REACH News

August 2023

Housing is a Human Right

Edgerton Meadows Updates

We are pleased to announce our operations partnership with the YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County, a mission-aligned nonprofit. Their successful track record of awards with the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) makes the YWCA the right choice for REACH and our future residents.

Construction also moved forward this month with the site plan review. This round-table review by City staff of our plans is expected before the end of August and will generate their report of necessary adjustments.

Despite the billions spent each year to fix it, America's homelessness crisis is getting worse. Single-family home prices continue to rise. In California alone, fewer than 20% of households can even qualify to buy a house. While the problem seems overwhelming, viable solutions are within reach, especially if people stop saying, “Not in my backyard."

Photo of a The Block Project Accessory Dwelling Unit

Photo Credit: The Block Project

Advocacy Notes

Our team is growing! Over the past few months, we have welcomed seven new members. We invite more of our readers to join us as we seek to play a small part in advocating for housing justice. Our meetings are on the first Wednesday of each month at 4:00 PM. Click here to register to attend the next meeting.

At our last meeting, we learned a lot from Shane Wiegand (of the Antiracist Curriculum Project) about the history of redlining, both official and unofficial, in our region. Their video, "Home: Access Denied" helps to explain why much of the city's housing stock is poorly maintained and why there are so many vacancies. These factors are related to why many renters are housing vulnerable, living in uninhabitable rentals, often paying more than 40% of their income, and frequently subjected to eviction without cause.