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The community leaders and experts were assembled by Lisa
McDuffie, CEO of YWCA of Northwest Ohio and Robin Reese, CEO
of Lucas County Children Services.
Now Toledo’s Black Agenda will be made available to local
government agencies, along with a host of private and public
companies and entities in order to gather community-wide
support for the demands and suggestions proposed in the
report.
We are printing excerpts from the report over the next few
weeks. The following is an excerpt from the fifth pillar –
the Housing Pillar.
The entire report, with citations, can be read online at
thetruthtoledo.com
Part V: The Housing Pillar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of the housing pillar is to address the racial
disparities in Toledo's housing market in the areas of
rental, homeownership, and community development. Housing is
a basic need, thus essential for personal, family and
community stability. The call to improve current and legacy
living conditions of black people must be addressed while
simultaneously working to improve the quality of education,
creating living wage opportunities and building an economic
future for a better community. The Housing pillar equally
influences the current and generational impact by the clear
lack of economic, education, mental health outcomes and
physical health indicators. An individual’s inability to
maintain a home reduces the capability to earn a safe and
affordable housing option, overpowers one’s psychological
and physical health, long-term concentration, successful
graduation from school, and in the place of employment.
The historic redlining and other government-backed
discriminatory lending practices embolden segregation and
disinvestment that impacts the black community today. The
Housing pillar uplifts the urgency to recognize this
injustice as a public health issue. The ability for an
individual to own a stable, quality, safe and affordable
house impacts all health outcomes. According to leading
health experts, blacks have a shorter live expectancy and
represent the majority of diseases and conditions that
impact health indictors. LEAD is a public health crisis.
Since 2016, nearly 1,000 Toledo children age 6 and younger
have had confirmed blood-lead levels higher than the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s threshold for concern.
Estimates are that nearly 3,500 children in the city now are
suffering the lifelong, permanent disabilities that come
with lead poisoning (Toledo Blade 2019)
The City of Toledo’s residents are majority renters and not
homeowners, and Black Toledoans are the majority of renters.
In 2019, according to a Blade analysis of federal mortgage
data, Black Toledoans are twice as likely to receive a
denied conventional home loan application compared to other
race applicants.
Black renters, especially single mothers, are evicted at a
higher rate than other races. Studies suggest that there is
a high correlation between eviction rates, minorities and
poverty. The high unemployment rate for black workers and
increased home prices create a high probability that
applicants won’t secure the necessary down-payment to
achieve homeownership.
Educational advancements also factor into the link to
homeownership, for both blacks and whites, but black
households with a bachelor’s degree are less likely to own
their home compared to whites who earned a high school
diploma.
STATISTICAL ANNALYSIS
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The Market
The city of Toledo has approximately 274,973 residents. Of
that, 27.1% are Black, 74,242. Toledo's population is
declining between 1-3% annually.
The median household income in Toledo in 2018 was $35,339,
for Black Toledo residents, the median household income was
$21,788, whereas the states median household income was
$54,021
Toledo has a poverty rate of 26.5%, whereas 37% of Black
Toledo residents are living in poverty
Sales Market - The median home value in Toledo in 2018 was
$78,400, whereas the states' median home value was $144,200.
A home for some families represent household wealth and
often represents the most significant asset on a household's
balance sheet, according to the Survey of Consumer Finances.
However, the racial gap in the homeownership rate has
limited the financial benefits that accrue to black
households, contributing to the broader racial disparity in
wealth accumulation.
Rental Market - Some studies have covered up the racial
disparities by labeling the issues in the black communities
under the banner of poverty. Pointing the blame for the lack
of affordable housing is due to the transit nature of people
in poverty. Rent in Toledo is also considered to be on the
inexpensive, with median rent averaging $709 per month,
compared with the national median rent rate of $1,419 per
month. 51% of all renters in Toledo are paying rates that
are considered a burden to the renter.
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Housing Crisis Statistics
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In 2017, the black homeownership rate (41.8 percent) was
the lowest of all racial and ethnic groups. Between 2000
and 2017, the black homeownership rate dropped 4.8
percentage points—a loss of about 770,000 black
homeowners—while the homeownership rates of other racial
and ethnic groups either remained constant or increased.
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Median household income for black households is
substantially lower than for white households ($38,183
versus $61,363 in 2017). The homeownership gap is larger
for low- income households likely because low-income
white families, on average, have higher household
wealth, and young white adults are more likely to have
access to financial support from their parents. Reducing
the income gap would reduce the black-white
homeownership gap by about 9 percentage points.
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More than 50 percent of white households have a FICO
credit score above 700, compared with only 20.6 percent
of black families. Thirty-three percent of black
households with credit histories have insufficient
credit and lack a credit score, while only 17.9 percent
of white households have missing credit scores. The
share of black families with a mortgage would increase
10.6 percentage points if their credit score
distribution were the same as the distribution for white
households.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The COVID pandemic elevated the urgency to address the
inevitable onslaught of evictions and potential homelessness
post CARES ACT protections. We see the need to create a
sustainable plan for safe, affordable housing within black
communities. The following is a list of tangible solutions:
Renters
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More money and easier access to emergency rental
assistance programs
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Pay to Stay ordinance
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Local eviction moratorium
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Eviction Taskforce with member(s) from the Black
community
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Outreach and Education
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Funding for and Creation of safe, healthy and affordable
rental housing
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Creation of Tenants Associations
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Right to Counsel for eviction cases
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Eviction Record Sealing
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Holding Slum Lords responsible for conditions issues
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Lead
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Air Quality – mold/mildew
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Repairs to make properties safe, healthy, and
habitable.
Homeowners / Buyers
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Change lending practices
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Demand policy changes nationally
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provide sustainable alternative solutions at the
local level
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Build Trust with lending institutions - Improving
diversity within the industry offers an opportunity
to build Trust with black borrowers who have lost
confidence in financial institutions from past
experiences.
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Improving Loan Officer Diversity/Inclusion
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Promote an equitable and accessible housing finance
system
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Outreach and Education
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create opportunities to simplify and improve
accessibility to down payment assistance programs.
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Urban Institute states
there are more than 2,500+ down payment
assistance programs across the country with
several of the program's funds not being
utilized. This is because of a lack of awareness
and understanding about the availability of the
programs.
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outreach and counseling for renters and
mortgage-ready millennials
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Sustain homeownership
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Pre-purchase and Post Purchase Counseling and
support services
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Legacy building
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Education
Community Development
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is an approach to
sustainable community-driven development. Beyond the
mobilization of a particular community, it is concerned with
how to link micro-assets to the macro-environment. Asset
Based Community Development’s premise is that communities
can drive the development process themselves by identifying
and mobilizing existing, but often unrecognized assets.
Thereby responding to challenges and creating local social
improvement and economic development
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ABCD Approach
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Individuals – EVERYONE IS AND / OR HAS ASSETS AND
GIFTS.
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At the center are residents of the community who
all have gifts and skills. Individual gifts and
assets need to be recognized and identified. In
community development you cannot do anything
with people’s needs, only their assets. Deficits
or needs are only useful to institutions.
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Associations – PEOPLE DISCOVER EACH OTHER’S GIFTS.
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Small informal groups of people, such as clubs,
working with a common interest as volunteers are
called associations in ABCD, and are critical to
community mobilization. They don’t control
anything; they are just coming together around a
common interest by their individual choice.
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Institutions – PEOPLE ORGANIZED AROUND ASSETS.
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Paid groups of people that generally are
professionals who are structurally organized are
called institutions. They include government
agencies and private business, as well as
schools, etc. They can all be valuable
resources. The assets of these institutions help
the community capture valuable resources and
establish a sense of civic responsibility.
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Place based assets – PEOPLE LIVE HERE FOR A REASON.
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Land, buildings, heritage, public and green
spaces are all examples of assets for the
community. Every place where people choose to be
was chosen for good reasons, and whilst people
remain those reasons remain. A place might be a
center of natural resources, a hub of activity,
living skills, transit connection or
marketplace. Whatever the strengths of a place
are, the people of the community will be the
closest to understanding it.
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Connections – INDIVIDUALS CONNECT INTO A COMMUNITY.
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Asset Based Community Development recognizes
that the exchange between people sharing their
gifts and assets creates connections, and these
connections are a vital asset to the community.
People whose gift is to find and create these
connections are called connectors. It takes time
to find out about individuals; this is normally
done through building relationships, person by
person. The social relationships, networks and
trust form the social capital of a community.
ABCD recognizes the value of these assets, and
is a practical application of building
relationships to increase social capital.
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Focus on mixed-income based communities
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Discourage black flight
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Build amenities for families
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Improve parks and recreations within black
communities
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Improve Shopping options that are close to home
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Grocery stores within 2 miles of home
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Increase pride in the community
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Alternative security and promote safety
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Promote cleanliness and lawn care
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Home maintenance and repair classes
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Tax education
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Improve Housing Stock and options within black
communities
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Tackle housing supply constraints and affordability
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Create tax incentives for first-time buyers,
buyers that renovate dilapidated houses, and
renters moving into homeownership
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Use opportunity zone investments for
developers/builders to build condo communities
within those areas.
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Rezone areas with large lots of unused land for
factory-built homes and manufactured and modular
homes
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"some cities have taken bold actions to
reform zoning and land-use regulations.
Factory-built housing production, like
manufactured and modular housing, could also
increase homeownership affordability and
supply….. Contrary to common perception,
recent research highlights that some
manufactured homes appreciate at similar
rates as site-built homes. Manufactured
housing has evolved and could be an
affordable solution for helping black
families get on the path to homeownership."
Urban Institution, Alana Mccargo -
five-point plan to improve black
homeownership.
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Blight elimination Plan for impact of community
safety and livability
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Information for renter and homeowner
support regarding rehab/ renovation and
taxes
HEALTH CARE EQUITY & JUSTICE PILLAR
THE EDUCATION PILLAR
THE ECONOMIC JUSTICE PILLAR
The Toledo Black Agenda Report
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