Stories of Hope
BOLD Justice
Broward County, Florida
The Issue: Affordable housing, especially for low-to moderate-income families, is hard to find.
In southeast Florida, a large portion of Broward County households spend half of their monthly income on rent or mortgage. Many of these families are only one paycheck away from homelessness. That’s why clergy from twenty interfaith, interracial congregations called Broward Organized Leaders Doing Justice, or BOLD Justice, put their minds together to promote a variety of strategies to encourage the construction of affordable housing. In just three years, BOLD Justice’s hard work is responsible for more than 1,100 new rental units.
The Impact: Renters and homeowners are finding affordable options for them to call home.
BOLD Justice has also helped homeowners renegotiate their mortgages, and rectified mistakes that caused unemployment benefits to be wrongly terminated. Next, the group will address improving elementary reading programs, citing the correlation among low reading levels, high school drop-out rates, and future poverty.
Andy Lee, BOLD Justice’s lead organizer, stated, “CCHD grants allowed us to maintain and expand staff and train up to 2,000 people. None of the things we’ve accomplished would have been done without CCHD.”