs. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00676

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Stakeholders Interview

Below is the transcript from the interview process. The interview was with Sean and Nalini from Do Good Multnomah. Sean is a case manager with Do Good Multnomah as of February, and was interviewed by Duke Reiss.

Duke: “What is the vision, mission, values, and/or goals of the agency? How does the goals of housing relate to affordable housing?”

Sean: “The mission of Do Good Multnomah is to serve houseless vets and other populations underserved in the greater Portland area by helping to obtain stabilized housing. Stable housing includes having an affordable rent (1/3rd of the participant’s income).”

Duke: “Describe the social issue Do Good Multnomah is trying to address.”

Sean: “Primary services provided are case management, housing focused support as well as sense of community for those who have served. As well as basic needs such as food, toiletries, shelter. Though all services are in English unless a staff happens to speak another language, we do work to connect individuals to culturally specific resources where they can use their primary language. We also have some funding set aside for translators to come in and translate when needed.”

Duke: “What is your position on affordable housing?

Sean: “I think that the affordable housing crisis is consistently overlooked by those regulating and developing funding within the Portland area. Affordable housing is not taking it as seriously as needed be.”

Duke: “What is one aspect of affordable housing you wish was changed?”

Sean: “There needs to be a larger number of affordable housing options available. A large number of participants are often just waiting months for an affordable housing opportunity to come up, and are waiting while fully document ready (having the needed documents for housing such as Social Security Card, ID, Birth Certificate). Also most affordable housing facilities operate on only allowing those with 30% area median income (AMI) which is the amount of income individuals make based on the area. The AMI should be between 0-30% which would include those with no income being able to rent from the apartment. This is important as there are people who can be successful in apartments but are either working on getting employment, getting disability, unemployment, etc.”

How are different stakeholders impacted differently by this problem?

Nalini, a case manager at Do Good Multnomah and former member of the Board of Houselessness has a different perspective on affordable housing.

Duke: “What is your position on affordable housing? And what is one aspect of affordable housing you wish was changed?”

Nalini: The Housing First model is extremely successful and effective, however, there comes a point when providing free housing for those who are capable of working, where you take away their ambition to work in life by providing their basic needs. Though I do agree how important affordable housing is for those living on disability, or those who are retired, making it so individuals do not have to work can create boredom in their life. Someone is not going to be successful when they have ‘idle hands’, and too much free time on their hands.”

Though there are many stakeholders in the situation, primarily being those experiencing homelessness. However, after surveying the ethics of interviewing someone experiencing homelessness for the project, I decided ultimately it would be unethical to interview those in a crises state such as homelessness, especially for privacy reasons. For that reason, I reached out to Do Good Multnomah staff. Both of these stakeholders work for Do Good Multnomah, a Veteran preference nonprofit organization designed to help people experiencing homelessness obtain sustainable housing, including helping them obtain housing which is only a ⅓ of their income (affordable housing). Sean believes that everyone deserves a chance to be sustainable and have housing which will free up their capacity to handle other barriers. This is shown by his belief in including those who receive no income in the affordable housing discussion. Nalini is in favor of providing affordable housing to select people, such as those who are unable to work because of aging or disabilities. Though as a case manager at Do Good Multnomah she still sees the necessity in having affordable housing as an option as it is crucial to many of her participants who are unable to work. These individuals come from diverse backgrounds with different cultural, personal, and even previous work experiences. However, the consensus of both stakeholders in this situation is that affordable housing is a necessity and a human right. Though there may be some disagreements on who should qualify for affordable housing, overall those who work serving individuals experiencing homelessness agree that it is important and there needs to be more of it available.

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I appreciated you pointing out that there is a vast amount of reasons people experience houselessness. It was interesting to read about you discussing the Homeless Coalition in Roseburg as I have not had too much exposure to them so I liked you talking about that resource. It is fantastic to hear about their work and the efforts they are making to combat the homelessness crises. Thank you!

Stakeholders: Houselessness in Roseburg

When looking deeper into the issue of houselessness in Roseburg, it is clear that many stakeholders are present in this issue.

The most drastically impacted and of the highest importance would be those that are currently houseless in Roseburg and also those that were formerly houseless. The houseless population includes those that have lost their homes, lost their jobs, left domestically violent homes, suffered from mental health issues, and/or struggled with substance abuse. These stakeholders need assistance and are at the root of this issue, as they require resources to survive.

Local government staff and officials are also notable stakeholders of this issue. Mayor Larry Rich of Roseburg, Oregon is also on the Homeless Commission and leads their monthly meetings.

The Homeless Commission is important to mention as well. The organized meetings for this commission focus on researching and gathering information on the current state of homelessness in Roseburg and works to recommend solutions or ideas to the City Council. This organization also oversees relationships with agencies pertaining to the houseless and listens to the general public's concerns (Homeless Commission).

Many residents, businesses, and visitors in Roseburg have developed their own views and opinions on the issue of houselessness. The general public is also a stakeholder that has a general interest and concern for this issue. Some residents of Roseburg have developed a fear of those that are houseless, as many unhoused people have camped along the river, which is considered to be a residential backyard of many. Businesses have grown tiresome of vandalism and loitering outside of their businesses that seems to scare off potential customers (Roseburg Homeless Commission Agenda).

Law enforcement in Roseburg interacts with the houseless on a daily basis. Officers of the law must address reported crimes, approach suspicious persons, and ask illegally camped, houseless people to move their belongings. It is more than typical for residents to report houseless people to the police. A notable individual of the Roseburg Police Department is Police Captain Jeremy Sanders. Captain Sanders is a participant at the Homeless Commission meetings. 

Many behaviors of the houseless are criminalized, such as camping, loitering, sleeping, and urinating in public (Siegel). Also, substance abuse is a significant issue on the streets of Roseburg. Many of the houseless individuals participating in these behaviors end up in the local jail. The local jail, Douglas County Sheriff's Office Jail, would also be considered a stakeholder as well.

Roseburg's local hospital, Mercy Medical Center, is where sick or injured houseless individuals are taken. A significant concern of the hospital and the jail is where to drop off incapacitated individuals (Carroll, 2022). 

Umpqua Heart is a nonprofit organization that collaborates with community leaders to provide services to houseless individuals. Umpqua Heart has also developed living facilities for the houseless and provided access to resources to the individuals residing there (Umpqua Heart).

The United Community Action Network (UCAN) is another nonprofit organization that assists the homeless by providing them with food, housing, and shelter. UCAN prioritizes providing resources, equipment of skills, and opportunities for the houseless (UCAN).

References

Carroll, S. (2022, March 27). Homeless falling through the cracks is "a big mess". nrtoday.com. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.nrtoday.com/news/government/homeless-falling-through-the-cracks-is-a-big-mess/article_bce2cf08-02ba-5f52-ba3d-9b9502fe40d6.html 

Homeless Commission. City of Roseburg. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.cityofroseburg.org/your-government/commissions/homeless-commission 

Our accomplishments. United Community Action Network. (2022, April 22). Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.ucancap.org/our-accomplishments/ 

Rich, L. (n.d.). ROSEBURG HOMELESS COMMISSION AGENDA. Roseburg. 

Siegel, D. H. (n.d.). The Criminalization of Homelessness. Social Work Today. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/exc_0518.shtml 

Umpqua Heart. (n.d.). Our approach to housing equality. Umpqua Heart. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://umpquaheart.org/our-plan 

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Portland is still working on expanding its affordable housing as the issue of individuals not being able to afford the rising rent has been widely discussed. It has already been researched that people living off of disability, who are deemed to not work, cannot afford any other housing besides affordable housing rates. Those who make up disability receivers are a large number of people experiencing homelessnes (4). Portland has a bit of nonprofit organizations designed to both provide affordable housing as well as provide case management services to maintain sustainable housing. Of which includes Central City Concern (CCC), and Northwest Pilot Project (NWPP) which are two large organizations that have been serving the Portland area for years by providing case management to achieve affordable housing.

Central City Concern actually runs a vast range of affordable housing facilities. They range from single room occupancies (SRO), 1 bedroom apartments, to apartments for families. Central City Concern believes in ending homelessness by providing different types of support to help empower individuals to obtain sustainable housing. CCC provides wraparound health services, employment, and training on top of providing housing. (1) CCC believes in the Housing is Health Initiative. The movement was started by hospitals helping build and fund affordable housing for those with medical conditions that would be harder to monitor and focus on while experiencing homelessness. (2) Types of affordable housing CCC provides ranges of affordable housing from low-barrier housing, drug free recovery housing, housing focused on mental health, and housing for reuniting families. (1)

Northwest Pilot Project does not run actual affordable housing facilities unlike CCC, however, they do provide funding and case management in order to make already existing housing affordable and permanent. NWPP specifically works with those 62+ and those with disabilities. NWPP provides funding to help individuals pay an affordable rate, move-in deposits, furniture, and provides advocacy for landlord mediation and other support for housing barriers as they come up. NWPP makes the rent affordable by paying the remainder of the rent that is left over after the participant pays the affordable rate of ⅓ of the participant’s income. (3)

Both nonprofits believe in the housing first model, which states that providing housing is an essential part of empowering individuals to be able to make goals to help maintain permanent housing and improve quality of life. It is also important to note that both organizations also follow the belief in meeting participants where they are at. The two organizations combine affordable housing with case management. Case management helps make the housing sustainable and able to be maintained for years to come. Case management can range from getting help with the steps for applying for government income, government assistance they may be eligible for, obtaining government identifications, and setting personal goals about barriers to housing that the participant would like assistance or guidance overcoming. Overall, these organizations are crucial to maintaining hundreds of people’s continuous affordable housing. (1,3)

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Apa Citing

“Our Impact.” Central City Concern, 4 May 2022, https://centralcityconcern.org/impact/.

“Housing at CCC.” Central City Concern, 14 Oct. 2022, https://centralcityconcern.org/services/housing/housing-ccc/.

“Our Approach.” NW Pilot Project, 9 Aug. 2022, https://www.nwpilotproject.org/our-approach/.

“Learn about the Causes of Homelessness.” Multnomah County, 28 Sept. 2022, https://www.multco.us/move-in-multnomah/causes.

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Affordable housing has a couple different forms. Affordable Housing sometimes refers to subsidized housing, where individuals pay 1/3 of their income towards rent where a nonprofit organization will pay for the rest of the rent. Affordable Housing can also take the form of having a specific amount due for rent that is based on the a 1/3 of the median income of the area. Affordable Housing is becoming ever more crucial as housing rates increase and employment pay as well as government income (SSI/SSDI/etc.) remain close to the same. Discussing affordable housing involves the benefits of having affordable housing, the barriers to bringing about more affordable housing, and outreach to those experiencing homelessness.

The benefits and necessity of affordable housing can be very intuitive and also backed by studies. Affordable housing is necessary to foster the health and recovery of individuals by creating a stable environment where recovery needs can be met. There are also barriers to both obtaining more affordable housing as well as individuals being able to access affordable housing. One of the primary barriers to building more affordable housing, is zoning laws which restrict the building of affordable housing. One of the barriers to obtaining affordable housing is the scarcity of affordable housing available compared to the number of those who need it. Outreach is also involved in the discussion of affordable housing, as many of those who could most benefit from it, such as those experiencing homelessness. Outreach is essential as it is the way to both let people know about the opportunities available, as well as getting help with service connection. Affordable Housing often involves waitlists, periodically checking up on the waitlists to check spot in the que, complicated paperwork, and even advocacy for appeals for situations such as property debt exceptions. Due to these barriers, outreach becomes an essential tool to be able to connect individuals with the resources they need in order to obtain stability through affordable housing. This outreach can even extend to getting help paying rent, obtaining furniture, or service connections to discounted services such as utilities, and phone bills.

Without affordable housing, those who cannot afford to pay at least $1200 in rent will continue to be forced to live outside or other in inhumane conditions. Shelters are plentiful full of individuals waiting to come up on housing waitlists for affordable housing. By having more availability for affordable housing, it would lead to people getting housed quicker and get them out of any inhumane living situations they are forced to be in while waiting for a spot in affordable housing. Most people waiting for affordable housing are unable to work, and are bound by the amount of government income they receive which is often below $800 a month. The amount of people on SSI/SSDI vastly out ways the amount of affordable housing available in Portland. Thus, leaving people living off of SSI/SSDI no choice but to live in these inhumane conditions prior to finding a spot in an affordable housing facility. This impacts the overall community as it leaves our most vulnerable community to be out in the open, where their struggles are in view of everyone in the community.

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APA Citing:

1. Adams, H., & Adams, H. (n.d.). Addressing Challenges to Affordable Housing in Land Use Law: Recognizing Affordable Housing as a Right. Harvard Law Review. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://harvardlawreview.org/2022/02/addressing-challenges-to-affordable-housing-in-land-use-law/

2. Web Login Service. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://www-proquest-com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/idp/profile/cas/login;jsessionid=9CE0DC22778C1C2125EFF5191FC5DD7C?execution=e1s1

3. Just a moment. . . (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1212411718300096