Mass Union is excited to meet with Ben Stone, the head of the Division of Public Housing at EOHLC, next week. (EOHLC means the “Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, which is the new DHCD.) We have several agenda items we are planning to discuss, based on input from tenants across the state. Here is our agenda:
- The status of regulatory updates to rent and other topics that were begun before COVID
- Problems with the town tenant LHA board member appointment process
- Increasing state Tenant Participation Funding to $25/unit/year, in order to match federal housing
- Making sure tenants have a say in Housing Authority management agreements and mergers before they happen
- Highlighting and enforcing grievance regulations
Stay tuned for an update about the meeting later in December.
Other Policy Updates
- Mass Union has nine policy areas that we are working on. Two of them are addressed in the bond bill, which is officially called the Affordable Homes Act. Read our statement about the Affordable Homes Act here. We will be working on the bond bill throughout the spring, until it is passed, to ensure that the full $1.6 billion is allocated for capital repairs in public housing, and tenants are guaranteed protections during redevelopment.
- Last week, Mass Union board chair Dave Underhill sent this letter to Governor Healey and high-ranking members of her Administration, such as Secretary Augustus. We asked Governor Healey to provide $189 million for public housing in the FY25 operating subsidy, and to fund our other priorities.
- If you’ve read this far, consider joining Mass Union’s policy committee! We meet every other Friday to advance our policy agenda. Contact Ben if you are interested, ben@massunion.org.