New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell gets special delivery at City Hall in support of housing

NEW BEDFORD - There was a special delivery to Mayor Jon Mitchell Thursday.

It was delivered by about a dozen supporters of United Interfaith Action of Southeastern Massachusetts .

Their message boiled down to this: More needs to be done to address the housing crisis in New Bedford.

The group hosted a meeting Monday to discuss their concerns at the Our Lady of the Assumption Church Hall.

Supporters decided to hand-deliver message

Mitchell was invited but had replied six to eight weeks ago that he probably wouldn't be attending, said Andrea Sheppard Lomba, UIA executive director.

In the interim, they tried to change his mind or persuade him to send a representative.

When that didn't materialize Monday, they decided to hand deliver some letters to his City Hall office outlining their concerns and what they would like to see done.

Sheppard Lomba said they had about 70 letters to deliver Thursday. The letters were received in his office. He was not at City Hall at the time.

Mitchell is responding but more needs to be done

She said Mitchell is working to address the crisis, persuaded in part by UIA lobbying two years ago to spend more ARPA, CPA and CDBG money for housing. The city had been doing the minimum until then, she said.

Sheppard Lomba added there has also been some affordable housing development that's emerged in the last two years.

The group also supports Mitchell's hiring of Josh Amaral as the city's new director of housing and community development.

"So it's not like he isn't doing anything, but given the level of the crisis, there's a lot more that should and could be done," Sheppard Lomba said.

The statistics cited are alarming

The alarming statistics cited by the UIA, compiled from research, a non-profit MassINC report, the point-in-time homeless count, the city school dept., and housing authority, include:

• 23% of households are severely cost burdened because they're spending more than 50% of their income on housing vs. the statewide average of 14%.
• Rents rose 27% in New Bedford between 2022 and 2023.
• 86% of New Bedford residents can't afford to buy a home.
• There are 6,888 people on New Bedford's Section 8 wait list (federal subsidy).
• There are 2,534 people on the city's wait list for public housing.
• There are 346 individuals in shelters, transitional housing or on the streets.
• 1,100 New Bedford Public School students have experienced homelessness during this school year.
• New Bedford has the fourth highest eviction rate in Massachusetts, 879 since October 2020.
• New Bedford is 40% owner-occupied and 60% renters. Current development and rental costs are trending toward market rates, pricing long-time residents out of their homes.
• New Bedford needs at least 5,000-6,000 new housing units to stabilize the housing market, so that the supply will meet the demand for housing in the city.

UIA wants to set up a meeting with Mitchell within the next 30 days to discuss support of inclusionary zoning (10% or more of all future development as affordable), committing to at least 10% affordability of all housing development around the MBTA stations in the city, and committing to spend 30% of remaining ARPA money (American Rescue Plan Act), CPA (Community Preservation Act) and CDBG (Community Development Block Grant)money on affordable housing and homelessness.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell gets special delivery at City Hall in support of housing