Shelterforce

The Supreme Court ruling gave cities new leeway to criminalize homelessness. In Oakland, advocates say it’s fueled more forceful encampment sweeps and a rollback of earlier efforts at cooperation. Reporting by Roshan Abraham; read by John Ludas. Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/30/after-grants-pass-ruling-oakland-cracks-down-harder-on-unhoused-communities/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Kensington Corridor Trust manages dozens of properties, including affordable rental and commercial spaces, as part of its goal to revitalize the commercial corridor—but the group says who makes the decisions is more important than what decisions are made. Adriana Abizadeh-Barbour, the founding executive director of Kensington Corridor Trust in Philadelphia, explains. Read the full piece at https:/...

A mixed income neighborhood trust, or MINT, is a way for neighborhood organizations to develop and operate mixed-income rental properties with community governance. A MINT sets its rental mix and target populations locally, but what they have in common is a focus on preventing displacement and capturing the benefits of rising property values for neighborhood residents. Hope Davis reports. Read the...

Many resident ownership plans are thwarted by tight timelines and high-ticket upgrade needs. One mission-driven startup is testing a phased approach to transferring mobile home park ownership to residents without pricing them out. Listen as our investigative reporter, Shelby R. King, reads "Can a Buy-and-Hold Strategy Enable Resident Ownership at More Mobile Home Parks?" Read the story here: https...

As prices in the nation’s capital have soared, some sellers want their homes to stay in reach of families like their own. The Douglass Community Land Trust is helping them make it happen. Frank Navarrete reports. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

A community land trust named after Ruchell "Cinqué" Magee, considered by many to have been the longest-held political prisoner in the United States, aims to create not just affordability, but belonging. Frances Nguyen, Shelterforce's housing fellow, reports. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

A community land trust took on a difficult site in suburban Seattle—and ended up with a sustainable, diverse, mixed-ownership-form development that challenges multiple norms. Brandon Duong reports for Shelterforce. Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/17/mixed-income-net-zero-and-fish-friendly-innovation-at-the-southard/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Through its bequests and aging in place program, financial education offerings, and more, Artist Space Trust works to stabilize Bay Area artists in their communities. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute chats with one of the trust's founders and its executive director about where the group came from, what makes a housing group for artists different, and the legacy of elders in the arts community they...

It’s getting tougher for immigrant communities to believe they still have rights as renters—even if they are living in the country legally. Here’s how tenant organizers are helping these communities push back against ICE and the landlords who are weaponizing the current political environment. Frances Nguyen, Shelterforce's housing fellow, reports. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/20...

Stan Chisholm found housing stability through a local nonprofit that helps artists buy their first homes. Frank Navarrete reads his latest story for Shelterforce. Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/08/in-st-louis-artist-housing-opens-up-homeownership-opportunities/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

While affordable housing with some office space for nonprofits is relatively common, in Redmond, Washington, a group of human services organizations went the other way: they rebuilt their collective office space and added housing. Kim Sarnecki, the CEO of the Together Center, explains how it all works. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/10/nonprofits-own-these-offices-and-put-...

Enabled by provisions in the JOBS Act of 2012 that allow smaller scale investing, community members are becoming co-owners of local real estate projects. Sandra Larson reports for Shelterforce. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/09/crowdfunded-real-estate-projects-bring-in-community-investors/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Creative problem solving is pushing community ownership models forward. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute explains what you can expect in our new Under the Lens series, Innovations in Community Ownership. Read Miriam's editor's note at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/09/more-land-more-ways-for-more-people-whats-new-in-community-ownership/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

President Trump has floated cutting Community Development Block Grants entirely from the federal budget, which Congress has so far declined to do. How do these grants get used at the local level? Frank Navarrete reads his latest story for Shelterforce, "What Does CDBG Do?" Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/29/what-does-cdbg-do/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Local politics seem to be shifting in the Garden State. More towns have submitted plans to show how they will provide their ‘fair share’ of affordable housing than in the past, and the state has a new way to work with municipalities that push back against their housing obligations. Reporting by Roshan Abraham. Read by John Ludas. Check out the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/22/fifty-yea...

Several groups are serving as mediators for faith-based development, helping congregations access funding, navigate long-term development processes, and avoid developer exploitation. Shelterforce's Frances Nguyen reports. Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/06/the-matchmakers-bringing-churches-and-developers-together/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Since the spring, the nonprofit's funding has been delivered monthly instead of in full, leaving member organizations operating paycheck-to-paycheck and putting projects on hold. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute reports. Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/31/some-neighborworks-members-struggle-under-new-funding-schedule/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

The law raises funding for LIHTC, but steep cuts to social programs will more than outweigh the benefits. Here's a look at what's in the tax law, along with a second bill that would slash housing funding if passed. Reporting by Roshan Abraham; read by John Ludas. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/25/how-trumps-tax-law-will-deepen-housing-insecurity/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

In the last six months, lawmakers in more than two dozen cities and states have made strides to stop landlords from using anti-competitive rental software to determine how much to charge for rent. Shelterforce's Lillian Ortiz reports on the wins and losses so far. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/11/legislators-push-back-against-rent-setting-software/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Home is no longer a safe space for thousands of families who live with someone who's undocumented. Caught between housing assistance and ICE surveillance, many are forced to be silent—or self-evict. Shelterforce's Shelby R. King reports. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/23/huds-cooperation-with-ice-stokes-fear-in-immigrant-communities/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

In an time when many organizations are trying to adapt their messaging to reach a wider audience—which can be done—it's important to look to the research to avoid some pitfalls along the way, says Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute. The following is a lightly edited version of remarks given at the Grounded Solutions Network conference on May 29, for a panel on “The Power of Storytelling: Delivering a...

The mayoral candidate made a rent freeze central to his campaign. Here's how his supporters used in-person campaigning to clinch a victory, and what's ahead. Listen as John Ludas reads, "What Zohran Mamdani’s Primary Win Means for the Tenant Movement," written by Roshan Abraham. Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/09/what-zohran-mamdanis-primary-win-means-for-the-tenant-movement/ ℗...

The tax bill includes a significant expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. However, its other provisions, especially cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, are so harmful that the affordable housing field should not be celebrating. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute explains. Read the full op-ed at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/02/trumps-big-ugly-bill-is-a-loss-for-housing/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

When a new owner imposed sharp rent hikes in 2018, tenants organized and fought back. Now, more than 300 housing units will be affordable for the foreseeable future. Here’s how the tenants made it happen. Reporting by Sandra Larson; read by John Ludas. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

The Trump administration wants to nearly halve funding for federal rental assistance and make the states figure out how to distribute what’s left. Tenants, landlords, and housing providers say the fallout would be catastrophic, spiking homelessness and destabilizing communities. Shelby R. King reports. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .