Richard Godfrey

How long have you been involved in the housing issue- and what are you doing today?

I have been involved in building and rebuilding inclusive and sustainable communities with healthy affordable homes for more than 50 years. I have been fortunate to participate via a number of roles including designer and builder, lawyer, creative financier, policy maker and advocate. I have seen the tangible revitalization of many neighborhoods and moderate breaks in the walls of segregation and exclusivity, However, the greatest satisfaction is experiencing, first-hand the joy of young families purchasing their first home, meeting 2^nd and 3rd generation beneficiaries of the households who were fortunate to obtain a safe, stable apartment and the tearful relief of individuals who have been homeless, perhaps for decades, moving into a small, but safe and private place.

Although partially retired, I continue to advocate for healthy, affordable homes and inclusive, sustainable communities while offering expertise to non-profit organizations that offer a variety of supportive services to clients who are constantly challenged by the lack of safe, affordable housing alternatives.

What motivated you early on to get involved with the issue of providing affordable homes and vital neighborhoods?

During my high school years in the 1960’s, I was upset by the struggles of the civil rights activists, the urban riots and the assassinations of our social justice leaders. In college, I pursued a greater understanding of the root causes of these issues and potential solutions. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on the causes of some of the conditions that lead to the riots and neighborhood burnings in Trenton NJ. Upon graduation, I went to work for the City of Trenton and then moved up to the State level, working to address extreme urban blight in New Jersey cities like Camden, Newark and Jersey City and trying to break down the barriers of exclusion in New Jersey suburbs that reinforced past patterns of discrimination and concentrations of poverty.

What was the most rewarding aspect and what has been the most difficult?

The greatest overall reward for my work is seeing that the collective efforts of passionate, caring people can improve the lives of millions and that that healthy affordable homes improve lives across generations. However, the greatest joy comes from sharing experiences of individuals and households who move from distressing environments to homes of opportunity and hope.

Trying to create affordable homes and inclusive communities is a challenge every day.  It is a constant battle against self-interest, prejudice, greed and misinformation. However, the most difficult part is seeing the suffering and struggles of those who don’t have a decent place to live. It is painful to see, and I wasn’t even on the frontlines daily. But observing reality, while knowing the possibilities of enabling better lives through better living places, inspired me to keep working toward better opportunities for all.

What is your perception on modern day housing issues?

• Homelessness should be unacceptable. 99.7% of Americans have a place to live. In a country as wealthy as ours, we can provide homes for the last 0.3%. Providing those homes would improve the lives of those without homes, eliminate the visuals of homelessness that those of us with homes encounter, and save taxpayer dollars. It is a problem of prejudice and political will, not substance.
• The lack of affordable homes is a direct consequence of financial inequality. Wealthy individuals and corporations have multiple homes and consume vast amounts of land, leaving smidgeons for households with lower incomes. This paradox of prosperity is evidenced in some of the wealthiest cities, like Seattle and San Francisco, which also have some of the most visible consequences of homelessness. However, it is also playing out in Rhode Island with large lot zoning and the redevelopment of lands, such as those vacated by the relocation of I-195, without providing a fair share of affordable homes.
• We could solve much of the affordable housing crisis by recreating land development patterns that existed before zoning excluded smaller lot and mixed-use development. Instead of limiting development to one house per acre, we could have four or five homes with homes with nice yards in walkable, friendly neighborhoods like those built in the 50’s and 60’s.   Models of mixed-use villages exist throughout Rhode Island, but that pattern has been replaced, and even prohibited in most places, by stand-alone banks, pharmacies, fast food joints and 1-story commercial strips overloaded with paving. Thousands of apartments and condos could be built in the 2-3 stories of vacant air above 1-story commercial spaces. Mixed-use compact development would enhance the ground floor businesses, allow shared residential and business parking, promote mass transit, and preserve our existing fields, forests, and wetlands.
  

What has your involvement been with SWAP?

In my first twenty years of community/affordable home building, I came to recognize the powerful benefits of community-based housing organizations like SWAP. With that help, CDCs in Providence, Pawtucket/Central Falls, East Bay, Aquidneck Island, Blackstone River Valley and South County have created and revitalized urban and suburban neighborhoods with thousands of new and rebuilt affordable homes for sale and rent.

What does the next 50 years look like?

Organizations such as SWAP are at risk because they do the community development work that for-profit developers won’t. The federal housing budget has shrunk by about 70% in real dollars since 1982 and been replaced by tax incentivized development that sends the money to national and international investors rather than keeping it in the community. Tax benefits for the wealthier two-thirds of our households who own homers are six times greater than the entire federal housing budget for Americans with lower or no income.

Rhode Island has seen the demise of several CDCs with a resulting loss of neighborhood investment. Because of budget pressures, HUD is reducing the amount of public housing and Section 8 apartments, even as our housing needs grow. Unless we realign America’s priorities, we will return to the urban challenges of the 60’s but will be far more widespread. In many ways, these cycles are an unhealthy reality of history.

SWAP has done amazing work over the past 50 years while confronting the challenges of discrimination, political and financial cycles, and growing inequality. It is important that the values and passion that led to SWAP’s creation in 1975 and sustained it for five decades, will help it to survive as the challenges grow going forward.