Friday, December 26, 2008

Housing: The job is in our hands


Eric Newman is CEO of Commonwealth Capital Mortgage and director of ARCH Community Housing Trust (ww.archbc.org).

By ERIC NEWMAN

The holiday season is a powerful and magical time for self reflection and gratitude. It is also a time for hopeful consideration of the year ahead. As the year comes to a close, I ask myself, have my actions been consistent with my beliefs? Have I taken steps to enrich the community that I so proudly call home?  As a result of the past year, with the nation and our local community spiraling into a recession, many of us are taking a more thoughtful inventory of whether our individual actions reflect our values and nourish the community in which we live and work, and what we will do differently in 2009.

A strong, healthy community is greater than the sum of its parts, nothing less, and that equation is fundamental to ensuring that the Wood River Valley is the outstanding community and world-class resort that we call home. I urge us all to heed the saying "You get what you give." This means literally investing in local producers: the artisans, shops, restaurateurs, firefighters, law enforcement officers, teachers, nurses, seniors, local government workers, emergency medical response technicians, food servers, retail clerks, carpenters and many other everyday people and businesses that are the core of the Wood River Valley's environmental, social and economic quality of life.  

Many of us buy locally, whenever possible, to support a self-sustaining community. If we take buying locally to the next logical level, we must also invest in our neighborhoods—to expand and enrich them with the very real full-time homeowners who make this community great.

We all know someone who is hurting, who has been laid off, lost their home, closed up shop or severely cut back due to uncertain economic times. In 2009, we must act with urgency to reinforce our beliefs and further the values of our precious community.

Simply put, home is where the heart is and we need to keep our heart healthy and local. This means shifting the home ownership paradigm in the Wood River Valley.

If we take action to invest locally and cement access to affordable homes, we will:

· Keep the money in the valley and stop the bleed off (the number of employees who earn their money here and spend it outside this community).

· Reduce local workers' carbon footprint by reducing travel between work and home.

· Earn a compelling return on investment in affordable community ownership. It is estimated that each dollar of subsidy investment would stimulate a net gain of $8.13 in economic benefit over the next 15 years.

· Create an unstoppable, self-sustaining community that recruits and retains highly talented residents who reinforce and contribute to our community values.

We have already seen closed businesses, job loss and foreclosure in our back yards. Enough is enough. We must act together to sustain an outstanding community to call home, as well as maintain a world-class resort. The health and vitality of the community must stand at the forefront of each resident's actions as each and every one of us considers the strength and vitality that is the sum of all of our individual parts. Let's proudly say "Yes. In my backyard!"  A strong community, no different than the ecosystem we so fervently protect, is comprised of its interdependent parts and cannot survive without all those parts in balance. It is time to tip the scale toward that balance. The power to do so and the future are in our hands alone.

 




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