On an expert panel called “Good Intentions vs. Good Laws: Why Housing Advocacy Matters”, Professor Lisa Lucile Owens discussed the Housing Choice Voucher Program and its strengths and shortcomings.
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On an expert panel called “Good Intentions vs. Good Laws: Why Housing Advocacy Matters”, visiting UMass Law Professor Lisa Lucile Owens discussed the Housing Choice Voucher Program and its strengths and shortcomings. The panel, which also included Sharon Norwood (Housing Justice Organizer, Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance) and Michael Chavarria (Executive Director, HOPE Fair Housing Center), addressed the history of affordable housing and the role of federal government programs in housing justice.
Professor Owens examined how the Housing Choice Voucher Program has failed to allow voucher holders to choose to live in high opportunity neighborhoods or to deconcentrate voucher recipients. As well, Professor Owens discussed how the voucher program and other federal programs can fail to adequately emphasize neighborhood preservation and the opportunities which the voucher program presents which are not readily taken advantage of, such as the opportunity for recipients to use vouchers to purchase homes, an important aspect of personal wealth building and social mobility.