ANGIE MILES:The cost to rent or buy a home is steadily increasing.

Some are finding themselves living with relatives or homeless.

The search for affordable housing coming up.

Also, remaking public housing in Virginia.

There are some big plans in the works and big questions about whether the promises will come true.

And technology makes it possible to print a home.

We'll show you how and reveal the implications.

You're watching VPM News Focal Point.

Production funding for VPM News Focal Point is provided by Dominion Energy, dedicated to reliably delivering clean and renewable energy throughout Virginia Dominion Energy Actions Speak Louder The estate of Mrs. Ann Lee Saunders Brown and by ♪ ♪ ANGIE MILES: Welcome to VPM News Focal Point.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Angie Miles.

In today's show, we talk about housing and how to meet a basic essential need for all Virginians, shelter.

First though, a look at what's happening around the commonwealth.

In Charles City County, plans for a hotly debated natural gas power plant have cooled.

Developers terminated the Chickahominy Power project after more than five years of regulatory battles and opposition from environmental advocacy groups statewide.

In Norfolk, the community is mourning the sudden death of Virginian Pilot reporter Sierra Jenkins.

The 25 year old was killed in a Granby Street shooting along with one other person.

As authorities investigate, Jenkins' relatives and friends honored her memory at a vigil and called for an end to gun violence.

In Virginia Beach, biologists at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center are investigating multiple sightings of stranded dolphins.

Following reports from the public, scientists spotted more than 15 live dolphins in shallow waters.

At least five dead dolphins had washed ashore.

It's not clear why or how the animals became stuck.

In Richmond, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has received a sizable donation that will fund a major expansion of the art repository, already one of the largest in the nation.

The gift includes 15 paintings by American artists and is valued at $60 million dollars.

This will fuel an expansion and renovation project slated for completion in 2026.

In Charlottesville, the University of Virginia's women's swim and dive teams have made history.

They set five American records in the NCAA championship.

Junior Kate Douglas and sophomore Alex Walsh flushed out the competition winning six individual events combined.

That includes 200 yard butterfly and breaststroke races.

Find more local and national stories at vpm.org/focalpoint ANGIE MILES: Across the country and the commonwealth, there is a critical shortage of affordable housing, and rents continue to rise in Virginia.

There are more than 240,000 renter households that are considered extremely low income.

That means more than a fifth of all renters struggle to pay rent or find suitable housing.

Dennis Ting, our special correspondent in Charlottesville reports on the crisis.

[peeling vegetables] DENNIS TING: When she's not at work or unwinding after a long day you can find Glenda Hill busy around the house cooking and cleaning.

After all, she likes her kitchen spotless.

GLENDA HILL: As they say, cleanliness is close to godliness.

Now, but I don't go to church.

(chuckles) DENNIS TING: Glenda has lived in Charlottesville for more than 40 years raising children and grandchildren.

Over the years, she's bounced around living in different apartments and communities.

Last year, she learned she would have to move again.

GLENDA HILL: I figured, oh well, since they wouldn't renew my lease I'll live with my son and them for about a year until I can get on my own feet.

[running water] DENNIS TING: Glenda recently moved into a house with her son and his girlfriend's family.

She says it's a temporary living situation until she can find a place of her own.

But that's proving to be a challenge.

GLENDA HILL: As far as affordable housing out here there is none.

I don't care what they say.

There is none.

SUNSHINE MATHON: We own and operate about 700 apartments throughout the region and we have waiting lists on all of them.

And sometimes the waiting lists are over a year.

DENNIS TING: Mathon works with the nonprofit Piedmont Housing Alliance serving Charlottesville and several surrounding counties managing several communities.

The organization is working on developing new communities and expanding existing ones to add homes.

Something Mathon says is desperately needed.

Affordable housing is a national crisis.

Here in Virginia one in six families spend more than half of their income on housing and there's still not enough of it.

For every 10 families who need affordable housing they're only four homes available.

In Charlottesville, there are 1,000 people on a waitlist for an affordable housing voucher and there's a shortage of 4,000 homes.

VICTORIA HORROCK: Well, I have multiple clients who are staying in housing that they know is making their children sick, like their children have asthma, the houses are full of mold but they're staying there 'cause there's nowhere else to go.

DENNIS TING: The Legal Aid Justice Center is focused on housing issues.

Horrock says affordable housing is a civil rights issue that disproportionately affects communities of color.

And while she helps clients with eviction prevention rent relief, housing discrimination cases and other legal remedies, she says these are only band-aid solutions.

VICTORIA HORROCK: We ask these questions well why can't we have better housing and it's like, 'cause we're not paying for it as a society.

(bulldozer going) DENNIS TING: Habitat for Humanity for Greater Charlottesville is trying to do just that.

Its latest project, redeveloping the Southwood Mobile Home Park into a multi-income community with the goal of not displacing any of the current residents.

(drilling) Habitat for Humanity is hoping to fill these new homes with residents in need.

People whom Larry Scott works with every day.

[opening door] LARRY SCOTT: I don't look at it as coming to work.

I'm coming to Habitat, 'cause I know I may help somebody.

You know Somebody just like I was.

I was homeless in Jersey.

I was sleeping behind dumpsters, Uhhm-didn't have no life, didn't really care.

DENNIS TING: Larry eventually moved to Charlottesville, got married and found work but he was stuck living in transitional housing and facing a similar problem finding a home of his own.

LARRY SCOTT: I thought that I was too deep in a hole that I was going to still be paying high rent drifting from one place to another.

DENNIS TING: That changed in 2006 when Larry received the keys to his house from Habitat for Humanity.

Discovering this building means more than just a roof over his head.

LARRY SCOTT: Oh man, it's a future for my daughter.

DENNIS TING: While the task may seem daunting there is room for optimism.

Habitat for Humanity says in the last five years there are around 2,000 families who are either in or on the path to better housing in Charlottesville.

That's people like Larry.

LARRY SCOTT: I just walk around with my head up high.

I'm just so happy.

DENNIS TING: It's a feeling that Glenda and many others looking for homes of their own hope they'll find soon.

GLENDA HILL: I will continue trying to be on my own.

DENNIS TING: In Charlottesville I'm Dennis Ting, reporting for VPM News Focal Point.

ANGIE MILES: Advocates say the affordable housing crisis can't be fixed without funding.

And they're calling for legislation to provide money to help families find stable and safe homes.

In Richmond there are more than 10,000 people waiting for vouchers for affordable housing.

As we saw in Charlottesville and across the state, there is much to discuss when it comes to housing.

This week, we asked Virginians to share their thoughts on finding affordable housing.

Keyris Manzanares has our People of Virginia segment.

Keyris.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: Thanks, Angie.

We asked Virginians to share their point of view about the challenges of finding and keeping affordable housing.

Their opinions vary quite a bit as you'll hear in these responses.

DESIREE THOMAS: I've been trying to find places to move, but it doesn't go with my wages, what I get paid.

So it's really hard to find something that's decent enough here in Virginia.

So, yeah.

BRANDON POWELL: I actually did go through I went through a nonprofit for for affordable housing a couple of years ago, and it helped me get my first house.

So I'm very supportive of nonprofits that help in the local areas that do those things.

but I have not been affected, and I was privileged to be part of that, so.

SHARON GRIFFIN-SCHOFIELD: I think it's a right and a privilege.

Because, you know, if you can't get affordable housing, then you're left in a a terrible place, you know.

And not having affordable housing is not good.

I've been in there, I've been in it, so.

MALIQUE MIDDLETON: I've been making the same amount of money for I don't know how long.

I ended up losing my job in November, and I've been unemployed since then.

I applied for so many jobs and opportunities just, I don't know.

I don't know if it's the pandemic, or just like what's going on in general or just like behind-the-scenes stuff.

But here I am, trying to become a doctor and, like, lead the next like big change for America.

But I can't do that because, you know, I'm struggling to pay my rent, pay my bills and et cetera.

So.

Do you have opinions about housing?

After you watch today's stories, please share your thoughts on our website at vpm.org/focalpoint.

ANGIE MILES: The city of Richmond is preparing to tear down thousands of public housing units.

This is a project that the city and the federal government have been considering for decades.

Public housing communities have been around for nearly 100 years.

They typically cluster together people earning the least into government owned properties and charge rent that is no more than 30% of the tenants' monthly earnings.

But if public housing goes, what will happen to those residents, and will they be any better off?

We took those questions to city leaders and to public housing residents.

DENISE WINFREE: My name is Miss Denise Winfree.

I'm a resident of Mosby Court here on Coalter Street.

This is the kitchen.

ANGIE MILES: Denise Winfree is gracious enough to give us a tour of her home.

Affectionately known to neighbors as Miss D, she's lived in Richmond's Mosby Court community for 10 years.

During that time, she's been meticulous about making her small two-bedroom apartment into an inviting home.

DENISE WINFREE: I enjoy having all of the family over so we can have big family dinners.

The stove area is so small.

It cooks good but it takes a lot for me to have to keep cooking and cooking, when I could use a bigger stove space.

I am very hopeful for the new plan and I want to give full input and I believe I have some good ideas.

ANGIE MILES: Winfree is one of about 10,000 public housing residents preparing to put Richmond's aging, public housing units behind them.

Over the next several years, Richmond's Redevelopment and Housing Authority intends to demolish the six largest public housing developments and replace those with mixed income units.

Housing communities that have become synonymous with violence, drugs, and crime were touted as a bright new beginning when they were first built.

An outgrowth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, the first federally subsidized housing in Richmond was Gilpin Court in the Jackson Ward neighborhood.

A decade later on Southside, Hillside Court opened for whites only.

Then in the East End, came Creighton, Whitcomb, Fairfield and Mosby Courts.

For decades, Richmond leaders have talked about wanting to re-envision and recreate these neighborhoods.

It appears the time may have come.

Interim Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Director, Stacey Daniels-Fayson shares a vision of how good life might be for thousands of public housing tenants once these mixed income units are complete.

STACEY DANIELS-FAYSON: I would like to see our families to have the amenities that they know that we have in terms of Wi-Fi, washer, dryer, 21st century stoves, refrigerators, you know, appliances.

And you know, some people may think, well, that's not really a lot, but I think it is.

ANGIE MILES: In stages, the Housing Authority is engaging residents to hear what they want in new homes, elsewhere or rebuilt on the current site.

Assisting with temporary relocation and providing credits or vouchers to allow current tenants to rent or purchase a new home, and in time to return to their rebuilt communities if they choose.

STACEY DANIELS-FAYSON: It's very important for us to work strategically with the city, as well as our stakeholders and others to ensure that any project that we have, any redevelopment efforts that we have, is appropriately funded and is completed.

It may not necessarily be completed on time, just because of the nature of the business in terms of construction, but we want to be very responsible and intentional in terms of how we redevelop.

ANGIE MILES: One of Richmond's partners, the Better Housing Coalition has used its nonprofit resources for more than three decades.

Currently, BHC provides affordable housing for more than 3,000 Richmonders.

GRETA HARRIS: There was a single dad with two young kids who formally lived in Creighton Court public housing, and he moved into one of our newer developments in Church Hill called the Goodwyn that's on Venable Street.

When one of our teammates was showing him around the new unit that he would be in, he started crying because some of the public housing units, the interior walls are cinder block that is what you see.

There's sometimes questionable heat, no air conditioning.

When he walked in, he had an open space plan, big windows with wonderful light coming in, granite countertops, pendant lighting, and full-size washer dryer, and a thermostat that he could control.

It's wonderful to be able to see people have hope that their future can be better than their present.

ANGIE MILES: Focal Point had the opportunity to visit Armstrong Renaissance, one of the new communities where RRHA, Better Housing and several others are partnering for a mixed income development with both rentals and homes for purchase.

It's right across the street from Creighton Court, and some of its first residents came from Creighton.

I spoke with some who did not want to be seen on camera but who unanimously expressed satisfaction with their new homes that they tell me are affordable for them, also newer, cleaner and safer than where they were.

[INTERVIEWEE]: This is something totally different from over at Creighton.

The walls, the whole unit period, is most spacious.

I have three floors, everything in here is brand new, it's a lot of things you can't do over there that you can do here.

And my kids love it.

ANGIE MILES: Some longtime public housing residents are skeptical that the change will be good for everyone.

Shakima Broaddus grew up in Gilpin Court and is now in other public housing but is in the process of buying a first home for her family.

She says there are a few people who prefer to live on the system rather than pushing to own more and be more self-sufficient.

SHAKIMA BROADDUS: I think people don't like to hear they living off the system, but you have some people that really are because you have folks that can go out and get a job and they choose not to because they are getting assistance.

And if you apply for assistance and you work, you get denied versus you not working, you can get approved for assistance.

ANGIE MILES: Broaddus says, public housing is better as a temporary solution and that while she enjoyed the sense of community at Gilpin Court, she thinks it's time for something new in its place.

OMARI AL-QADAFFI: And the iris is coming back.

ANGIE MILES: Omari Al-Qadaffi is a community organizer and housing activist.

He's focused for years on what's best for low-income residents in Richmond.

Even now, he tends a green space he helped create next to Mosby Court.

And he warns of the danger of giving too much control to private partners, even well-intentioned nonprofits.

OMARI AL-QADAFFI: I would much rather see public housing renovated and not turned over to a private developer or a private landlord.

It's a public resource that really needs to stay in the public sphere.

You know, there is no data that shows that this large group of people, you know they moved over to mixed income housing and then their lives just were so improved.

ANGIE MILES: History does support some of what concerns him.

In the 1990's, as HUD implemented its HOPE SIX Program to revitalize America's urban centers results were not universally positive.

In Richmond's Blackwell neighborhood the demolition of more than 400 public housing units with a promise of hundreds of new mixed housing units translated into only a few dozen new homes.

And 25 years later, most of Blackwell's former public health housing residents are still scattered.

Some became homeless and HOPE SIX is still unfinished.

OMARI AL-QADAFFI: I think that the promises of public housing haven't been realized yet, you know?

A lot of advocates including myself, we like to look towards the opportunities that are in like the Section 3 program.

There's been so many studies about the missed opportunities to inject wealth into the communities, through those mechanisms, you know?

And I really think that those are real ways using the Section 3 program.

That's a real way where you're not just giving money over to non-profits to deal with people in a paternalistic way, you're actually - you know 'cause, that's, that's that's not empowerment, you know, that's not sustainable.

ANGIE MILES: Section 3 of the 1968 Housing and Development Act earmarks money for wealth building opportunities for people living in public housing.

It is not part of this revitalization project.

RRHA's Daniels-Fayson says many of the potential pitfalls are being addressed as the region learns from past mistakes and as RRHA works hard to gain and keep the trust of residents.

She says it is a priority.

STACEY DANIELS-FAYSON: We certainly can learn from the past, and that's one of our models, is lessons learned to any projects that we have if there's any, you know roadblocks, we do want to learn from that.

ANGIE MILES: Harris also highlights the many services provided to those who make the move.

GRETA HARRIS: The thought is not to put someone in a community of opportunity, and then just leave them on their own.

The hope is that there will be a collective of people coming that you can support one another, you build trusting relationships.

ANGIE MILES: So that even if their rent increases slightly, they find support in terms of job training, access to transportation and educational opportunities, so they get a genuine chance at a life makeover that is more than a surface change.

DENISE WINFREE: Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority, when they decide to do the new plans of housing structure, have the closets where we can close the closets off where family, friends, and loved one, do not have eye contact to your personal belongings in the closet.

ANGIE MILES: Miss D says she is ready.

While she doesn't claim complete trust in the system or the process, she's willing to take a chance.

DENISE WINFREE: So they are going to have more meetings with us.

I'm hoping that other people will join.

ANGIE MILES: And she says, she believes that by investing her time and ideas as an active participant in the planning process, she's more likely to get what she wants.

Including doors and a dryer and a great big stove so she can finally host big Sunday dinners.

ANGIE MILES: In Richmond, Creighton Court is just the first of the six public housing neighborhoods to undergo the transformation.

About a third of the complex is boarded up and as residents exit, the buildings could start to come down later this year.

ANGIE MILES: Since the pandemic began, home prices have risen to the highest rates in 15 years.

What if the answer to increasing Virginia's stock of affordable housing isn't building or buying homes, but printing them?

Houses built using a 3D printer in Williamsburg and Richmond have already seen success.

In this week's spotlight, meet Dr. Andrew McCoy, who leads Virginia Tech's researchers trying to solve the affordable housing crisis by 3D printing homes.

ANDREW MCCOY: Working on affordable housing is extremely satisfying.

You meet people every day who are in need.

You have ways that you can help them.

A lot of this goes back to 2008.

So, when we had the recession, we lost, you know, half of our capacity to actually build.

On top of it, with the pandemic, then we started getting to the place where lumber prices, material prices, supply chain issues and the stresses of that, on the ability to produce houses as well.

What we've been working on, especially, is 3D concrete printing.

What you're doing is you're, (machine whirring) creating a large printer.

You're attaching kind of a concrete pump to it.

You're, then, introducing computers.

I would compare it to a layer cake, right?

So you're just building layers upon layers, (indistinct chatter) vertically, and you have all kinds of different ways that you need to kind of control that, and make sure that it's fitting the right size and in the right direction and the coordinates that you set.

The 3D concrete printing is very customizable.

So that's what's, one thing that's very nice about it.

We think it's wonderful to provide an affordable home that people can purchase, but it's also another thing to provide a home that people can afford to operate, right?

And energy prices are rising.

These houses that we've built and designed in the state of Virginia so far, they have very low operating costs.

They're all electric.

With the Williamsburg house, I was lucky enough that they asked me to be part of the dedication and to actually hand the keys to the owner.

>>Welcome home.

(audience applauding) ANDREW MCCOY: The owner is this amazing person, who's a single mother, who had worked three jobs during the pandemic to make sure that she would qualify to be able to afford the house.

It's a real win, in terms of how we might look at economic growth, and then it's helping people who might otherwise, not have a chance to build equity and to grow their own economic footprint.

It gives them options.

I don't know that people understand affordable housing and the depth and breadth of, not only the needs in it, but also how it works.

It's a very large part of our population that needs better housing choices, closer to where they need to work or live, and what this does, having affordable housing, it provides stability.

We have a lot of tools in the toolbox, right?

3D concrete printing is just one of them.

The fun part is, that we're actually part of this happening.

Virginia Tech is a group that is playing in this sandbox, actively.

We have a lot of different researchers who are trying to understand how the industry's going to change and we should see more and more printing in Virginia.

It's exciting.

(machine whirring) ANGIE MILES: That's our focus on affordable housing.

We'd like to know more about your experiences and your opinions on the issues we've covered.

Also, please share your story ideas at vpm.org/focalpoint.

Thank you for joining us.

We'll see you next time.

Production funding for VPM News Focal Point is provided by Dominion Energy, dedicated to reliably delivering clean and renewable energy throughout Virginia Dominion Energy Actions Speak Louder The estate of Mrs. Ann Lee Saunders Brown and by ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪