The Front Page Blog: Blogs on Housing

In June, New Editions facilitated the seventh annual meeting between the US Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Agriculture (USDA) at HUD headquarters. The theme of this year’s meeting was Housing as a Platform for Health.

HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson started off the event by greeting the attendees and reflecting on how important it is to view individuals in a holistic manner. The Secretary was followed by three panels of key staff from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HUD, USDA, and other HHS divisions who…

Do you know where you will live when you are 80 years old? Will your home accommodate your health and physical needs? How will you manage if you cannot drive? Will you be able to sell your house and move into affordable, accessible housing with accessible public transportation? 

Federal officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) foresee a housing crisis by the year 2040, when baby boomers will have aged into their 80’s, many becoming frail and mobility impaired. HUD’s Jennifer Ho, a Special Assistant to the Secretary, reported at a recent conference…

As a student at Loyola University, I was l lucky enough to call New Orleans home from 2001 to 2005. During that time, I became well acquainted with the vibrancy of the city, the kindness of its residents, and the cultural, political, socioeconomic and geographic traits that make it unlike any other place in the world. Two months after I moved to Northern Virginia, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, changing the landscape of one of America’s most beloved cities and altering the country’s understanding of natural disaster preparedness.

Hurricane Katrina claimed the lives of over…

I was optimistic about the direction the field of disability was taking when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed. I had spent a year arguing with my brother-in-law who belonged to an organization that was actively lobbying against the ADA. He was convinced that the ADA would be the death of the small business that employed him. Our arguments were heated and often led to me saying things such as, “We’re all only temporarily able-bodied. You should be helping to create an environment you’d want to live in if you became disabled.” I felt I had won that argument when the ADA…