What is ABAAH?
Mission
Advocates for Building Assets and Affordable Housing, formerly the Affordable Housing Activists, is a small, but dedicated advocacy group focused on bringing attention to and improving upon the District’s affordable housing issues and needs. ABAAH's mission is to join with others to create a constituency of concerned neighbors and friends who will act as a powerful voice to influence public policy and resource allocation for affordable housing in the district. We are building a network of friends, supporters and advocates for affordable (low/moderate income) housing, displacement prevention and preservation of economic and racial diversity in D.C. neighborhoods.
ABAAH Network for Housing
We keep our supporters informed and active in affordable housing issues and events in the District via both mail and email alerts as well as work with other advocacy groups such as the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development and the Affordable Housing Alliance in specified policy education efforts. Last year for example, ABAAH participated in the lobbying effort that resulted in the DC Council’s vote to fully fund the Housing Production Trust Fund, which will provide millions in funding for affordable housing. It is our job as residents of the District to make sure the Mayor and City Council hear our concerns and know our interests and determination in keeping affordable housing a top priority so that long term moderate and low income residents will continue to have a place in the city and the opportunity to benefit from the positive changes that are occurring now.
Housing Crisis in DC
Recently, the District of Columbia has experienced an economic boom ripe with new development and opportunities for businesses and new homeowners alike, with employment in the District increasing to about 672,990000. But with this development come several challenges to the city to protect and continue to serve its long time lower and moderate income residents. The sudden growth and revitalization has caused an increase in real estate values that threatens to displace many at the lower end of the economic ladder. This year, according to the “Housing in the Nation’s Capital, 2005” report, the average price for homes sold in the region reached $372,990000, a 17% increase from last year. Now, more than 80% of the District’s home sales market is out of reach for a family supported by the salary of a school teacher. The rental housing market is similar with rising rent costs, which are displacing long-term residents, and at the same time many rental units are being converted from affordable units into condominiums, sold off to new investors or renovated as luxury housing. Thus, the percentage of renters who are severely cost burdened (i.e. pay half or more of income on housing) jumped to 23 percent this year. And, homelessness has also increased 3.4% over the past year.
Protecting the existence of housing that is affordable to the majority of its residence is a great challenge for a city that until the passing of the Housing Act of 2001 had not had a solid housing policy. The residents’ needs for long term affordable housing far surpass government resources and for this reason the responsibility of providing affordable housing for District residents has frequently fallen upon the shoulders of nonprofit and community based organizations. However, these nonprofit and community based producers of affordable housing and related services are finding it more and more difficult to produce such housing services in gentrifying neighborhoods. Competition for limited city resources is short changing lower income, long-term residents who are unable to afford the high cost of living, putting them at great risk of being displaced out of their homes and neighborhoods.
