PND (10/24/2000) -- Boston Housing Fund Helps Poor Residents Cope With Rising Rents

As communities across the U.S. struggle with the mixed blessings of gentrification, which often results in the displacement of poor residents who have contributed to a neighborhood's revival, officials and nonprofit leaders in Boston's resurgent Jamaica Plain neighborhood are helping long-time residents deal with rising rents through an innovative housing fund, the Associated Press reports.

"JP" homeowners who have made a profit selling their homes in the recent wave of buying are encouraged to donate a portion of the proceeds to the city's Affordable Housing Fund. The fund has collected about $35,000 since it was established last year, and has already helped pay for tenants' legal battles, as well as security deposits and rent. The fund also plans to support the hiring of an employee to help tenants fight unfair rent increases and evictions.

"I haven't heard of anything like that," commented Sheila Crowley, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Low Income Housing Coalition. "It sounds like an interesting answer to the problem of gentrification."

"In Boston, Some Home-Sellers Share Profits With Poorer Neighbors." Associated Press in Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune 10/21/2000.

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