innovation | Fort Wayne Media Collaborative

In New York, ‘Housing First’ Approach Helps Unhoused People Find Stability

by Meryl Davids Landau | Apr 26, 2023

Ronnie Hodge and her young son were living in her uncle’s apartment in the Bronx when the uncle suddenly moved upstate, leaving mom and baby with no place to go. She moved into a city family shelter along with her son and boyfriend of 15 years and spent three years there, struggling to cope with little personal space and no kitchen to cook in. For Hodge, the stress was sadly familiar. As a child, she had lived in more than 30 foster homes, and as an adult, her alcohol addiction often left her unemployed. Shelter life contributed to a break-up with the boyfriend and left Hodge with depression and anxiety. Her son was also stressed and lost weight because he wouldn’t eat the food the shelter provided. Then, in September 2020, a nonprofit called HousingPlus transformed her life....

Community Land Trusts Are Building Disaster-Resilient Neighborhoods

by Alexandra Applegate | Apr 25, 2023

In late September, Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful and costly storms to make landfall in the U.S., tore through southwest Florida and caused an estimated $67 billion in property damage. But on Big Pine Key, a community 100 miles southwest of Miami that saw flooding and storm surges up to five feet, 27 nearly-finished cottages were still standing, largely unharmed. “It was a good test,” said Maggie Whitcomb, who helped develop the cottages. “You never want to have a storm, but it’s good to know after a serious weather event just how strong your construction is.” Built atop 12-foot tall white podiums with water-resistant finishes and low-energy utilities, the cottages were constructed with structural insulated panels (SIPs), a strong, airtight substance made from...

The History of Community Land Trusts in the U.S.

by Gabi Lorino | Apr 17, 2023

After World War II, blacks in Georgia were vulnerable to predatory behavior of landlords. Some were evicted and then, because they did not have a stable address, were refused the right to vote. The goal in starting a community land trust was to ensure housing stability and secure their right to vote. In June 1968, a group of community leaders traveled to Israel to learn about developing homes and cooperatives on community-owned land. They collected legal agreements from Israel as a basis for what could be used in the US. This led to the creation of New Communities, Inc., which is considered to be the first community land trust in America. In 1969, they purchased 6,000 acres of land in Albany, Georgia, which was the largest black-owned landholding in the U.S. Slater King, Marion King,...

Could We Create a Community Land Trust in Fort Wayne?

by Gabi Lorino | Apr 12, 2023

Jason Webb of Grounded Solutions Network is part of the team creating a new community land trust in Indianapolis. In a recent webinar, he reflected on how living in a Community Land Trust (CLT) helps families build wealth, just not in the traditional way. “The generational wealth that homeownership can bring to future generations is more than just the dollars and cents that somebody could get from that real estate transaction. The wealth really comes from the stability of having a home, of not needing to go through the rent increases year after year.” The goal is for lease owners to be in a better situation than they’d be in if they rented, so that they can invest a larger portion of their disposable income into their businesses, retirement accounts, and families. A Community Land Trust...

Fort Wayne Media Collaborative Healthy Neighborhoods Panel Discussion

by admin | Jan 30, 2023

Local leaders and housing advocates discuss the elements of a healthy neighborhood, the challenges communities face in designing, building, and maintaining healthy neighborhoods and possible solutions to those challenges. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6RZ6rL-uV8 Panel discussion was recorded on 12/05/22.

How are American Rescue Plan Act Funds being spent in Fort Wayne? The City fills us in

by AJ Hughes | Dec 7, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc and disrupted most facets of life in Fort Wayne and across the nation. To address a wide array of needs felt across the country, Congress and President Joe Biden enacted a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package in March 2021 known as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Its objective is to aid the United States in its recovery—both economic and otherwise—from the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Fort Wayne received $50.8 million in ARPA funding, and on April 12, Fort Wayne City Council presented its official Recovery Plan for ARPA money. A total of $18.2 million is set aside for strengthening neighborhoods in the city; $13.3 million is available for making city operations more resilient; $13 million is allocated...

For Some or For All? Electric Works is going to change Fort Wayne, but there is trepidation

by Angela Stanley | Nov 23, 2022

(Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-installment joint project between Fort Wayne Ink Spot and Input Fort Wayne [inputfortwayne.com] looking at the catalytic potential of Northeast Indiana’s largest project—Electric Works—and how it will affect various neighborhoods near and around the development such as inclusivity, gentrification, and community development.) One of the biggest unanswered questions about Electric Works is: How will a project of this nature and scale, in an economically depressed part of town, impact the neighborhoods surrounding it and across the city? As the master redevelopment firm, RTM Ventures has already started construction on the 39-acre, 18-building adaptive reuse project that seeks to transform the city’s vacant General Electric (GE) campus into a...

Will Electric Works Be An ‘Inclusive’ Development For Fort Wayne?

by Angela Stanley | Nov 23, 2022

(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part joint project between Fort Wayne Ink Spot and Input Fort Wayne (inputfortwayne.com) looking at the catalytic potential of Northeast Indiana’s largest project—and how it will affect various neighborhoods near and around the development. Issues such as inclusivity, gentrification and community development.) In recent years, Fort Wayne has seen considerable growth and development in the form of private and public projects—from the Parkview Regional Medical Center‘s sprawling Dupont campus to the City of Fort Wayne’s decade-long transformation of downtown, starting with Parkview Field in 2009. But while many projects have enhanced Fort Wayne’s quality of life in specific ways, for specific people, their effects haven’t been all positive or...

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