Catholic Charities’ Executive Director speaks out against housing cuts on Capitol Hill
Marlene Laó-Collins, Executive Director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton, met with members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation July 26,2017 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. Over 450 advocates joined her in the effort to restore funding for housing programs, many of them were clients of Catholic Charities.
According to Laó-Collins, “The need for affordable housing in New Jersey is immense. We are the sixth most expensive state for home rental; in order to afford a modest two-bedroom home a family must earn an hourly wage of $27.31, far more than the state’s average hourly wage of $17.86 or the $8.44 minimum wage.”
Laó-Collins shared the following with New Jersey’s congressional representatives: “Despite the growing need, 3 out of every 4 families in need of housing assistance are turned away due to a lack of funding. Therefore, we need more, not less investment in affordable housing. President Trump’s budget proposes to further slash investments in affordable housing by $7.4 billion, or 15 percent. This move could increase homelessness and housing poverty in our community.”
To illustrate how housing assistance has impacted residents, Catholic Charities clients addressed the delegation as well:
How housing assistance impacted Sean’s life…
New Jersey’s congressional representatives met Sean Duffy, who 41 years old and lives in Trenton, New Jersey. He is a constituent of Congressman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12.)
Sean was homeless for two years. In December 2016, through the help of Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton, he moved into his own apartment and could not be happier. He pays his rent with assistance from a Section 8 housing voucher and is waiting for his case for social security insurance to be processed.
In 2006, he gave up drinking but then become homeless. Sean said, “I picked myself up by my boot straps. But I still needed some help and the housing voucher is what got me off the street. Please keep funding for these programs.”
Sean said that “he is looking forward to attending the July 26 Congressional Reception again this year.” According to Sean, he got a lot out of last year’s Reception and was inspired by the stories of others whose lives have been rebuilt through housing.
#NoHousingCuts.