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Shelterforce

@shelterforce.bsky.social

4K followers 120 following 600 posts

An award-winning, independent publication that reports on affordable housing, community organizing, and more. Find us online at https://shelterforce.org. Sign up for our newsletter: https://shelterforce.org/shelterforce-weekly-signup/

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 28d

🚨 New Series: Innovations in Community Ownership | Over the next 6 weeks, we’ll explore bold new ways communities are taking control of land + housing to ensure affordability, stability, and a real say in their futures.

Learn more: bit.ly/3JYmYqS

#CommunityOwnership #HousingJustice #UnderTheLens

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 1h

Cautionary tale: Portfolio buys can come with big repair needs + tricky affordability math—but they also keep homes out of investor hands.

🔗 bit.ly/46PtDLN
#CLTs #AffordableHousing

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 20h

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

DC homeowners are choosing to share their gains—keeping homes affordable for the next family. Learn how Douglass CLT is helping them pay it forward.

🔗 bit.ly/4nCdYGQ
#CommunityOwnership #AffordableHousing

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 1d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

First of its kind: The Southard hits both net-zero energy & Salmon-Safe certification while keeping housing affordable.

📖 bit.ly/46F7Wy1
#UnderTheLens #Sustainability

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 1d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

Starting Over Inc. is building a CLT shaped by people directly impacted by incarceration. Learn more:

bit.ly/46YlHZU
#UnderTheLens #CommunityOwnership

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 1d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

After the Ghost Ship fire, artists asked: how do we keep each other safe?
Artist Space Trust’s answer: a land trust for artists with creative space in mind.

👉 bit.ly/4pDZ58u
#UnderTheLens #HousingJustice #ArtsMatter

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 2d

Can we buy portfolios now, rent ~10 yrs, then sell to CLTs at cost? Grounded Solutions’ “Homes for the Future” is testing a no-subsidy path to community ownership.

🔗 bit.ly/46PtDLN
#UnderTheLens #HousingJustice

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 2d

Too many 'housing investors' aren't investing at all. They're betting on your neighborhood getting more expensive - without lifting a finger to improve it. Here's why that distinction matters for housing policy. bit.ly/4jWs6cP

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 3d

What if you could sell your home into a land trust so it stayed affordable for families like yours?
That’s the idea behind Douglass CLT’s Pay It Forward program.
👉 bit.ly/4nCdYGQ
#PayItForward #HousingJustice

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 3d

Housing activism = history + future.
NYC’s Activist New York exhibition shows how tenant struggles shaped laws—and why the fight continues.

🔗 bit.ly/42RtXII
#HousingJustice #TenantPower

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 4d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

“Slavery 400 years ago, slavery today.” — Ruchell Magee. His legacy inspires the first CLT for people leaving incarceration.

bit.ly/46YlHZU
#RacialJustice #HousingJustice

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 4d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

Adults w/ developmental disabilities are too often excluded from new housing. At The Southard, 2 buildings were built just for them. Inclusion matters.

👉 bit.ly/46F7Wy1
#UnderTheLens #DisabilityJustice

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 5d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

Bay Area artists are bequeathing homes to keep space in community hands.
Meet Flee & her child—finally safe in a home they own.

👉 bit.ly/4pDZ58u
#UnderTheLens #CommunityOwnership #HousingJustice

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 5d

From rent strikes to the fight for fair housing at Stuyvesant Town—NYC’s tenant movement shaped history.

Read about the Museum of the City of New York’s housing exhibition: bit.ly/42RtXII
#TenantRights #FairHousing

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 6d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

What if reentry began with ownership? The Ruchell “Cinqué” Magee CLT will create housing & belonging for people leaving incarceration.

bit.ly/46YlHZU
#HousingJustice #Reentry #UnderTheLens

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 6d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

Zoning hurdles, permit delays, rising costs—but Homestead CLT still delivered. The Southard blends CLT, market-rate, & disability housing in one community.

Read: bit.ly/46F7Wy1
#FairHousing

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 6d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership
Artists drive 7.5% of CA’s economy but most are low-income and struggle to afford housing.
AST is changing that—offering studio-inclusive housing & legacy support for creatives.

👉 bit.ly/4pDZ58u
#ArtistsInCommunity #AffordableHousing

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 7d

Turning Equity into Affordability: D.C. Homeowners Are Giving Back

Through Douglass CLT’s Pay It Forward program, sellers are choosing to keep their homes affordable—sharing gains with the community and ensuring the next family has the same opportunity.

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/46X8Zuu

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 7d

Big news! 🎉

We’ve already passed our 2024 total—20K+ listens and counting. Thanks for tuning in and supporting!

👉 Subscribe & catch the latest episodes: m.soundcloud.com/user-4749660...

Shelterforce

Play Shelterforce and discover followers on SoundCloud | Stream tracks, albums, playlists on desktop and mobile.

m.soundcloud.com

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 7d

We’re seeing more affordable housing providers use new software and web-based applications to help them operate more efficiently. This is a big change from years ago when they mainly used tech to monitor the performance of assets. Read the story:

How Affordable Housing Providers Are Embracing Tech to Manage Housing

New software and web-based applications help speed up paperwork, make it easier to communicate with staff, and help disabled residents be more independent.

bit.ly

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 8d

Is there a housing-related ballot measure we should be paying attention to? Is your town, county, or state trying to pass or lessen local tenant protection laws? Perhaps there's a vote to fund more affordable housing? Let us know. Reply here or email [email protected].

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 8d

When rent hikes came, Betty Lewis stayed. She helped lead a 6-year fight that ended in victory: capped rents + permanent affordability. This is what community organizing looks like.

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 8d

#UnderTheLens series: Innovations in Community Ownership

After 67 years inside, Ruchell “Cinqué” Magee’s legacy lives on in a new CLT for returning community members.

Read more: bit.ly/46YlHZU
#UnderTheLens #HousingJustice

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 9d

A 1917 coal shortage left NYC tenants freezing. Their protests led to the first heating law in 1918.

📖 Learn more about Shelterforce’s visit to Activist New York, an exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York: bit.ly/42RtXII
#TenantPower #HousingJustice

Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 9d

In D.C., faith leaders and congregations are resisting anti-homeless crackdowns with love, solidarity, and public witness. Their “beloved community banquet” offered both a meal and a model of resilience.

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/3KBJ0zX
#HousingJustice #CommunitySolidarity #EndHomelessness

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 9d

Affordable housing is hard to build—not just because of politics, but because of how it’s financed. This explainer breaks it down: Capital stacks, subsidies, cost of capital, and why it all matters. bit.ly/3Hv1Mrc

#AffordableHousing #HousingFinance #PolicyExplainer

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