Found House Interfaith Housing Network hosted a panel discussion on the role faith communities play in addressing the affordable housing crisis on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 8:30 a.m.
The discussion was moderated by Becca Costello, a reporter for Cincinnati Public Radio.
It was joined by Rev. Thomas Barnes of Kemper Road Christian Church, Jeanine Colozza of LISC Cleveland, Rev. Melanie Slane of Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, and Rabbi Moshe Smolkin of Adath Israel Congregation.
Panelists
Barnes became the pastor of Kemper Road Christian Church after Rev. Nancy Eichorn retired.
According to Kemper Road, he has frequently stated that he leads a Christian Church rather than a church that is designated as white or black.
With his help, the church has a membership of more than 100 followers and remains a thriving and expanding congregation.
Meanwhile, Colozza is the Chief Lending Officer for the Cornerstone Fund, which is connected to the United Church of Christ.
Before that, she held several roles, including serving as a Senior Loan Officer with Village Capital Corporation, a Senior Project Manager with New Village Corporation, a CDC Director, and a Development and Project Management Consultant.
She has over 30 years of experience in project development and lending in the Greater Cleveland and Akron areas and has worked mainly with non-profit organizations to provide project management services and technical assistance.
Colloza earned her MS in Public Management and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and her BS from Pennsylvania State University.
In addition to her professional work, she volunteers her time and expertise to support various local initiatives.
Most recently, she was a Board Member and Finance Chairperson for the Berea Animal Rescue Fund.
On the other hand, Slane is currently working as an Assistant Priest at Emmanuel Episcopal Church located in Webster Groves, Missouri.
She resides in St. Louis with her spouse, Chris, who is also an Assistant Priest at Emmanuel, along with their two sons, Constantine, who is two years old, and Aristotle, who is only two months old.
In 2013, Slane received a Master's in Divinity degree from The Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria.
Before relocating to St. Louis, she worked as an Assistant Rector at The Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Slane has experience in asset-based community development as she worked as a missionary in the Philippines from 2009 to 2010.
During that time, she assisted a group of native women in starting a small business that produced organic jam.
Slane has also ministered in various locations, such as Turkey, The Navajo Nation, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, and Palestine.
As for Smolkin, he is the head rabbi at Adath Israel Congregation.
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis and a Master of Arts in Mathematics Education from Tufts.
He enjoyed teaching high school mathematics in Boston before attending the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University in Los Angeles.
During his time at rabbinical school, he completed an internship as an interfaith chaplain, studied in Jerusalem, and served at Mishkon Tephilo in Venice, California.
Smolkin was ordained in 2009 and received two awards for his outstanding performance in Talmud studies.
Following his ordination, he served as the rabbi at Ohavay Zion Synagogue in Lexington, Kentucky for a decade.
Faith Communities, Affordable Housing Crisis
According to a report by Deseret, religious organizations and places of worship throughout the United States are taking action to address the rising cost of housing.
This includes a range of initiatives, such as protests, proposals for policy changes, and efforts to construct affordable housing on unused church property.
Experts in both religion and housing agree that repurposing church property in this way is a mutually beneficial solution that more churches across the country should consider.
As fewer people affiliate with organized religion and churches require less space, creative solutions like selling or leasing property for affordable or mixed-income housing could provide much-needed income to struggling congregations while also serving the community.
According to Jamie Smarr, Senior Vice President of the NHP Foundation’s Affiliate Program, which focuses on creating and maintaining affordable housing, there is a significant shortage of housing in the US, and churches own millions of parcels of land that could be used to help address this issue.
However, effective faith-based responses to the housing crisis will necessitate the collaboration of religious organizations and the government.
Although certain policymakers hold the belief that there should be a separation of church and state, this constitutional principle is not relevant in this situation.
This is because the goal is to address a significant public policy issue.
And so, according to Smarr, both parties must work closely together to find a solution.
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