NEWS & EVENTS
NEWS
"'This is a problem that is going on across the city unfortunately,' said Claudia Sanford, with the UCHC. 'When we came here, the building was in horrible disrepair. The doors were not secured or locked. Having a fire when the building isn't secure is not surprising.'"
Click on Detroit / October 23, 2019
“We view helping people who are losing their homes as a bailout ... but what is ultimately happening when we demolish occupied houses is we're bailing out bad government,” said Michele Oberholtzer, director of Tax Foreclosure Prevention at United Community Housing Coalition. “We need to save these precious things rather than waiting for the convenience of vacancy to write a check to a contractor, which will not benefit anyone [but the contractor].”
Deadline Detroit / October 13, 2019
"'We've been pushing for some sort of retro (poverty exemption) for a long time,' said Ted Phillips, executive director of the United Community Housing Coalition, a nonprofit that works directly with tax-delinquent Detroit homeowners."
Detroit Free Press / October 9, 2019
"Draft legislation for the “Pay as You Stay” (PAYS) plan, expected to be introduced this week by Rep. Wendell Byrd (D-Detroit), would help approximately 31,000 Detroit homeowners stay in their homes by dramatically reducing the amount they owe on their back taxes and lowering their monthly payments, according to the city."
Click on Detroit / October 9, 2019
"Sheffield has been working with the United Community Housing Coalition, Michigan Legal Services and other organizations to craft a plan that would service 20% of individuals facing evictions each year for the next five years at a cost of $4 million dollars."
Detroit Free Press / September 30, 2019
"Some of those property owners will get help before the auction from groups like the United Community Housing Coalition, a nonprofit that works to settle tax debt for struggling homeowners."
Detroit Free Press / August 14, 2019
"Ten organizations have been announced as recipients of $1,714,500 in grants from the Hudson-Webber Foundation.
... Additional organizations to receive grants include the Public Rights Project, Eastern Market Partnership, and Detroit Regional Partnership, in the Community and Economic Development category; Midtown Detroit, Inc. and United Community Housing Coalition in the Built Environment category; and, in the Policy and Research category, the Council of Michigan Foundations.
Model D / August 13, 2019
“The person who lives in the home is likely to be the one who cares about it,” Michele Oberholtzer, director of the Tax Foreclosure Prevention Project at United Community Housing Coalition, told Curbed. “And if they have homeownership interest, then the interest of the occupant can align with the interest of the home.”
Detroit Metro Times / August 13, 2019
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“The person who lives in the home is likely to be the one who cares about it,” says Michele Oberholtzer, director of the Tax Foreclosure Prevention Project at United Community Housing Coalition. “And if they have homeownership interest, then the interest of the occupant can align with the interest of the home.”
Curbed Detroit / August 12, 2019
“The fact that you can use funds to tear down homes to eliminate blight, but you can’t use the same damn funds to help people stay in their home to prevent blight, is ridiculous,” Phillips said.
Michigan Radio / August 2, 2019
"13th Annual Summer Solstice Event |Saturday, June 22nd from 6:30-8:30 pm | In the courtyard of the Kerrytown Market & Shops, join Everyday Wines to celebrate the solstice and raise money for the United Community Housing Coalition. Mingle, network, and taste finger-foods while sipping wine. Tickets for the event cost $25 and include four wine pours."
Click on Detroit.com / June 17, 2019
"Ted Phillips...that eviction cases tend to move through the legal system fast. Without an attorney, tenants may end up with a hearing that only lasts around a minute.
'It’s very difficult to get your rights heard when you’re in a situation like that. Everybody’s moving quickly [and] having an attorney gives you a chance to step back, look at the legal issues, and try to get things resolved,' Phillips explained."
Michigan Radio / April 16, 2019
"Often, occupants do not realize their landlords had failed to pay property taxes and that the homes were to be foreclosed. In the first year of the program, 63 residents took possession of the deeds to their homes through the program, and others are on payment plans working to get the deed, which is held by the non-profit United Community Housing Coalition."
EfficientGov / March 29, 2019
"United Community Housing Coalition is one of the groups at the forefront of both of those issues [housing insecurity, evictions, lack of representation, poverty]. Executive Director Ted Phillips and Michele Oberholtzer, director of the group's tax foreclosure prevention project, join Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson."
WDET / March 27, 2019
"Imagine if half the time a person was charged with a crime they went straight to prison without consulting a lawyer or going to court. Not because they were guilty ' but because the system was so stacked against them it didn't seem worth fighting the case, or they didn't even know they could."
Detour Detroit / March 25, 2019
"It caused controversy last year when the Detroit Free Press first revealed in October that residents of the 13-story building were given 30-day eviction notices. The newspaper also reported that the city is using $400,000, which includes $350,000 for the nonprofit United Community Housing Coalition, to help the vacating residents of the 180-room building."
Crain's Detroit Business / March 25, 2019
Testimony of Ted Phillips
Executive Director, United Community Housing Coalition
US House of Representatives Committee Repository / August 2, 2019
"The idea was presented Tuesday at a "Detroit Eviction Right To Counsel Summit" that included city leaders. Housing advocates estimate that just five percent of renters whose cases are heard in court are represented. There are more than 30,000 eviction cases in the city each year."
Deadline Detroit / March 13, 2019
"The summit's sponsors included more than 20 organizations, including the State Bar of Michigan, the ACLU of Michigan, several Michigan law schools and Ford Motor Co., organizers said. "This is huge," said Ted Phillips, executive director of the United Community Housing Coalition, which represents tenants in courts. "When people aren't represented, they are evicted. We can't possibly keep up."
The Detroit News / March 12, 2019
"In 36th District Court, which serves Detroit, there are so many evictions that four separate courtrooms are dedicated to them. Judges can process hundreds of evictions before lunch."
Bridge Magazine, Detroit Journalism Cooperative / March 12, 2019
