Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program Presents Many Opportunities
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| Kathy Brown is coordinator of the Boston Tenant Coalition and David Harris is executive director of the Faith Housing Center of Greater Boston. Both organizations are participants in Action for Regional Equity (Action!), a coalition of 20 Massachusetts equity organizations united to address continuing disparities in affordable housing, transportation investment and environmental justice. |
By Kathy Brown and David Harris
This month the Romney administration and the Legislature face hard choices as they debate the fiscal year 2006 budget. The dire fiscal situation the commonwealth experienced during the first half of this decade left programs that serve low-income tenants like the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) underfunded, despite recently improved tax receipts. But if Gov. Romney and the Legislature think their task a challenge, they should put themselves in the shoes of a program participant. Take Robin. Robin has been trying to stay in the Dorchester neighborhood so that her 17-year-old daughter can attend Boston Latin School and increase her chances for a college education. Despite working a steady retail job and putting in frequent overtime, staying has meant committing an astonishing 72 percent of her income to rent a standard two-bedroom apartment. “When people hear that, their mouths fall open,” she says, smiling. “Mine does too.”
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