JUBILEE
HOUSING
Many families on our block are either being displaced by gentrification or dealing with neglectful landlords. We desire to reverse this trend and ensure that long term New Haven residents can become home owners.
THE VISION.
Our Reality
Our homes are owned by Corporations that put profit over people, let the homes fall apart, and raise rents until long term neighbors are kicked out and replaced by the wealthy.
Our Dream
Our homes owned by us: Long-term Newhallville residents who maintain and repair homes, build equity, and invest in our community.
THE
HISTORY.
A Snapshot of Housing Inequality In Newhallville
1870: The Winchester Repeating Arms Company opens a factory in Newhallville, attracting thousands of black families migrating from the South who buy and build homes and start businesses of their own.
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1940s - 1950s: The federal government passes new housing and highways laws which develop the suburbs surrounding New Haven, but the Federal Housing Administration and Banks together prevent black families from being able to move.
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1970 – 2011: Factories fall into decline leaving Newhallville residents with limited jobs. Family savings are wiped out by layoffs. Poverty increases. Some homeowners become renters while some hold onto their homes. Community solidarity deepens.
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1973: U.S. Courts allow school funding to be based on property values, making it harder for Newhallville children to access education and jobs. This exacerbates poverty cycles and pushes home ownership further out of financial reach.
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2008: The Foreclosure Crisis hits working class Newhallville hard and deepens racial inequality. Property values fall and Families lose their homes. Corporations buy properties for cheap and become the landlords of the neighborhood.
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2011 – 2021: New Haven experiences a real estate boom. As property values rise, investor-landlords in Newhallville raise rents beyond the reach of many residents. A typical house has 2 - 3 apartments owned by a corporation instead of a resident.
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Present Day: Unless the families can become home owners, gentrification will push out the working class and essential workers among us, leaving only the wealthy and destroying our sense of history and community.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me… to proclaim good news to the poor… freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor [Jubilee].”
Jesus of Nazareth
WHAT IS
JUBILEE?
The Hebrew Scriptures narrate how God frees a nation of people from 400 years of slavery and brings them to a new land where they can finally live free. God instructs them to divide the promised land among each family. Over time, some families become indebted to others, sell their land, and become poor.
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But every 50th year, God instructs the people to return and redistribute all of the land, and thereby reverse the stratification of wealth and poverty. “Proclaim freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property.” (Leviticus 25:10)
Right now in New Haven, we're partnering with local non-profits that provide financing, financial education, and renovations for residents to become homeowners. Our homes get offered for sale and change hands between corporations every month. Many families make enough to pay a mortgage, but don't have the wealth for a down payment. Your donations help a working class family to buy the home they are renting and transform the ownership of our community.
The year of Jubilee is now. Come help us redeem the land.
