MHA Talks Affordable Housing With State Sen. Dan Laughlin

Sen. Dan Laughlin hosted a meeting at his office March 31, 2017 with MHA CEO, Bill Grove, Community Engagement Coordinator, Diana Ames, and Roy Remone, Compeer/Compeer Corps Coordinator for veterans from MHA in Butler. We had requested the meeting to talk about safe affordable housing options for low/very low income persons. Many of MHA’s members are in this income category and are living in spaces that are very poorly maintained, or are homeless. Sen. Laughlin was very receptive to this issue and expressed his own specific concern about the many persons released from prison environments who also struggle with housing issues due to the barriers to housing prompted by their history of incarceration. The discussion was highlighted by our interest in the tiny house phenomenon and its potential as a source for lease and home ownership for any of the low income populations represented at the table.

Senator Laughlin provided direction for immediate actions that we could undertake and suggested that he may be convening a forum for further discussions around the issue of safe affordable housing in Erie. We thank Sen. Laughlin for his attention to this matter and look forward to a continuing dialog and action on the issue.