This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
06/10/2015 12:00 AMAs the Guilford Foundation celebrates its 40th anniversary, it has embarked on conducting a Housing Needs Survey in an effort to gather information concerning local housing needs and to educate on how housing and demographics in the town of Guilford are changing.
The nine-question survey asks respondents about the types of homes needed in Guilford, where they should be located, and who is most in need of new housing options, among other topics. To date, the Guilford Foundation has taken in more than 360 surveys. The final date to complete a survey is Monday, June 15. Surveys can be completed by visiting the Town of Guilford website, www.ci.guilford.ct.us (under “Guilford Town Updates”).
“This is a piece of a larger process,” said Liza Janssen Petra, executive director of the Guilford Foundation. “In 2009 the Guilford Foundation set out to do a needs assessment to find out where the best place was to put our energies in making Guilford a better place to live, work, and play.”
For that assessment, the foundation brought in consultants from the Yale School of Management to conduct interviews with various civic and town agencies.
“The data was collected, analyzed, and gaps in services were identified. One of the largest gaps they discovered was in housing diversity” for housing that is available and affordable for folks who are in a mid-range of incomes, Petra said.
The foundation also identified what its role could be in addressing the issue.
“We don’t have the resource to resolve actual housing issues, but what the foundation can do is raise awareness and create community activities to address needs,” Petra said.
What the consultants found was that in 2009 the median household income in Guilford had increased 24 percent since 2000, and the median house value had increased 87 percent. The town’s housing stock was 90 percent single-family residential, meaning there were very few apartments for younger people entering the housing market or for people in need of transitional housing. In addition, there were very few moderately priced small homes for empty nesters who would like to downsize, but stay in town.
“Board members and our executive director set out to understand what this meant for our town,” said Guilford Foundation Board of Directors member Mary Jo Kestner. “We met with local organizations, the Guilford Housing Authority, town agencies, and interested individuals to find out about housing needs from their perspectives.”
The Guilford Foundation decided to reinvigorate the Guilford Interfaith Housing Corporation, a non-profit organization that worked in the mid-’70s to provide affordable housing.
“The volunteer group basically just ran out of steam back then, so our goal was to bring it back today. The new Interfaith Housing is an independent group that advocates and educates in the community concerning diversity in housing,” said Petra.
Guilford Interfaith Housing is currently working with the Guilford Foundation and the Partnership for Strong Communities. Supported by the town and many local organizations, the team is “now leading the charge on the Housing Needs Survey, with the purpose of assessing current understanding and perceptions of housing in our town,” said Petra.
“There is a momentum that is building now,” said Kestner. “We are in a position to work together to evaluate the data that we have about demographics and housing cost with community interests to ensure that we have a place for young families and seniors in our community.”