Meet The State’s new housing and livability reporter, Rebecca Liebson
Dear readers,
This may be the first time you’re seeing my byline but it won’t be the last. Starting this week, I am diving headfirst into my new role as a housing and livability reporter for The State.
I’ll be reporting on how the national affordable housing crisis has taken shape here in the Midlands with a special focus on public and substandard housing.
I’ll also be taking a look at quality of life in the region and the racial, economic and social disparities that exist across every sector from education to health care.
This position is the first of its kind and it would not be possible without help. A combination of your donations, a $30,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Advised Fund at the Central Carolina Community Foundation and support from Report For America — a national nonprofit designed to bolster local news — have come together to allow The State to bring you coverage of these important community issues.
When two residents of the Allen Benedict Court public housing complex died from carbon monoxide poisoning in their homes last year, the news sent shock waves across the state. Many were left wondering how something like this could happen.
This tragedy did not occur in a vacuum.
For years, dwindling federal funding for public housing has created immense challenges for local housing authorities. According to SC Housing, a statewide housing finance agency, there are about 72,000 subsidized housing units in South Carolina. That’s only enough to help one in five low-income renters.
Meanwhile, the cost of rent in the private marketplace continues to go up. In Richland County, more than a quarter of renters spend upwards of half of their income on housing. It should come as no surprise then that Columbia has the eighth highest eviction rate of any city nationwide, according data from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.
There is a growing body of evidence that points to housing as the baseline for upward mobility. Where you live helps determine everything from the taxes you pay, to the schools you attend to the air you breathe.
The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will no doubt exacerbate these problems and, as we’ve seen time and time again, Black households will be disproportionately affected.
While part of my job will be to act as a watchdog for the public and private actors charged with carrying out policy, above all else I will work to shine a light on the human impact of the affordable housing crisis.
It can be so easy to get caught up in the staggering breadth of national issues like housing discrimination, eviction and homelessness that we lose sight of the fact that these things are happening in our own backyard. My goal is to put a face to these problems by highlighting the stories of individuals.
With that in mind, if you have tips, concerns, or just feel like chatting, please do not hesitate to reach out. I am grateful for the opportunity to do this sort of public service journalism, but my role is not possible without input from you, the public!
Thank you to all of those who have welcomed me into your city with open arms so far. I look forward to getting to know as many of you as possible and sharing your stories in the year to come.
