Unfair Housing

Posted on May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 by Jenny

I live in Howard County District 4, specifically in Harper's Choice Village in Columbia. Like our neighbors in Wilde Lake and Hickory Ridge, our village's socioeconomically diverse population is evident in our housing. Stand at the edge of a cluster of single-family homes, and you can throw a stone across Harper's Farm Road and reach a group of mid-priced apartments. Walk toward our village center - where we shop for groceries, grab a cup of coffee, get takeout, and enjoy Italian ice on hot sum...

Fact or Crap: Affordable Housing Edition

Posted on February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 by Jenny

Disclaimer: it has become commonplace that whenever I correct misinformation regarding housing, affordable or otherwise, people demand to know if I have a financial stake in the development or real estate industry or other conflicts of interest. Let the record show that aside from owning a home in Howard County, I have no financial stake in real estate or development whatsoever. I simply believe in getting people housed, and I read a lot. So shut it. A long time ago, a coworker of mine re...

The Case for Affordable Housing

Posted on December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 by Jenny

Recently, a woman contacted Columbia Community Care needing assistance; she was living out of her car in Harper's Choice Village in Columbia, but it was in need of repair and a jump start. She had lost her job earlier in the pandemic, and she now had a new job, but she needed her car repaired so that she could drive to work. The woman, a veteran of the U.S. Army, updated the CCC Facebook group some time later and thanked them for their support and helping her get into a shelter. There's a ...

Housing is a Human Right

Posted on August 5, 2020August 17, 2020 by Jenny

I recently read Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. It was an eye-opening read that made abundantly clear the link between housing and the downward spiral into lifelong poverty that is a reality for many Americans. Desmond's firsthand accounts shine a light on what poverty looks like, how easy it is to fall into, and how impossible it can be to extricate oneself from it. Most importantly, his writings reveal the central role of housi...

Not In My Backyard

Posted on June 22, 2020August 17, 2020 by Jenny

Let me tell you about an uncle of mine. He is one of the most kind-hearted people you'll ever meet, and he has practiced family medicine for over 40 years. He is one of very few doctors in his area who accepts Medicare and Medicaid patients, and because such patients are not profitable like those with private insurance, he is also one of the poorest doctors you'll ever meet. He chooses to devote the majority of his practice to providing health care for low-income patients because it's the ri...