A coalition of faith groups wants the Hillsborough County Commission to fully fund affordable housing

For rent — Apartment for Rent. By Feverpitched via iStock for WMNF News.

We spoke with HOPE, the coalition of faith communities known as the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality, about trying to stop the Hillsborough County Commission from taking funds away from affordable housing.

Beginning in 2019 the Hillsborough County Commission set aside $10 million / year for affordable housing. That amount was reduced a year ago. And HOPE wants the county commission to vote to fully fund affordable housing again this year.

There are two Budget Public Hearings on September 12 at 6:00 p.m. and September 19 at 6:00 p.m.

Our guest was Dr. Sheila Simmons Tribble, the co-president of HOPE and the co-chair of its Affordable Housing Committee. The audio, video and transcript are below.

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Transcript of this interview:

HOPE stands for the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality. It is an interfaith, multi-diverse, interfaith group of 27 congregations, and we are here to try and make sure that there is justice for all in Hillsborough County.

SK: And HOPE is known for what is called its Nehemiah action. So describe what those things are.

Nehemiah action is our largest congregational gathering, and this past year, we had over 1,500 people. And we come together to talk about the issues that HOPE has worked on throughout the year. Throughout the year, HOPE has worked on four issues: affordable housing, mental health and addiction, criminal justice and care for creation. At this Nehimiah action, we have the decision-makers coming to give their statements, statements of support, statements of concern. But above all, we ask them if they will support the different actions that we have put forth. This past year, we had Commissioner [Pat] Kemp, former Commissioner Owen and Commissioner [Harry] Cohen, to come and participate. And luckily, this year, one of the real things that happened was that part of the mental health and addiction issue is permanent supportive housing. And we got Commissioner Cohen to go to Lakeland, to visit one of the facilities, the Castle facilities. And this was an opportunity for him to really see how permanent supportive housing is helping, particularly our residents with special needs and disabilities. And so that was one of the things that came out of the Nehimiah action. We are looking forward to Nehemiah action this coming year, and we will again be focusing on mental health and addiction as well as affordable housing and care for creation.

SK: And I’ve heard affordable housing a lot in what you’re saying. And that’s going to be most of the topic for this interview. Because in 2019 that was one of HOPE’s focuses as well, and you convinced the Hillsborough County Commission to create what’s known as the HOPE Affordable Housing Act and the Hope Fund. So what are all of those things?

The HOPE Fund. Well, first thing, it took about six years for this to happen, and so it actually was approved in 2019. And what we’re doing in terms of the HOPE affordable housing is the opportunity for the county to create quality housing, particularly for seniors, veterans, families with disabilities, residents with disabilities, and above all, working families from low and very low income. This has been a major part of the fund, and up till now, we have actually created over 1,200 affordable homes throughout the county, and hoping to do even more.

SK: The Hillsborough County Commission for years and years, since 2019 it has put funds, I think it’s ten million a year, into this HOPE Fund for affordable housing. So what might change this year?

Well, actually it changed, Sean, last year in the 2024 budget, when actually $8 million was taken from the HOPE affordable housing fund and left only 2 million. So it started last year, and people were very sad. People were devastated. Because the thing about the HOPE Fund, yes, there are a lot of money coming into the department of affordable housing at the county level. But what you have to understand is that each of these different programs actually have different activities, some for construction, some for building homes for not only just low-income families, but moderate families. But the main difference is that the HOPE affordable housing fund is strictly built and working towards helping to support low and very low income families. One of the things that that happened then just recently, then on July 31st a motion was made to totally defund the Affordable Housing Fund, meaning even taken away and not funding it by the $2 million that was left from last year. We were very happy that that motion was not passed, and so we are still urging the county commissioners to approve the ten million that’s in the budget currently, and it’s in there through the ordinance, but now just because it’s in the ordinance does not mean that they actually have to fund the program. So we’re asking and urging them please, to approve and support putting the ten million into the county budget. The thing that’s also interesting Sean is that we have a ten billion dollar county budget, and this 10 billion is like .1% literally pennies in the overall budget. And I know so many times you know, when we are there at the county commission meeting, it’s always well, we have all of this money already for affordable housing. Well, those are, as I stated earlier, different programs, and they all have their rules and regulations. Again, the HOPE affordable fund is strictly for our residents that are hurting. And right now, we have over 97,000 of our residents right now that are spending over a third of their income just on housing. And I was looking at the Shimburg report that was out probably little over a year ago, and these figures still have not improved. So when you say, how much can workers afford to pay for housing each month? So if you are a waiter, waitress, cashier, farmer, a laundry, child care worker, you can only afford to pay about 500 to $600 a month. That’s based on your income of $21,000 to about $41,000. Right now, in this in our county, it is very difficult to find housing that you’re going to be paying five to $600. The other thing that I want to point out is that those persons that have moved into the housing facilities that use the HOPE Fund, they do pay rent. And I think that there’s a myth out there that they are freeloaders and they are just just there, not working, not paying rent. That is not true. They are working families, and they do pay rent, and the rent is paid according to their income. So there’s a scale. So there’s a lot of information and a lot of education and awareness that needs to be shared about this whole issue of affordable housing here in our county, and we do have an affordable accountability problem right now in the county.

SK: Since 2019, $48 million of local funds have been used to create, as you mentioned, 1200 more affordable housing units. Part of that money is used to purchase land to create hundreds more housing units through the development of public-private partnerships. And the affordability of these homes is based on the fact that people, it’s for people with very low incomes, and that’s so that’s no less than 30% of the fund goes to people with 30% AMI, and there’s that’s the median income, and Low to low-income people who have no less than 30 80% of AMI, but it’s capped at 100% of AMI, with only 5% of that fund going toward administration. So what can you tell us about the fund and what it pays for?

The fund actually, first thing the fund is used is really like a gap measure, and it provides funds so that the county can leverage, using that money to leverage to get other funds, whether it is state funds and/or federal funds. The other thing that it is used for is, as you said earlier, is to provide the housing, particularly for low-income families, particularly for our veterans, but particularly for also our seniors. Right now our seniors, they are the fastest-growing cost-burdened population in our county. And given the fact that school is starting, one of the real benefits of the Affordable Housing Fund and providing this housing is that it really improves the education opportunities for students. Needless to say, when students are in a stable home environment, they are more likely to be successful in school, get higher education attainment, and it really keeps them from being disruptive in terms of the moves that they have to make and changing schools. So there are a lot of benefits of this fund. Another one that I want to bring up is that it also allows aging in place. That really hits on the issue of our seniors, because for our seniors, it allows them, when they’re in the Affordable Housing Fund units that we have helped to provide, they live comfortably. And it is without some of the financial burden that they are experiencing and right, as I said earlier, they are the largest growing population in our county that is currently financially burdened. The other thing that it provides is the opportunity for us to reduce public cost. And in reducing public cost, I mean that it helps to eliminate and sort of move away from totally using emergency services, particularly for our disabled citizens. And this is a part of the work around the permanent supportive housing, and we have one that we visited, like I said earlier, at Castle in Lakeland, and we are hoping that we get these kinds of facilities here, because it reduces the Baker Acts, it reduces incarceration, but above all, it begins to stabilize our community, particularly those with special needs. And the last thing, what it does, it really helps to improve the economic stability of our families, low and very low-income families, because it allows them, then not to try to make a decision whether they’re going to pay their rent or buy food or transportation. So these are some of the benefits of the Affordable Housing Fund.

SK: The Hillsborough County Commission will be voting. It will have hearings that is on the budget, public hearings on September 12 at six o’clock in the evening, and September 19 at six in the evening. As we wrap up here, is there anything else, Dr Sheila Simmons Tribble, that people should know about this affordable housing in Hillsboro County and about these budget meetings for Hillsborough County Commission.

Yes, the main thing I want the of the public to know is that we should not be looking for housing for all. Hope is about housing for all and particularly our most vulnerable residents here in our county. Our call to action are two things. Number one is to attend those two meetings, September the 12th, at 6pm and September the 19th, to show your support for affordable housing. But also the second call to action is to contact your county commissioner and urging them to approve the ten million dollars. We do want to make sure that the community is involved, engaged and empowered to make a difference in Hillsborough County.

Also on Tuesday Café on August 6, 2024

The ACLU of Florida turns 60 next year and is welcoming a new executive director this year. On WMNF’s Tuesday Cafe, we spoke with Bacardi Jackson, the new executive director of the ACLU of Florida and Howard Simon, the long-time executive director of the ACLU of Florida about a range of state issues from voting rights to Amendment Three and Amendment Four on this November’s ballot.