Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 6-9-17

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FLORIDA SENTINEL
FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2017
Special To The Sentinel-Bulletin
Affordable Housing Concerns Discussed At Family Forum
While many vulnerable families struggle to make ends meet even when they are receiving social services, the lack of affordable hous- ing is a big reason why. The recent Family Forum at the 1st United Church of Tampa paid special attention to the impact on individuals and families throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Unfortunately, this af- fects an increasing number of people even if they do not need Social Security or other assistance. About one in four Hillsborough and Pinellas homeowners were forced to pay more than 35% of their income for housing in 2014.
That grim reality is even more so today. The 2017 United Way ALICE Report found that housing costs
continue to be the largest drain on household ex- penses, having risen by 20% since 2007. Meanwhile, Zil- low estimates that annual rents will rise this year by an average of $312.
First United Church Pas- tor, Rev. Bernice Powell- Jackson says that higher rents do more than deplete the wallet.
“Affordable rent helps keep families together and offers stability for children. Seniors are also especially vulnerable to the health im- pact of being displaced from their homes.” The latter group is often caught be- tween a rock and a hard place because Social Security pay- ments have only risen by 2% in two years.
When it comes to home-
PASTOR BERNICE POWELL-JACKSON
owners, the picture isn’t much better. The median price of a single family home in Hillsborough County jumped by nearly $20,000 during the last year, accord- ing to the Florida Realtors Association. In Pinellas County, the $215,000 me- dian cost is more than
$22,000 higher than 2016. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to create a public- private partnership that will increase the availability of af- fordable housing in Hillsbor- ough County. Forum attendee Tom Mattingly has been involved in the process, and he says that “there has been gradual
progress.”
The goal is to convince
the Hillsborough County Commission to create a lo- cally controlled trust fund of at least $10 million that will offer developers a financial incentive to build affordable housing. The fund would be kept at that figure through replenishing it by the amount that is allocated to develop- ers each year.
For The Family Adminis-
trator Ward Cox believes this is another example of how addressing personal and family vulnerability is being lost in the shuffle. “The need is clear. The facts indis- putably point that out, and the situation will continue to worsen until people realize that the strength of our com- munity is tied to the personal well-being of those who live in it.”
Save The Date
The next forum will be held on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 2:30 p. m,. at the Town and Country Library, 7606 Paula Dr. (near Hillsborough Ave. and Hanley Rd.).
To learn more: please E- mail Ward Cox at AL- FOLK@aol.com or phone (813) 932-1477.
Documentary Explores Tampa’s Civil Rights And ’67 Riot
Meet USF Instructor Saturday at Robert Saunders Library
Tampa Technique: Rise, Demise, and Remembrance of Central Avenue analyzes the strategic and calculated Civil Rights Movement in Tampa through the lens of Central Avenue. Segregation created the thriving Black business district before a 1967 riot led to its physical and symbolic destruction.
University of South Florida instructor Travis Bell produced the hour-long documentary as his disserta- tion project and the film will debut at the Robert W. Saun- ders Library Saturday, June 10 at 6 p. m.
The date is significant since it is the eve of the 50th anniversary of Martin Chambers’ death that sparked the 1967 civil unrest in Tampa.
A panel discussion will follow the film screening in
TRAVIS BELL ...Produced the Documentary
conjunction with the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists. Expected pan- elists include Clarence Fort, who organized the 1960 lunch counter sit-in at Woolworth’s, and Senator Arthenia Joyner, whose father, Henry Joyner, owned the last business on Central Avenue.
“I think when they look at what we did,” Fort said, “and it’s important for us to
ATTY. ARTHENIA JOYNER
keep it in the limelight and keep it out there in front of them, so that they can see where there’s struggle, there’s gain, and there’s no gain without struggle.”
Tampa Technique ex- plores the state’s first bi- racial committee, integration of public facilities and schools, urban renewal/re- moval, interstate construc- tion, and the ’67 death of Chambers. The documen-
CLARENCE FORT
tary begins and ends in Perry Harvey, Sr. Park to situate how Central Avenue is pub- licly memorialized.
“You couldn’t compen- sate for the years of living and community and all of the goodness, the goodwill, and all that Central Avenue had brought,” Joyner said. “All of that was devastated.”
Bell joined the USF Mass Communications faculty in
MARTIN CHAMBERS ... His death sparked the 1967 riots
2012 and this is his fourth documentary. This project is toward completion of his Ph.D. in Communications. He worked as a sports anchor and multimedia journalist for 12 years, including six years at WTSP in St. Peters- burg, Florida.
The event is open to the public. For more informa- tion, contact Travis Bell at (727) 465-4670 or trbell@usf.edu.