The City of Newburgh Housing Coalition held its “who’s who in housing: from homelessness to homeownership” community forum last Thursday in the Newburgh City Enlarged School District Board of Education Auditorium on 124 Grand Street.

The housing coalition is made up of various organizations that focus on housing services.

“We’re all tied together in housing,” said Corey Allen, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh. “Whether you’re a renter or an owner, someone who’s looking to rent, if you have homelessness issues right now. These services all tie in together.”

The forum featured various organizations like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, Safe Harbors of the Hudson, PathStone, and more.

The forum presented subsidized and affordable housing options for members of the community. It focused on renting and the transition to ownership.

Habitat for Humanity is one organization that focuses on increasing home ownership.

“We [Habitat] help people make that transition from becoming a renter to homeowner,” said Allen. “I’m going to tell you why this is important.”
Allen explained, “minority-ownership is at an all-time low.”

“Black-folks specifically,” said Allen. “You guys own 5.6 percent of the homes in Newburgh out of 9,000 plus units. Rents are going up, as this city gets developed. The houses are going to increase in value, rents going to increase in value. So, you want to become a homeowner. You don’t want to sit somewhere for five years, ten years, and walk away with nothing to show for it.”

Independent Living focuses on renting services. They have an office at the Cornerstone residence. Cornerstone is a 128 single room occupancy apartment that was opened as part of Safe Harbors of the Hudson. The building specifically focuses on providing affordable housing to those most in need. Independent Living does Cornerstone’s case management service. They also have other offices in Newburgh, Middletown, and Monticello.

Their housing services focus on individuals with mental health issues, the formerly incarcerated, the homeless, and more.

Despite the existence of organizations that provide housing services, the waitlist to access an affordable unit can sometimes take months to years to get off of.

Community Voices Heard is an activist organization that specifically focuses on raising awareness of housing issues like the long waitlist to access a unit. They will be holding a tenant rights forum on Tuesday, December 17, at 6:30 p.m. at 388 Ann Street.

At the end, attendees were given the opportunity to go to the booths of each organization and ask questions.