- April 25, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
On Monday and Tuesday, in rooms separated by a few hundred feet, residents from around the Sarasota area came together for two events that shared a focus on one topic: housing affordability.
There were obvious superficial characteristics distinguishing each. On Monday, Sarasota United for Responsibility and Equity drew more than 200 people for a rally at First Congregational United Church of Christ. It was a meeting of an established coalition of Sarasota churches held to provide an update on the nonprofit’s core advocacy issues, affordable housing among them.
Tuesday’s event was a smaller meeting of a new group. The Jericho Project, an affordable housing nonprofit, and the Arlington Park Neighborhood Association hosted more than 40 people at the Frank G. Berlin Sr. Branch of the Sarasota YMCA for the Helpful Hopeful Housing Summit. Those in attendance included government officials, service providers, residents, development professionals and outside experts.
At their core, however, both groups shared the same goal. They wanted to get things done — and overcome what they say are obstacles to addressing an affordable housing shortage.
“We are pushing a very, very big boulder up an ever-growing mountain, but we are continuing to do this work,” the Rev. Wayne Farrell said at the SURE meeting.
“We just feel like government needs to care, you know?” Sarasota resident and retiree Pat Byers said at Tuesday’s summit.
SURE’s 22 congregations have identified affordable housing as a priority for more than four years.
SURE focuses on a few community issues each year in its fight for equity. The group’s leadership has found affordable housing to be a particularly difficult topic to generate action on despite the pervasiveness of the issue and increased local focus.
The group is devoting its energy to one housing goal: persuading the county and city to establish a $15 million fund to support affordable housing. SURE cited data stating there is a need for more than 10,000 units of affordable housing just to serve working families making 60% or less of area median income, about $42,000 for a family of four.
SURE leaders say a meaningful infusion of cash on an annual basis is necessary to start making progress. But SURE has struggled to secure the commitment it is seeking from Sarasota leaders. At Monday’s meeting, the Rev. Patrick Miller said officials say budgets will not allow for the allocation of resources SURE wants to see.
“What we hear is there is no way they could possibly find that much money for affordable housing,” Miller said Monday. “Friends, this may be the only context I can say this in: I am telling you tonight that $15 million is a drop in the bucket.”
The city has more than $4 million allocated toward affordable housing projects, but Miller said a recurring source is necessary to build up a stock of affordable units on an annual basis. SURE is asking the city to contribute $5 million and the county $10 million. Miller noted $5 million is about 2% of the overall city budget.
SURE is holding an even larger meeting in March. The group hopes to attract more than 1,000 people to its annual Nehemiah Action, and has secured commitments from City Commissioner Hagen Brody and City Manager Tom Barwin. Although SURE leaders are optimistic about their ability to ultimately affect change, they say they’ve got work to do to get the necessary buy-in from local decision-makers.
“This is not about scarcity of resources,” Miller said. “This is about priorities.”
One of the goals of the Helpful Hopeful Housing Summit was to arrive at a place SURE has already reached.
Mary Anne Bowie, the Arlington Park Neighborhood Association president and Jericho Project executive director, shares a similar frustration regarding a lack of progress. The city and county have adopted some regulations and allocated funds, but Bowie sees room for improvement.
Bowie believes that the community — residents, activists, professionals — can serve as a catalyst to make progress happen more quickly, particularly if there’s a model for them to follow.
“I believe if we had a whole set of move-forward action items, and we could say, ‘All right, this is a good set of items; this is a good way that we could approach this,’ then we could begin to build the public support that’s necessary,” Bowie said. “That’s not one person’s job. That’s everybody’s job.”
That’s why Tuesday’s meeting focused on the production of an “action agenda,” a to-do list of sorts for affecting change. Those in attendance suggested establishing educational resources and improving the coordination between individuals and groups who support affordable housing.
One of the guest speakers was Lee Blons, CEO and president of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, a St. Paul, Minn., group composed of religious congregations focused on ensuring all people have a home.
Blons shared her experience helping bring together that collaborative group and stressed the importance of making human connections and building coalitions. For those who are open to supporting a push for affordable housing, making it clear how their actions will address real-world problems helped motivate them. For elected officials, hearing from people who support a project made them more comfortable approving controversial housing proposals. And once some progress is made, Blons said, success tends to beget success.
“People are willing to show up because they believe they make a difference,” Blons said. “They know their voice has mattered.”
On Wednesday, Bowie helped oversee the finalization of the group’s action agenda, which emphasizes the creation of regulations allowing for accessory dwelling units on existing residential properties. Although this push for affordable housing is just getting started, she said she’s optimistic about the ability to translate grassroots energy into tangible results.
“We need people to come out in force,” Bowie said.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that City Commissioner Hagen Brody and City Manager Tom Barwin have committed to attending the SURE Nehemiah Action.
