June 08, 2023

About 40 percent of young people experiencing homelessness are part of the LGBTQ community, according University of Chicago researchers. “LGBTQ+ youth primarily experience homelessness due to family rejection,” said Josh Egeland, program manager of David’s Place. Without family support or any financial cushion, these young people are at increased risk of experiencing violence both on the streets and within shelter systems.

Colorado is adopting minimum building standards to fight climate change, making new buildings more energy efficient and equipped for electric vehicles and solar panels. The state aims to cut climate-warming pollution by 50 percent by 2030 and eliminate it entirely by 2050.

Homeowners nationwide face foreclosure threats from investors who own their forgotten second mortgages. Lenders often “charged off” these loans years ago, deeming them unlikely to be repaid after borrowers fell behind, and stopped sending homeowners statements. As such, many homeowners stopped receiving statements and assumed the loans had been discharged. But now, they're discovering their lenders sold the mortgages to other investors, who are demanding repayment as home prices surge.

The revival of congressional earmarks, now known as Community Project Funding, presents an opportunity to address the challenge of funding renovations for existing affordable housing. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, is urging representatives to allocate $40 million from their allotted earmark requests for a crucial housing project. “There’s always some things that the community really needs that none of the federal programs are paying for. The earmarks can be used to fill that out,” said Steve Berg, chief policy officer for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.