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He won the NYC housing lottery after applying more than 60 times. Now, he pays $2,300 in rent for his Brooklyn apartment.

• Josh Ayala, 26, won the New York City affordable-housing lottery after applying for about a year.
• His monthly rent for a studio apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is $2,345.
• The average ratio for the housing lottery is 450 applications for each rental unit.

When Josh Ayala first received a call about a Brooklyn apartment he'd applied for under New York City's affordable-housing lottery , he was surprised.

It was February 2023, more than 8 months since he sent in his application for that apartment building.

"I was like, wait, what? I totally forgot I applied to this," Ayala, 26, told Business Insider.

The affordable-housing lotteries are run by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, or HPD, and the Housing Development Corporation.

Ayala was 21 when he first learned about the program from a colleague at his old job.

"Someone was talking about the New York City Housing Connect, and they mentioned how you could move into new buildings with affordable rent," Ayala said. "I wasn't ready to move out yet, but I thought it was a good program. I want to make sure I apply to this when I do want to move."

Fast-forward two years, and it was finally time for him to strike out on his own.

He was coming from a three-bedroom home in Queens, where he lived with his family.

At that time, Ayala had just left his job to pursue his passion in the creative field and was accepted into One School, a program aimed at helping Black creatives craft a portfolio to work in the ad industry.

"I had already been applying for homes during the program," Ayala said. "Literally, as soon as I ended that program and got recruited for a job, that's when I started to hear back from places."

One apartment to 450 applicants

To qualify for a lottery apartment, each household must meet specific income requirements, which vary across developments depending on unit size and location.

Both rental and homeownership units are available, and application is free.

While applicants don't need to be US citizens, NYC residents get priority, Aileen Reynolds, the assistant commissioner of housing opportunity at HPD, told BI.

But competition is stiff: According to the HPD, on average, there are 450 applications received per rental unit.

Related stories

Ayala, an art director, said he sent out more than 60 applications for different buildings all across NYC. He wanted a spacious apartment with plenty of natural light.

"I feel like in New York, so much of the year is cold or gloomy during the winter. If I'm going to be in a small space and then not have light, it's going to be very bad for my mental health ," Ayala said. "I was also looking at proximity to things to do and the subway — I didn't want to be very far removed from things happening."

Despite viewing a couple of different apartments prior, none of them stood out to him like his current place — in Greenpoint — which checked off all the items on his list.

The studio had large windows and came with both a washer and dryer and a dishwasher. It was also six minutes from an East River Route ferry terminal, with East 34th Street in Manhattan as the next stop, and an eight-minute walk from the Greenpoint Avenue subway station.

Ayala knew he'd found the right space. Within a month of the viewing, he was offered the apartment and signed the lease. In June 2023, he moved in.

He recently renewed his lease for another year and now pays $2,345 in rent monthly and $230 for the building's amenity fees.

The median monthly rent for a studio apartment in Greenpoint is $3,988, according to the latest August data from RentHop.com.

"Lease offers are always one or two years — it's the applicant's choice — and then they have to be offered a renewal," Reynolds said. "The city's rent stabilization program also restricts how much the rent can go up each year."

And the income and household size requirements apply only during the initial move-in, Reynolds added.

"Of course, if they're anticipating a change in their household that they know about at the time of move-in, they should disclose that. But if it's something that unexpectedly happens several months or even years in, there's no impact on their lease or their apartment situation," Reynolds said.

An apartment of his own

Ayala said the day he moved into the apartment felt surreal because it was his first home.

"And I didn't have anything really yet because I've never been in an apartment, so I had to buy all new things or find things for my space. So it felt like a very blank canvas," he added.

He estimated the apartment to be about 500 square feet but said the abundance of natural light made it feel more spacious.

"In a way, I'm glad. If it were any bigger, it would be more complicated to clean, maintain, and furnish," Ayala said.

Ayala's apartment is cozy, colorful, and filled with art pieces — many of which are his own.

It's hard to describe his space as any one theme, though he said he liked midcentury and Scandinavian styles . One thing's for sure — he believes in investing in quality furniture pieces.

"I have spent a good amount of money on my couch, my table, and stuff like that. But to me, the way that I view it is there are pieces that can last me literally forever," Ayala said, adding that he could always resell them or give them away if he didn't want them anymore.

Moving into this apartment also got him even more interested in interior design — so much so that he's even started a TikTok channel to document his journey transforming and decorating his space.

"I would say investing in your space and making it your style is also important. I'm not just filling a space because I need a couch, so I'm just going to buy any couch and throw it out when I get my dream house," Ayala said. "To me, that's wasteful too."

A life-changing opportunity

Living in NYC doesn't come cheap ,  and housing is an even bigger headache: The  median sales price for homes  hit $785,000 in early 2024, while the  median rent in NYC  is $3,684. All while city housing inventory is at its lowest since 1968 .

Not only that, but rents in NYC increased seven times as fast as wages from 2022 to 2023, a StreetEasy analysis found. Even the city's tech workers — who make $135,000 on average — can't afford to rent most of the apartments on the market.

And that's why Ayala is also passionate about sharing his housing-lottery journey with his followers on TikTok.

"I'm surprised at how many, who are from New York and have lived there their whole lives, don't know that this program even exists, Ayala said.

Even though it takes time — sometimes even years — for people to hear back or be successful in their bid, winning the housing lottery could, quite literally, be life-changing.

That's why he recommends applying to as many places under the housing lottery as possible.

"I feel like a lot of people close the door on opportunities that could potentially come their way before even applying," Ayala said. "Be open to exploring different areas of the city because you literally never know when you'll get a call back or get the chance to view an apartment."

He suggests keeping important documents — such as birth certificates, bank documents, and pay slips — on hand so that they can be easily retrieved when required during the housing-lottery application process.

It also helps to ensure the files are labeled correctly for ease of review.

"The person who is going to review the applications is not going to know what it is, and they're going to have to go in and see what each thing is," Ayala said. "But if you make that process easier for people, it also makes it easier for them to reach out to you more quickly."

Have you recently built or renovated your dream home? If you've got a story to share, get in touch with me at [email protected] .

• Main content

What Kamala Harris has said so far on key issues in her campaign

As she ramps up her nascent presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is revealing how she will address the key issues facing the nation.

In speeches and rallies, she has voiced support for continuing many of President Joe Biden’s measures, such as lowering drug costs , forgiving student loan debt and eliminating so-called junk fees. But Harris has made it clear that she has her own views on some key matters, particularly Israel’s treatment of Gazans in its war with Hamas.

In a departure from her presidential run in 2020, the Harris campaign has confirmed that she’s moved away from many of her more progressive stances, such as her interest in a single-payer health insurance system and a ban on fracking.

Harris is also expected to put her own stamp and style on matters ranging from abortion to the economy to immigration, as she aims to walk a fine line of taking credit for the administration’s accomplishments while not being jointly blamed by voters for its shortcomings.

Her early presidential campaign speeches have offered insights into her priorities, though she’s mainly voiced general talking points and has yet to release more nuanced plans. Like Biden, she intends to contrast her vision for America with that of former President Donald Trump. ( See Trump’s campaign promises here .)

“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past,” she told members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta at an event in Indianapolis in late July. “And with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.”

Here’s what we know about Harris’ views:

Harris took on the lead role of championing abortion rights for the administration after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. This past January, she started a “ reproductive freedoms tour ” to multiple states, including a stop in Minnesota thought to be the first by a sitting US president or vice president at an abortion clinic .

On abortion access, Harris embraced more progressive policies than Biden in the 2020 campaign, as a candidate criticizing his previous support for the Hyde Amendment , a measure that blocks federal funds from being used for most abortions.

Policy experts suggested that although Harris’ current policies on abortion and reproductive rights may not differ significantly from Biden’s, as a result of her national tour and her own focus on maternal health , she may be a stronger messenger.

High prices are a top concern for many Americans who are struggling to afford the cost of living after a spell of steep inflation. Many voters give Biden poor marks for his handling of the economy, and Harris may also face their wrath.

In her early campaign speeches, Harris has echoed many of the same themes as Biden, saying she wants to give Americans more opportunities to get ahead. She’s particularly concerned about making care – health care, child care, elder care and family leave – more affordable and available.

Harris promised at a late July rally to continue the Biden administration’s drive to eliminate so-called “junk fees” and to fully disclose all charges, such as for events, lodging and car rentals. In early August, the administration proposed a rule that would ban airlines from charging parents extra fees to have their kids sit next to them.

On day one, I will take on price gouging and bring down costs. We will ban more of those hidden fees and surprise late charges that banks and other companies use to pad their profits.”

Since becoming vice president, Harris has taken more moderate positions, but a look at her 2020 campaign promises reveals a more progressive bent than Biden.

As a senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Harris proposed providing middle-class and working families with a refundable tax credit of up to $6,000 a year (per couple) to help keep up with living expenses. Titled the LIFT the Middle Class Act, or Livable Incomes for Families Today, the measure would have cost at the time an estimated $3 trillion over 10 years.

Unlike a typical tax credit, the bill would allow taxpayers to receive the benefit – up to $500 – on a monthly basis so families don’t have to turn to payday loans with very high interest rates.

As a presidential candidate, Harris also advocated for raising the corporate income tax rate to 35%, where it was before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump and congressional Republicans pushed through Congress reduced the rate to 21%. That’s higher than the 28% Biden has proposed.

Affordable housing was also on Harris’ radar. As a senator, she introduced the Rent Relief Act, which would establish a refundable tax credit for renters who annually spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent and utilities. The amount of the credit would range from 25% to 100% of the excess rent, depending on the renter’s income.

Harris called housing a human right and said in a 2019 news release on the bill that every American deserves to have basic security and dignity in their own home.

Consumer debt

Hefty debt loads, which weigh on people’s finances and hurt their ability to buy homes, get car loans or start small businesses, are also an area of interest to Harris.

As vice president, she has promoted the Biden administration’s initiatives on student debt, which have so far forgiven more than $168 billion for nearly 4.8 million borrowers . In mid-July, Harris said in a post on X that “nearly 950,000 public servants have benefitted” from student debt forgiveness, compared with only 7,000 when Biden was inaugurated.

A potential Harris administration could keep that momentum going – though some of Biden’s efforts have gotten tangled up in litigation, such as a program aimed at cutting monthly student loan payments for roughly 3 million borrowers enrolled in a repayment plan the administration implemented last year.

The vice president has also been a leader in the White House efforts to ban medical debt from credit reports, noting that those with medical debt are no less likely to repay a loan than those who don’t have unpaid medical bills.

In a late July statement praising North Carolina’s move to relieve the medical debt of about 2 million residents, Harris said that she is “committed to continuing to relieve the burden of medical debt and creating a future where every person has the opportunity to build wealth and thrive.”

Health care

Harris, who has had shifting stances on health care in the past, confirmed in late July through her campaign that she no longer supports a single-payer health care system .

During her 2020 campaign, Harris advocated for shifting the US to a government-backed health insurance system but stopped short of wanting to completely eliminate private insurance.

The measure called for transitioning to a Medicare-for-All-type system over 10 years but continuing to allow private insurance companies to offer Medicare plans.

The proposal would not have raised taxes on the middle class to pay for the coverage expansion. Instead, it would raise the needed funds by taxing Wall Street trades and transactions and changing the taxation of offshore corporate income.

When it comes to reducing drug costs, Harris previously proposed allowing the federal government to set “a fair price” for any drug sold at a cheaper price in any economically comparable country, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan or Australia. If manufacturers were found to be price gouging, the government could import their drugs from abroad or, in egregious cases, use its existing but never-used “march-in” authority to license a drug company’s patent to a rival that would produce the medication at a lower cost.

Harris has been a champion on climate and environmental justice for decades. As California’s attorney general, Harris sued big oil companies like BP and ConocoPhillips, and investigated Exxon Mobil for its role in climate change disinformation. While in the Senate, she sponsored the Green New Deal resolution.

During her 2020 campaign, she enthusiastically supported a ban on fracking — but a Harris campaign official said in late July that she no longer supports such a ban.

Fracking is the process of using liquid to free natural gas from rock formations – and the primary mode for extracting gas for energy in battleground Pennsylvania. During a September 2019 climate crisis town hall hosted by CNN, she said she would start “with what we can do on Day 1 around public lands.” She walked that back later when she became Biden’s running mate.

Biden has been the most pro-climate president in history, and climate advocates find Harris to be an exciting candidate in her own right. Democrats and climate activists are planning to campaign on the stark contrasts between Harris and Trump , who vowed to push America decisively back to fossil fuels, promising to unwind Biden’s climate and clean energy legacy and pull America out of its global climate commitments.

If elected, one of the biggest climate goals Harris would have to craft early in her administration is how much the US would reduce its climate pollution by 2035 – a requirement of the Paris climate agreement .

Immigration

Harris has quickly started trying to counter Trump’s attacks on her immigration record.

Her campaign released a video in late July citing Harris’ support for increasing the number of Border Patrol agents and Trump’s successful push to scuttle a bipartisan immigration deal that included some of the toughest border security measures in recent memory.

The vice president has changed her position on border control since her 2020 campaign, when she suggested that Democrats needed to “critically examine” the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after being asked whether she sided with those in the party arguing to abolish the department.

In June of this year, the White House announced a crackdown on asylum claims meant to continue reducing crossings at the US-Mexico border – a policy that Harris’ campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, indicated in late July to CBS News would continue under a Harris administration.

Trump’s attacks stem from Biden having tasked Harris with overseeing diplomatic efforts in Central America in March 2021. While Harris focused on long-term fixes, the Department of Homeland Security remained responsible for overseeing border security.

She has only occasionally talked about her efforts as the situation along the US-Mexico border became a political vulnerability for Biden. But she put her own stamp on the administration’s efforts, engaging the private sector.

Harris pulled together the Partnership for Central America, which has acted as a liaison between companies and the US government. Her team and the partnership are closely coordinating on initiatives that have led to job creation in the region. Harris has also engaged directly with foreign leaders in the region.

Experts credit Harris’ ability to secure private-sector investments as her most visible action in the region to date but have cautioned about the long-term durability of those investments.

Israel-Hamas

The Israel-Hamas war is the most fraught foreign policy issue facing the country and has spurred a multitude of protests around the US since it began in October.

After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late July, Harris gave a forceful and notable speech about the situation in Gaza.

We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”

Harris echoed Biden’s repeated comments about the “ironclad support” and “unwavering commitment” to Israel. The country has a right to defend itself, she said, while noting, “how it does so, matters.”

However, the empathy she expressed regarding the Palestinian plight and suffering was far more forceful than what Biden has said on the matter in recent months. Harris mentioned twice the “serious concern” she expressed to Netanyahu about the civilian deaths in Gaza, the humanitarian situation and destruction she called “catastrophic” and “devastating.”

She went on to describe “the images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time.”

Harris emphasized the need to get the Israeli hostages back from Hamas captivity, naming the eight Israeli-American hostages – three of whom have been killed.

But when describing the ceasefire deal in the works, she didn’t highlight the hostage for prisoner exchange or aid to be let into Gaza. Instead, she singled out the fact that the deal stipulates the withdrawal by the Israeli military from populated areas in the first phase before withdrawing “entirely” from Gaza before “a permanent end to the hostilities.”

Harris didn’t preside over Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in late July, instead choosing to stick with a prescheduled trip to a sorority event in Indiana.

Harris is committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, having met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at least six times and announcing last month $1.5 billion for energy assistance, humanitarian needs and other aid for the war-torn country.

At the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Harris said: “I will make clear President Joe Biden and I stand with Ukraine. In partnership with supportive, bipartisan majorities in both houses of the United States Congress, we will work to secure critical weapons and resources that Ukraine so badly needs. And let me be clear: The failure to do so would be a gift to Vladimir Putin.”

More broadly, NATO is central to our approach to global security. For President Biden and me, our sacred commitment to NATO remains ironclad. And I do believe, as I have said before, NATO is the greatest military alliance the world has ever known.”

Police funding

The Harris campaign has also walked back the “defund the police” sentiment that Harris voiced in 2020. What she meant is she supports being “tough and smart on crime,” Mitch Landrieu, national co-chair for the Harris campaign and former mayor of New Orleans, told CNN’s Pamela Brown in late July.

In the midst of nationwide 2020 protests sparked by George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, Harris voiced support for the “defund the police” movement, which argues for redirecting funds from law enforcement to social services. Throughout that summer, Harris supported the movement and called for demilitarizing police departments.

Democrats largely backed away from calls to defund the police after Republicans attempted to tie the movement to increases in crime during the 2022 midterm elections.

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UCA partners with local apartments to meet student housing demand as semester nears

School is just around the corner for most students in Arkansas.

"Obviously in August is when the campus starts coming alive again and our students come back and move on campus," Dr. Stephanie McBrayer, the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Central Arkansas said.

This year, there is a higher demand for housing at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

"It just shows that we have good things going on on campus, the living on campus experience is positive," McBrayer said.

UCA partnered with an apartment complex adjacent to campus called The Edge Apartments and this is not the first time the university has had to do this.

"A few years back, before COVID-19, we leased some apartments out there as well when we rented overflow situations, so we just went to them again when we saw that our returner numbers were up and partnered with them to get new beds for this fall semester for some of our returning upper-class students," McBrayer said.

Some students have been told to commute to school for the beginning of the semester.

"We are hopeful for everyone that has applied in June and July that they will at least have a spot or a temporary spot. We are potentially asking some students that are local in Conway to maybe commute for a few weeks while everything shakes out, but all freshmen will have an assignment with maybe some, a few temporary spots and then some returners may have to commute," McBrayer said.

Lamont Best is a sophomore and is supposed to be moving in for college in just over two weeks.

Best says the university told him to commute to school for the time being, leaving him with an expensive issue.

“They told me to commute classes daily for the first few months of classes and they would maybe get back to me on an availability," Best said. “I live an hour from the university, making it a two-hour daily commute so for factoring in that time for gas, I would struggle without a full-time job." 

KATV asked McBrayer if building more dorms was in the plans for the university and she said they are exploring all options to see if new housing is a possibility.

UCA said all students who met the April 1, 2024 priority deadline have been placed into their housing assignment.

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces $5.5 Billion to Boost Affordable Housing, Invest in Economic Growth, Build Wealth, and Address Homelessness in Communities Throughout   America

Announced after the first two stops of the Vice President’s nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour, the new funding to 1,200 communities will build and preserve homes, lower housing costs, support renters and homeowners, aid people experiencing homelessness, create jobs, and improve public facilities and community resilience.

Today, Vice President Harris announced new funding to boost affordable housing, invest in economic growth, build wealth, and address homelessness across America. This funding is through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). President Biden and Vice President Harris are working to lower housing costs and increase the housing supply to address the large shortage of affordable homes they inherited from their predecessor, while investing historic resources to prevent and end homelessness. In President Biden’s State of the Union address, he called on Congress to support the construction and rehabilitation of two million additional homes, lower costs for renters, and help first time homebuyers and families seeking to trade up or downsize. Yesterday, Vice President Harris was in Detroit, MI for the second stop on her nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour. During her  speech , the Vice President highlighted the Administration’s plan to cut housing costs, boost supply, and expand access to affordable housing. She also discussed the Administration’s work to address racial bias in home appraisals.

Today, the Vice President announced a crucial infusion of funds to address the country’s critical housing needs: $5.5 billion in grants to 1,200 communities through more than 2,400 grants to states, cities, DC, Puerto Rico, and local organizations across the country. These grants build on ongoing efforts by the Administration, the  White House Housing Supply Action Plan  and the  Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights , boost housing supply, lower housing costs, expand rental assistance, enhance renter protections, and invest in stronger, more resilient communities for all.       

“Homeownership is an essential part of the American Dream that represents so much more than a roof over our heads. For people all across our nation, a home represents financial security, the opportunity to build wealth and equity, and a foundation for a better future for themselves, their children, and future generations,”  said Vice President Harris.  “That is why President Biden and I are expanding on our historic investments in housing by announcing $5.5 billion that will increase access to affordable housing, invest in economic growth, and address homelessness in communities throughout America. This funding will build more affordable homes and support renters and homeowners while also lowering costs, building wealth, and creating jobs.” “A coordinated whole-of-community approach is crucial to build strong and resilient communities, invest in decent housing, create healthy environments, expand economic opportunities accessible to low-income households, and support aspiring homebuyers and those experiencing homelessness,”  said Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman.  “The funding made available today serves as building blocks to empower communities to take ownership of community development investments and put the needs of residents first.” These funds will be provided through the following HUD programs:  

• $1.3 billion to 668 grantees to build affordable housing  — The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is the primary Federal block grant that helps States and local governments to produce affordable rental and owner-occupied housing for low-income families. HOME funds a wide range of activities including building, buying, and/or rehabilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership or providing direct rental assistance to low-income people. HOME projects leverage non-federal funds including, in many cases, tax credits for affordable rental housing. In 2023 the program helped create over 13,000 units of housing and more than 13,000 households were assisted with tenant based rental assistance through the HOME program.  
• $214 million to every state to increase affordable housing supply –  The Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is an affordable housing production program that complements existing Federal, state and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness. HTF is a formula-based program for States and U.S. Territories. By law, each state is allocated a minimum of $3 million. In 2023, the program helped create more than 1,681 units of affordable rental housing for extremely low-income households.  
• $3.3 billion to 1,254 grantees to build stronger communities  — The Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) provide annual grants on a formula basis to States, cities, counties, and insular areas to develop stronger, more resilient communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income people. In 2023 the program helped over 62,000 families through housing activities, 25,500 individuals through job creation or retention, 52,000 people experiencing homelessness through improvements to homelessness facilities, over 5.4 million people through public services, and over 41.8 million people through through public improvements.
• $455 million to 130 grantees to connect people with HIV/AIDS to housing and support  — The Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) program provides stable and permanent housing assistance and supportive services to low-income people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Over 100,000 households receive HOPWA housing assistance and/or supportive services annually.  
• $290 million to 357 grantees to address homelessness  — Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) provide funds for homeless shelters, assist in the operation of local shelters, and funds related social service and homeless prevention programs. ESG funds may be used for street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing assistance. Annually, ESG connects over 350,000 people to emergency shelter as they transition to permanent housing.  
• $30 million to 23 States and the District of Columbia to support recovery from substance use disorder  — The Recovery Housing Program (RHP) allows States and the District of Columbia to provide stable, transitional housing for individuals in recovery from a substance-use disorder.  

The grants announced today by the Vice President will provide critical funding for a wide range of activities to address communities’ most pressing local needs, providing flexible resources to build homes, support renters and homeowners, provide life-saving assistance to people experiencing homelessness, create jobs, and improve public facilities, community resilience, and local economies. For more information, see the following examples from previous years about how these funds have enabled communities to provide innovative housing solutions and expand affordable housing:

• Transforming a Historic Building into Affordable Homes in Cleveland, Ohio:  Through the Section 108 Loan Guarantee program, HUD granted a $15 million loan guarantee to the City of Cleveland, Ohio, to transition the downtown historic Huntington Building back into productive use, including affordable housing, commercial and retail space, and a museum.
• Supporting Affordable Homes for Seniors and People with Disabilities in East Greenwich, Rhode Island:  The Frenchtown Road project will create 63 units of affordable housing available to low- and moderate-income household, serving a community with a low stock of affordable housing currently available. The project will offer on-site supportive services for seniors and people with disabilities. Construction is underway with completion anticipated in early 2025.
• Building Affordable Homes for Homeless Seniors and Veterans in Vista, California:  The County of San Diego awarded over $4 million in HOME and HOME-American Rescue Plan funding to support the development of a 54-unit affordable housing complex – Santa Fe Village – in the City of Vista. The development will include 25 units for homeless seniors with serious mental illnesses, and two units will be reserved for veteran households. This property will provide access to supportive services for these households, including on-site case management, and peer support activities.
• Funding Water & Wastewater Systems in Pennsylvania:  The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development used their CDBG allocation in 2023 to award nearly $3.5 million in funding to ensure safe water and sewage systems in Mifflin, Somerset, and Sullivan counties. 

Today’s announcement follows the first two stops of the Vice President’s nationwide  Economic Opportunity Tour , which is taking her back to several states across the country as she highlights how the policies of the Biden-Harris Administration have delivered for the American people. During each stop, the Vice President is highlighting how the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered historic investments that have supported communities and helped people thrive. This includes improving access to housing while making it more affordable. The tour kicked off last week with a  moderated conversation  in Atlanta, GA. Today’s announcement builds on the Vice President’s career of working to protect homeowners and address housing supply and affordability. As Attorney General of California, she helped pass the California Homeowner Bill of Rights to provide protections to homeowners facing foreclosure. As U.S. Senator, she introduced several bills to increase the supply of affordable housing and lower costs for renters. Now as Vice President, she has led the charge on addressing racial bias in home appraisals by announcing key actions of the PAVE Action Plan, including recent actions that make it easier for more homeowners to appeal home appraisals that may be undervalued because of racial bias.

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Jasper residents survey the damage as tours of wildfire-ravaged neighourhoods continue

Bus tours of the wildfire zone began monday as wildfire fight continues.

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When Stephen Nelson saw the wreckage of his Jasper home come into view, it felt like a funeral procession.

Nelson, 65, is a resident of the now-destroyed Pine Grove Manor, a seniors housing facility in Jasper. He had waited three years for a placement at the residence and had moved in just 11 days before evacuation orders were issued, forcing 25,000 people to flee the national park.

Two days later, a wall of flames moved in from the south, destroying one-third of the buildings in the historic town.

Nelson, a 16-year resident of Jasper, said surveying the damage helped him grapple with his grief and come to terms with the losses in a way that reminded him of a wake.

"This was kind of like going to the viewing at the funeral home," he said "This wasn't the funeral. This was the viewing. And on a personal level, it gave me that stage of closure."

Nelson, a retired journalist and newspaper editor, said he wanted to go back to Jasper for himself, but also, to help illustrate the disaster for others. 

"I wanted to see it with my own eyes but I also wanted to be able to tell the story and that's really why I wanted to go back." 

'As if it was never there' 

Nelson is among hundreds of evacuees now joining a series of grim processions through the community, tours offering residents the chance to view the devastation firsthand.

People who lost their homes are being given precedence on the tours. Nelson was among the first groups to view the devastation Monday, driving through the wreckage of once scenic streets.

A video he took from inside the bus shows ash-covered streets lined with gutted homes and charred vehicles singed with black. 

• 1st bus tour for evacuees of Jasper goes ahead as Trudeau visits fire command centre
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As the bus — filled with the low murmurs of its passengers moves slowly down the street — the skeletal structure of the manor that once stood overlooking Geikie Street, in the heart of the community's core, comes into view. 

"This is my block. This is insane," Nelson can be heard saying, "OK there it is, or there it was." 

"Look at that. Gone. As if it was never there." 

There is still no timeline for when residents can return to Jasper, but the tours are being offered to help residents prepare for re-entry. As of Tuesday, 576 people have registered.  

Separate tours are also being scheduled for business owners to survey property damage for insurance and rebuilding purposes.

The tours were postponed on the weekend after a firefighter died on the frontline.

Tours of Jasper offer residents first glimpse of wildfire damage

Residents are not allowed off the buses during the tours and can only survey the damage from the safety of their seats. 

The fire, which continues to burn in the park and pose a threat to the community, is estimated to have burned 34,000 hectares.

Parks Canada officials expect the fire will remain an active and volatile threat on the landscape for weeks and that firefighting efforts will continue through the fall.

On the night of the evacuation, Nelson said he only packed a small bag of essentials before jumping on a bus full of other manor residents headed west. 

He recalls feeling a sense of dread as they pulled out of the driveway, bound for Valemount, B.C., as clouds of ash began raining down and plumes of smoke funnelled across the sky. 

Nelson said he learned that flames had reached the townsite as he and other residents of the manor gathered for dinner at a hotel. 

He said they watched through tears as breaking news broadcasts played across the hotel restaurant's television screens, showing the flames consuming homes and buildings.

He learned the following morning that his home at Pine Grove, along with hundreds of other buildings in Jasper, had been levelled by the flames. 

Two weeks later, seeing the community in ashes felt surreal. He said the fire was a monster and the wreckage it caused looks something like a war zone.

"We had seen video of the destruction," he said. "But it was another thing to be there and see it up close." 

Nelson said the sense of sorrow on the tour bus was palpable. But so too was a sense of determination among the evacuees to return home and rebuild.

"There were some people who sat silently and in disbelief and never said a thing for the whole two hours we were weaving back and forth along the streets of Jasper," he said.

"Grieving is different for everybody." 

• Summer could be over long before the fight to tame the Jasper wildfire is won
• Jasper officials release map, list of all structures destroyed by wildfire

Nelson is thankful that he and his neighbours were unharmed and the community was evacuated swiftly. 

But he can't help feeling haunted about the things he left behind — irreplaceable heirlooms, including a cardigan knitted by his mother in "Superman red," a family bible and his father's coat, hand-stitched by his late grandmother.

"That was a knife through the heart," he said. "I have lost everything. 

 "I was thinking about things I'd left behind that I wish to God I had gone back and saved, saved from the fire."

Linda McLaren, who lost both her home and her church to the fire, felt compelled to return to the evacuation zone on one of the first tours. 

She said the bus fell eerily silent as it moved slowly from lot to lot.  Homes she knew well were unrecognizable. The Jasper United Church she called home was razed to the ground. 

"My mind knows what it has seen but the heart is still processing," she said. "My heart is still processing." 

When the evacuation orders came McLaren, reverend of the church, was forced to vacate the manse and leave her beloved parish behind.

She packed a few things into a bag, loaded her beloved rescue cat, Maia, into her car and headed east to Edmonton. 

She said it's painful to think about things she lost, including her mother's cookbooks, dog-eared from many Saturdays spent as a family baking cakes and pies.

She said it was striking to see some properties untouched by the flames. Each building still standing felt like a message that the community and its people are resilient, she said. 

"For me, it was a real symbol of hope," she said. 

"Other than what I had in my suitcase, I've lost everything. And though I've lost everything, I'm still so aware of how much I have."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wallis Snowdon is a journalist with CBC Edmonton focused on bringing stories to the website and the airwaves. Originally from New Brunswick, Wallis has reported in communities across Canada, from Halifax to Fort McMurray. She previously worked as a digital and current affairs producer with CBC Radio in Edmonton. Share your stories with Wallis at [email protected].

With files from Ariel Fournier, Clare Bonneyman

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