Season 2 Episode 2: Breaking the Cycle: How The Fight for Housing Stability Can Change the Course of Health Outcomes

Gillian Pressman on LinkedIn

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Key Points From This Episode:

Introducing Gillian Pressman, Managing Director at YIMBY Action.
Her career history leading up to her current leadership role.
What YIMBY Action is and how it empowers those who want to advocate for housing.
How education and youth empowerment are connected to quality housing.
Gillian’s personal experience with poor housing conditions.
The importance of building housing in opportunity-rich areas.
Her recommendations for fighting for affordable housing in high-income areas.
How YIMBY’s chapter model plugs into local opportunities.
Why fundraising opportunities might be much more abundant than you think.
The evolving relationship between housing and health.
Social determinants of health in relation to housing.
Racial and housing disparities and the historical legislation that led to this problem.
How YIMBY deals with zoning.
Why Gillian supports affordable housing and market-rate housing.
The best way to get involved with the YIMBY movement.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Gillian Pressman on X

YIMBY Action

Peer Health Exchange

Generation Citizen

Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center

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Season 2 Episode 1: ‘Unequal Ground’: The Impact of Unjust Policies on Access to Educational Opportunities, Upward Mobility, and Better Quality of Life

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The housing and communities that people live in can influence nearly every aspect of their lives; from where they work to how they get there, the quality of the schools in their area, and even their longevity. Today, we take a deep dive into how zoning, land use policies, and efforts like NIMBYism affect affordability, equality in education, and economic mobility in our communities. Joining us to discuss this topic is Yonah Freemark, a Principal Research Associate at the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Yonah is the Research Director of the Land Use Lab at Urban where his research focuses on the intersection of land use, affordable housing, transportation, and governance. Tuning in, you’ll learn how the Urban Institute works toward using public policy to create a brighter future for all, what it looks like to close the Black-white wealth gap in America, the need to shift our focus from policy to the needs of the individual, the importance of allowing people access to the communities they want to live in and redirecting investments into the communities that need them most, and much more! You won’t want to miss this thought-provoking conversation.

Key Points From This Episode:

How Yonah became interested in #policy, #housing, transportation, land use and the way people live.
Public policy for a better future: insight into the work that the #Urban Institute does.
The impact of the Great Recession on closing the Black-White #wealth gap in the US.
Ways to address racial #inequality as a result of exclusionary #landuse policies.
What it means to improve #equity for people across race and gender boundaries.
NIMBYism and the role of the federal government in leveling the playing field for affordable housing development in local communities.
The impact that county governments with a regional outlook can have on land use policy.
Correlations between zoning policies and access to opportunity.
A look at the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing (MTO) initiative in Chicago, the story of the impact of #YIMBY activism in New Haven’s West Rock community, and other impactful initiatives.
Perspectives on solving unjust public policies and why there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
The power of individual actions and citizen initiatives.
Key takeaways from this discussion and actionable advice for anyone listening.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Yonah Freemark

Urban Institute

Land Use Lab at Urban (LULU)

Yonah Freemark on X

Yonah Freemark on LinkedIn

Khaatim Sherrer El on LinkedIn

Next Episode

Putting the Power Back Into The People: Community Empowerment Through Food Security

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It is often said that where you find food insecurity, you will also find housing insecurity. Today’s conversation focuses on enhancing our communities' quality of life by examining the role housing plays in food security. We are joined by Khaatim Sherrer El, whose work is vital to today’s topic. He is the Executive Director of Clinton Hill Community Action (CHCA), a non-profit community development corporation dedicated to revitalizing Newark’s Clinton Hill neighborhood. With over 20 years of experience leading place-based initiatives, managing strategic partnerships, and building organizational capacity, Khaatim brings a wealth of knowledge and an exceptional educational background to our discussion. Join us as we explore what inspired Khaatim to pursue community development and revitalization, the correlation between health disparities and housing conditions, the role of the city of Newark in CHCA's work, and the cultural impacts on health and food disparities within the communities they serve. Khaatim also shares his experience managing significant philanthropic investments and leaves listeners with compelling thoughts to reflect on. Thanks for tuning in.

Key Points From This Episode:

An introduction to our guest on today’s episode: Khaatim Sherrer El.
What inspired him to pursue work in community development and revitalization, and what drives him to continue doing so.
We delve into a discussion on the reports indicating that health disparities often correlate with housing conditions.
He unpacks their work with food security.
A crucial part of the conversation: being aware of what we are putting into our bodies (and food pantries).
He details the role the city of Newark plays in the work that they do at CHCA.
We look at cultural impacts on health and food disparities and the communities they work with.
The journey to starting their first resident-run food cooperative.
His experience managing significant philanthropic investments and how it has shaped his approach (and mindset) to community development and education initiatives.
Khaatim shares compelling ideas for listeners to reflect on.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: