Louisiana Housing Corporation to Shine Light on Issue of Blight at Upcoming Roundtable

More than 150 government officials and community leaders from across the state are expected to attend

BATON ROUGE, LA – Neighborhood blight and the presence of vacant and abandoned properties affect all types of communities in every corner of the state — and the Louisiana Housing Corporation wants to change that.

LHC this month will hold a Blight Remediation and Abatement Roundtable for an in-depth conversation about the challenges of addressing abandoned and deteriorated homes and buildings. The event will take place Nov. 19 at the Louisiana Housing Corporation office. Registration is open here.

LHC Executive Director Keith Cunningham says blight is a complex issue that represents the long-lasting effects of poverty and natural disasters in our communities and that affects rural as well as urban communities throughout the state.

“The fact that we as a state have not developed a solution is an indication of how difficult this problem is,” he says. “The Blight Roundtable is our attempt to better understand the issue of blight — including its origins and possible solutions — so we can be a resource to the community and help our cities, parishes and communities better address it.”

Community leaders from all sectors are invited to join us for the discussion of how blight affects quality of life for Louisiana residents.

During the roundtable, we will:

• Examine current legislation.
• Analyze blight-related ordinances and laws.
• Explore what’s working and what’s not working.
• Discuss challenges in rural communities versus urban communities.
• Review successful blight remediation and abatement examples.
• Identify solutions and develop strategies to address blight.

While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, Cunningham says bringing people together who have a vested interest in this issue serves as a building block to tackle this ever-growing problem in innovative and lasting ways.

“This event is important because it’s no longer enough just to complain about a problem,” Cunningham says. “We have to be involved in the solution. We believe communities sharing information about their best practices and challenges related to blight is a valuable first step toward a lasting solution.”

ABOUT LHC
The Louisiana Housing Corporation’s mission is to ensure that every Louisiana resident is granted an opportunity to obtain safe, affordable, energy-efficient housing. Each day this ongoing challenge is met by a dedicated staff of professionals who allocate federal and state funds to help low-to-moderate income citizens make their housing dreams a reality.

We administer federal and state funds through programs designed to advance the development of energy efficient and affordable housing for working families, drive housing policy for Louisiana and oversee the state’s Disaster Housing Task Force.