Employer Assisted Housing

I met with Teresa, Executive Director at LISC Phoenix, today to gain further insight into the White Paper I am drafting. I am going to be doing further research on Employer Assisted Housing, and including findings of my research on the White Paper. This paper will stress the importance of Employers’ offering employee benefits in assistance for affordable housing. Depending on the employer’s location they will be able to see the Neighborhood Stabilization funds being allocated in areas closest to them to further help their employees.

Many employers’ create incentives to get employees to figure out alternatives to transportation, other than single vehicle occupancy use, on their own. Incentives to employees’ may include things such as prize drawings to encourage them to not only make the effort to research their options, but also make the effort to use them. While this is good and helps, our program is intended to put some of that responsibility back on the employer. Valley Metro already has several tools that employers’ can use for mapping out transportation options for employees’. Employers’ can actually enter in specific employee data such as their address and this map will identify carpool or vanpool matches, local bus route options or even a light rail connection that would get employees to work without them driving.

Fannie Mae and the Center for Neighborhood Technology have several studies they have conducted in regards to the connection between housing, jobs, and transportation. I have been finding them useful and very informative. I am also excited to meet the individuals at Valley Metro behind this partnership with LISC, and will hopefully get the opportunity to do so in December. Teresa has asked me if I would be interested in attending the next meeting with her and I intend on doing so!