A group of local immigrant women wrote the following article:
When we came to this country, we thought we would find a home. Instead, we’ve found completely unaffordable rent.
We are the Sisters in Diaspora Collective — a group of women, immigrants, refugees, mothers, and residents of New Haven and West Haven who have come together to support one another and seek more just and dignified living conditions for our communities. We come from around the world -– the Middle East, Latin America, North Africa -– and we have different stories of migration. Some of us came here fleeing war. Some of us came because of poverty and lack of opportunities in our home countries. We speak different languages -– most of us Arabic, some Spanish.
One thing we have in common is that here in New Haven it takes nearly all our income just to keep a roof over our heads, and that roof is old, falling apart, and not stable enough. Our homes don’t have enough space for our children, a neighborhood that is safe for them to play in, or proper heating. And it gets harder and harder each month as rent keeps going up and our salaries stay the same.
It seems impossible for us to access homes that are dignified, that fit our families, where we feel safe. And we know this is a problem for thousands in our city.
Moreover, as immigrants and refugees, we are systemically unsupported in this city as we pursue livable housing for our families.
We know New Haven prides itself on being a home for refugees and immigrants from across the world. But when we go to the housing authority, we either receive no response, or there is no one who speaks our language, or we’re turned away for not having a social security number. We have no way of understanding the different options we have. And even if we manage to sign up for Section 8 or Public Housing, we are never explained what to expect.
Some of us have spent years of our lives stuck in a process that we don’t understand, thinking we were on a list and being on another, only finding out seven years in that we were on the wrong list.
Now, it has come to our attention that the City of New Haven is receiving $100 million from the federal government over the next four years to help the city “build back better” after Covid-19.
City officials have expressed the desire to direct this funding based on what we, the community, express as our biggest priorities. But not one of us in our immigrant and refugee community have heard of these opportunities to express our concerns and priorities directly to those gathering community input.
When we’ve expressed this concern, the city responded by saying that there have been four Community Input sessions and robo-calls, insinuating that we had our chance to share input. First of all, none of us had any idea that these community input sessions were happening. Second, from our understanding, only one of the city’s community input sessions offered interpretation in Spanish, and none at all offered interpretation in any other including Arabic, the primary language spoken by our community
So we write this letter as a way to express our urgent concerns as well as our proposals for where the city should put at least a portion of this federal funding that is meant for us, after all, the people of New Haven.
We know our voices join with others who have called for investment in housing with ARP funds, including calls from Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven.
Until now, the city has made no concrete, public plans to invest any of the American Rescue Plan money into affordable housing. This is hugely concerning, given the extremely high rates of housing insecurity that we and other members of our community experience. We know the city is aware of its housing crisis; in September of this year, the City’s Affordable Housing Commission reported:
Access to affordable housing rentals is difficult and rather impossible for New Haven residents and social service agencies to secure…. rental rates continue to increase. For instance, in September 2021, the average rent for a 1‑bedroom apartment was estimated at $1,600 whereas a 3‑bedroom ranged between $2,000 to $2,500. New Haven’s current rental trends exceed the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fair market rates by 11%- 27%.
The effect of this in our lives is tremendous and violent. But despite being aware of this problem that affects tens of thousands of families in our community –- mainly families of color and immigrants –- the city still does not make any meaningful steps towards creating affordable housing. Instead, everyday we see new luxury apartments being built all around Downtown.
Based on that understanding, we propose that the City spend a portion of American Rescue Plan money on the following two measures:
1. Buy at least 20 percent of buildings currently owned by mega-landlord companies, such as Mandy Management or Pike International, and preserve these buildings as public property to be used as alternative affordable housing.
Private landlords are legally allowed to raise rent prices at their discretion, causing tremendous stress and hardship. It is unjust and unnecessary for working-class families to be at the mercy of private companies who don’t know or care about us and have no stake in us or our communities. Starting to build an alternative stock of affordable housing and limiting the power of multi-million dollar private management companies would be a step towards housing justice in New Haven.
2. Pay a $500 subsidy to all families on the waitlist for Section 8 and Public Housing.
This is an adaptation of a proposal submitted to the City of New Haven by Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven on Sept. 10, 2021. There is an extreme shortage of units available through the Section 8 and public housing programs, which means that thousands of us wait for five, ten, or more years before our names get pulled from a waitlist. There is currently no support for those of us on waiting lists, no plan for how to help the thousands of us who will not have access to subsidized housing for years.
Why would you run to a country and specifically to a city (New Haven) not knowing anything about the cost of rents, what language is spoken, or employment opportunities. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization process spells all these things out for immigrants. There should be no surprises unless you haven't gone through that process. If you don't feel that you're getting what your expectations were, before coming to the U.S., there are Federal agencies in place to assist you in finding a resolution.