Episode 2: The COVID Eviction Crisis with Karen DuBois-Walton

YIMBY Nation (Yes, In My Back Yard)

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Welcome to the first episode of Your In My Back Yard Nation, the podcast that looks at housing from a macro level to understand the aspects of life it impacts. In this episode, we invite Dr. Karen DuBois-Walton to help us address the COVID eviction crisis which disproportionately affects Black and Latinx renters in Connecticut. Dr. DuBois-Walton is the President of Elm City Communities, the largest public housing authority in the state of Connecticut. Before taking the helm of the ECC she served New Haven as Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for former Mayor John DeStefano. She has also been named one of the 100 most influential Blacks in Connecticut and was awarded the Greater New Haven NAACP Community Service Award, so we cannot think of a better guest to kick off the show! Our conversation begins on the subject of the housing crisis and how it has been exacerbated by the pandemic. We then dig deeper into the issue of long-term housing segregation and poverty in communities of color which have sown the seeds for what we are experiencing today. Dr. Dubois-Walton weighs in on actions that have and can still be taken by federal, state, and local governments to help address the issue. She also talks about some of the advocacy she has headed up such as pulling together non-federal funds to cancel rent for an entire month. Tune in and hear more about how Dr. DuBois-Walton is helping to break cycles of poverty in Connecticut today.

Key Points From This Episode:

• An intro into Dr. DuBois-Walton and the amazing work she does for Connecticut.
• How the issue of eviction disproportionately affects people of color in Connecticut.
• Lack of affordable housing access and how the pandemic has exacerbated this issue.
• A severe crisis looming; smaller landlords that can’t weather tenants who can’t pay rent.
• Actions that can be taken by federal, state, and local governments to help address the issue.
• On-the-ground actions that Dr. DuBois-Walton has headed up to aid the crisis.
• How private sectors can help ECC aid people who can’t afford rent in the long term.
• Tough decisions families have to make between work and family and how this feeds the issue.
• Dr. DuBois-Walton weighs in on the history of housing policy and the broader issue of segregation.
• How our guest is trying to address the issue of segregation and rental through HB No. 6430.
• The work of breaking cycles of poverty for families and helping them build wealth.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Karen DuBois-Walton

Karen DuBois-Walton on Twitter

Elm City Communities