Forging Forward: ACTION-Housing
Tyasia Pitts, 24, grew up in Action Housing group homes and now is building a non-profit of her own to find homes for foster children. “I love ACTION-Housing, it’s an amazing program,” said Tyasia Pitts, 25 of East Pittsburgh. She was raised in foster care after the death of her mother and lived in 10 different group homes before turning 18. “I found myself homeless and with no consistent place to live,” Pitts said.
Photo and caption by Jeff Swensen.
Forging Forward 2021 is a series of six articles about organizations helping our region make progress on the significant issues challenging our friends and neighbors. The series is presented with the generous support of ThePittsburgh Foundation.
The #ONEDAY Critical Needs Alert, a day of online giving to organizations doing vital work, is on August 3: mark your calendars and plan to be part of something great!
How would your life change if you didn’t know where you would be sleeping tonight? What would happen if you lost your job and couldn’t afford your mortgage or your rent? Covid-19 confronted many in our community with serious challenges, and the lack of affordable, quality housing was among the most pressing. ACTION-Housing seeks to empower people to build more secure and self-sufficient lives through the provision of decent housing and the support needed to maintain it.
ACTION-Housing was created in 1957 by David Lawrence and Richard King Mellon to stabilize and develop residential neighborhoods. The organization was part of the Pittsburgh Renaissance’s focus on improving not just the city’s Downtown neighborhood, but the city as a whole.
Lena Andrews, the director of Real Estate Development for ACTION-Housing comments, “I often think about how much affordable housing we are able to create (not enough) when the demand is so great. It takes three years and a lot of work to build a 40 unit building and estimates say the City of Pittsburgh needs 17,000 units of affordable housing for our most vulnerable residents. So my vision is that we can change the system so that there are sufficient resources to tackle this challenge, but I also want to focus on every person whose life changes as a result of getting a safe, stable and well-designed place to live.” Photo and caption by Jeff Swensen.
“We are still doing that work today through many different programs, focused on creating affordable housing opportunities for Pittsburgh residents, and offering services that make housing more affordable and help people to stay in their homes,” said Lena Andrews, director of real estate development. This Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization provides asset-building programs, educational and employment opportunities as well as essential supportive services such as affordable home repairs.
Why is home-ownership such a key to long-term success and stable, thriving communities? “Housing is an essential part of building equity,” Andrew explains. “Also, research shows that where you grow up is a key factor in determining how successful you are in life. Children who grow up in safe neighborhoods with access to better schools, healthier food, a cleaner environment and places to play are more likely to grow up to be able to provide for themselves and their families,” she added.
Because of disadvantages entrenched by decades of systemic racism, Andrews notes that family financial status and quality of life have been impacted by the price of housing and where people can afford to live. People with more access to resources will most likely live in areas with more amenities and those with lower incomes will be in neighborhoods that have suffered years of disinvestment due to the lack of public and private support for affordable housing. That’s where ACTION-Housing comes into play.
“Our services are diverse, but they are all united in their focus on affordable housing,” said Andrews. “I like to explain our work as two halves of a whole. Part of our work creates and manages housing. The other part consists of services that help keep people in their homes and support their needs,” she said.
On the real estate side, ACTION-Housing creates and preserves affordable housing through new construction or renovation of existing buildings. Most of this housing is multi-family rentals, “We own about 2,000 units of affordable housing in the Pittsburgh region and manage 1,400 of these ourselves through our management company,” said Andrews. The organization also builds single-family homes, as well as community-oriented commercial spaces like the Pittsburgh Community Kitchen space in Hazelwood.
Beyond developing and selling properties, the organization provides weatherization services to low-income renters and homeowners to reduce energy costs and make homes more energy efficient. ACTION-Housing also operates Allegheny County’s federally funded emergency rental assistance program, the Housing Connector program, which helps people with disabilities find accessible places to live, and MyPlace . “MyPlace provides housing and supportive services to youth who have aged out of foster care or are at risk of homelessness, helping them successfully transition to adulthood,” explains Andrews.
“I love ACTION-Housing, it’s an amazing program,” said Tyasia Pitts, 25 of East Pittsburgh. She was raised in foster care after the death of her mother and lived in 10 different group homes before turning 18. “I found myself homeless and with no consistent place to live,” Pitts said.
“They literally gave me a chance. Because I had some behavioral issues brought on by trauma, I wasn’t wanted by many places. But they showed me respect, gave me shelter, taught me how to budget and helped me graduate high school. They gave me so many opportunities,” added Pitts who now works as a certified life coach, supporting teens in ACTION-Housing’s youth programs.
When Covid-19 hit, the organization -- like so many others in the region -- had to pivot to meet the tidal wave of people at risk of losing homes. The pandemic greatly increased the demand for affordable housing because it disproportionately impacted low-paid workers, such as those in the service and hospitality industry. “While the federal rental assistance helped a lot of people stay housed over this period, there was already a huge shortage of affordable housing,” said Andrews. “The City of Pittsburgh estimates that it needs another 17,000 units to meet the demand for housing from our lowest-income residents. Having more people with less income puts even more stress on an already insufficient system,” Andrews added.
“I strongly believe that housing is a basic human right. My hope for the future is that housing becomes enough of a priority for the electorate and the federal government that we, as a country, invest in affordable housing at such a massive scale that every American has a safe and stable place to live,” said Andrews.
Pitts echoed that sentiment, adding: “Try to be helpful to each other and respect where people are in their lives. ACTION-Housing helped me and gave me a chance. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where I would be.”
Learn more about how you can give back and create a more equitable future for all of Allegheny County HERE. Or get involved as part of The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Critical Needs #ONEDAY online giving event on August 3. All donations of $25 and more are eligible for a portion of $525,000 in giving incentive funds provided by the Foundation and its donors. More information here.
Darrel Pullie, 20, has been a resident at My Place for a year. He is an aspiring film director with a love for science fiction and equally interested in acting. When family dynamics required him to find a place of his own, My Place provides him with a safe, secure and nurturing environment to build on his his life plans. Photo and caption by Jeff Swensen.
Isis Cox, 24, and Stephanie Ochoa, 28, became best friends while living at My Place. Stephanie, 28, now works as a caseworker for Action Housing and Isis, as a receptionist. Photo and caption by Jeff Swensen.
Check out other stories in our Forging Forward 2021 series:
STORY BY NATALIE BENCIVENGA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF SWENSEN
12 Month - 6 issue subscription
Neighborhood Legal Services helps to close equity gaps in our judiciary system