Community-integrated housing with perpetual affordability

At risk of displacement from homes they had rented for years, 15 women and their residential support provider collaborated with Movin' Out to secure spacious, newly renovated homes in the Stonebridge Condominium neighborhood on Madison’s far east side. Movin' Out made all the homes visit-able, some fully accessible, and improved them with new finishes, décor, and appliances. Movin' Out put in place rent subsidies that make the homes affordable forever. Here is the chronology of how these homes came to be:

2008: 15 neighbors and friends, all low-income women with disabilities, learn their leases will not be renewed—the landlord wants to clear them out so the units they have lived in for years can be made more “up-scale.” The up-scaling clearly will not include these women so they fear imminent displacement. The 15 women and their support team at Community Living Connections approach Movin' Out and ask the non-profit housing organization to help them find a solution that will allow them to live in proximity to each other; that assures that CLC staff support will be near-by; and that their new homes will be integrated into a vibrant, diverse, typical Madison neighborhood. Movin' Out agrees to help.
 
2009: Jay and Sally Bruner agree to sell 12 Stonebridge Condominium units to Movin' Out even though it means they will have to take the units off the market right away and won’t complete the sale for a year. Movin' Out secures funding from the City of Madison and from HUD to purchase and improve the units. Additional HUD funds provide a permanent rent subsidy. The units are updated with new finishes, floor covering, appliances, and improved accessibility. The 15 women move in on November 1.

2010: The 15 women settle into their new homes and suggest finishing touches that Movin' Out agrees to provide. They meet their neighbors and sample the vast array of restaurants and shops in the neighborhood. They are comfortable and happy in their new homes. They plan a party to let everyone see their new homes where they plan to stay forever.