CLPHA Press Room

Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room

CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.

For media inquiries, please contact:

David Greer
Director of Communications
During the COVID-19 quarantine, David can be reached at (202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.

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Press Releases

All Press Releases

Statements

7.2.20

Statement of CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman on HUD’s Latest Transphobic Proposal

Media Contact:
David Greer, CLPHA
dgreer@clpha.org

(202) 550-1381

For Immediate Release
July 2, 2020

(Washington, D.C.) July 2, 2020 -- CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement on HUD's transphobic proposal to allow single-sex or sex-segregated homeless facilities to determine discriminatory policies based on biological sex, not gender identity:

“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities strongly opposes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed modification to the 2016 portion of the Equal Access rule allowing single-sex or sex-segregated homeless facilities to determine discriminatory policies based on biological sex, not gender identity. The Administration’s reasoning follows the long-discarded excuse used to deny civil rights to African Americans by claiming the Federal Government should not mandate a single approach that overrides local concerns. It was blatant discrimination then, and it is blatant discrimination now.

The significant impact of the Administration’s pernicious, discriminatory proposal aimed against transgender individuals, one of the most vulnerable and marginalized communities in America, cannot be overstated. One in three transgender Americans has been homeless at some point in their lives. Shelter is the most basic of human needs. To deny it at the most vulnerable moment in the life of a transgender individual denies trans people their human dignity.

The recent Supreme Court ruling that members of the LGBTQ+ community are protected by Title VII in employment should lead the way on housing protections.”

About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.

6.4.20

Statement of Sunia Zaterman on the Death of George Floyd

Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, provided the following statement in her opening remarks at the Housing Is Summit on the death of George Floyd:

"I would like to address the events of the past week that have roiled our nation’s conscience. The death of George Floyd once again reveals this nation’s centuries old, enduring stain of racism. Our hearts are with the Floyd family and the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor and the multitudes of black men, women and children who have paid the ultimate price for this country’s systematic and lethal racism.

We as a nation cannot move forward until we right the wrong of racial injustice. This means understanding, acknowledging, and dismantling our sanctioned systems of deep structural inequality.

With our nation facing the deadliest pandemic in more than a century, unemployment rates equal to those during the Great Depression, and now the tragic murder of George Floyd, America’s deep racial inequities have been laid bare. Black Americans are two and a half times more likely than whites to be killed by police. The latest overall COVID-19 mortality rate for Black Americans is nearly two and half times higher than the rate for White Americans. If they had died of COVID-19 at the same rate as White Americans, about 13,000 Black Americans would still be alive. COVID-19-related employment loss hit Black Americans far worse than White Americans. Black households have only 10 cents in wealth for every dollar held by white households. 30 percent of black families still live below the poverty line.

These deep structural inequities can and must be dismantled. Our work is to build a movement with cross-sector partners in housing, health and education that rethinks how these systems can work collectively to achieve racial justice and equity. Let our collective work across sectors lead the way so we as a nation can breathe again.”

5.18.20

Media Statement of Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities on the passage of the HEROES Act in the House of Representatives

“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities congratulates House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) and those who voted for swift passage of the HEROES Act today. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the crisis of homelessness and housing insecurity for our most vulnerable households, a crisis that has devastated America’s communities for too long. Thank you to House leadership for their strong support in addressing the growing and unmet need for rental assistance.

The time is now for a widespread and unequivocal commitment to increasing rental assistance. One of the most effective ways to deliver that relief is though our nation’s public housing authorities. The Housing Choice Voucher program serves 2.2 million low-income households and private landlords across the country and should be considered a primary vehicle for delivering rental assistance during this pandemic and beyond.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a rare opportunity to address a systemic challenge. Research over the years has demonstrated that a housing voucher is the most effective way to provide for long-term housing stability. And we know that housing stability directly impacts health and income disparities. A substantial expansion of the Housing Choice Voucher program is desperately needed now if our nation is to fully recover from this pandemic and prosper after."

Media Contact:
David Greer, CLPHA
dgreer@clpha.org

(202) 550-1381

About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.