On a hot August Saturday afternoon in southern Oregon, community members trickled into Phoenix High School's auditorium. Some brought their children and stopped to grab a free lunch of enchiladas and watermelon juice from Rogue Food Unites before taking their seats at a cluster of round tables. They talked as they ate, enjoying the sun that filtered through the large windows.

In mid-July, NeighborWorks America released its 2022 Housing and Financial Capability Survey confirming, as it has in previous years, the overwhelming desire of Americans to own their own homes.

In mid-July, NeighborWorks America released its 2022 Housing and Financial Capability Survey confirming, as it has in previous years, the overwhelming desire of Americans to own their own homes.

Stories bring community together. Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership (SMHP) learned this years ago, and has used storytelling and the arts to educate and share experiences of the wide variety of people who live in Worthington, Marshall, Wilmer and points between. 

"We've been kicking the can down the road," explains Christopher Spence, a housing expert who has worked in the industry since 1992. He's referring to rent and fees some tenants are delaying paying off, due to pandemic-related hardships. Protections have kept them housed, but the rent will eventually come due.  "Just because landlords are not moving forward with eviction doesn't mean tenants don't have fees accruing," Spence says. 

Brenda Torpy, CEO of Champlain Housing Trust, may be leaving her post, but she isn't exactly retiring. Torpy, director of the Burlington Community Land Trust since 1991, before it merged with Lake Champlain Housing Development Corp., will serve as lead consultant for Champlain Housing Trust's new Technical Assistance Arm, TA/CHT, providing training and support services.