A Little Louder

Latest Episodes:

Episode 45: Texas GLO and Discrimination May 19, 2022

Show notes

John is joined by Texas Housers' Advocacy Director David Wheaton on this episode to discuss the recent final determination from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that the Texas General Land Office discriminated against Black and Hispanic Texans in their distribution of CDBG-MIT funds to protect their neighborhoods from future storms and disasters. John and David break down the creation of these dollars, how the discrimination happened, and what needs to come next to protect these neglected communities.

Buzz Session 4: Justices of the Peace are ignoring tenant protections May 06, 2022

Show notes

For this Buzz Session episode, John is joined by Texas Housers' Tori Tavormina and Erin Hahn who both are observing eviction court in Houston and San Antonio respectively. What they are seeing there is that while tenant protections exist for those who are receiving rent relief, they are not necessarily observed. We dive deep into what's happening and what needs to come next for eviction court.

Episode 44: Issues with Texas Rent Relief Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

On this episode, John explores issues we have heard personally, as well as in the media, regarding the Texas Rent Relief program. While it has been stellar in distributing funds quickly to those who need it, how can they improve accuracy and targeting? And how can we ensure that those seeking help aren't lost in the shuffle and displaced from their homes? We're joined by Texas Housers eviction prevention specialist Tori Tavormina and research analyst Erin Hahn to learn more.

Episode 43: What could a Tenant Bill of Rights do for San Antonio? Apr 06, 2022

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Texas Housers, alongside community members and Texas Organizing Project, have strongly declared together that San Antonio needs a Tenant Bill of Rights.

We outlined on our blog what the items in a Tenant Bill of Rights in San Antonio would be, but what does that look like in detail? On this episode of A Little Louder, John is joined by Texas Housers' advocacy director David Wheaton and Texas Organizing Project's Geoffrey Okolo to explain how a Tenant Bill of Rights could effect real, practical change in the city of San Antonio.

Buzz Session 3: Treasury must clarify plan for recapturing Emergency Rent Assistance funds Apr 01, 2022

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In A Little Louder Buzz Session #3, Texas Housers’ Senior Researcher Ben Martin and Research Analyst Erin Hahn discuss the confusion caused by the Treasury Department. They make the case for why it is important to clarify the federal policies on clawing back Emergency Rent Assistance.
The US Treasury Department oversees state and local government expenditures of federal Emergency Rent Assistance funds. Texas Housers has discovered inconsistencies in the Treasury Department’s administration of these funds that is causing confusion on when unexpended funds will be taken away from local programs who have not spent all the funds they were allocated. Listen now!

Buzz Session 2: Lessons to learn from COVID Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

In our latest Buzz Session from A Little Louder, host John Henneberger sits with Texas Housers' Southeast Texas regional director Julia Orduña, communications manager Michael Depland, and research analyst Erin Hahn to talk about what are the takeaways we've learned as advocates and those fighting for housing justice under this unique crisis. What are the temporary changes that need to become permanent? The group talks about what is happening now, with nearly two years under these circumstances, and what needs to happen next. You can watch the video of 'A Little Louder Video Buzz Session 2: Lessons to learn from COVID' on our website, or you can listen to the audio version wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode 42: Expanding The Rights of Tenants In Austin with BASTA Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

On this episode, John is joined by Shoshana Krieger of BASTA Austin who stops by to talk about the fights for tenants' rights happening in both Austin City Council and alongside fellow organizers on the ground. Krieger spoke with us about demanding more protections for tenants in Austin and the hurdles BASTA faces individually as renters as well as a progressive organization in a tenant-hostile state.

Buzz Session 1: Eviction Surge In Texas Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

A Little Louder listeners! We have a very special episode today in a new series we call 'Buzz Sessions'. This is our way of quickly reacting to news and topics happening right now. The first 'Buzz Session' we hosted features John Henneberger and Texas Housers senior researcher Ben Martin talking about the urgency of quickly rising eviction numbers in our state with several protections going away, the deadline for rental assistance expiring soon approaching, and what needs to be done to cure both of these issues.

Episode 41: Houston’s Dangerous Apartment Problem Part 1 Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

A Little Louder is launching a new miniseries on substandard housing in Texas and this episode kicks off the special project with Professor Heather K. Way talking about her in-depth report regarding housing in the Sunnyside area of Houston. In this 2017 presentation to residents and community leaders of Sunnyside, Professor Way talks about the months-long study about the dangerous apartment epidemic in Houston, the City of Houston's role in this epidemic, and what should happen to fix the issue.

Spending months pouring through complaints, 311 calls, speaking with residents, and many other data points, the answers to the issue was clear: empower tenants to both address their dangerous living situations and overhaul the city's ability and priority to help these tenants. Listen now for more with Professor Way.

Episode 40: Demolition Deluge in San Antonio Dec 10, 2021

Show notes

On this episode of A Little Louder, John is joined by Heather Way, co-director of the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, to talk about the report “Ousted: The City of San Antonio’s Displacement of Residents through Code Enforcement Actions.” This new report from Way and the ECDC details the outsized demolitions happening in San Antonio – specifically located in Black and Latino neighborhoods of the city. There have been hundreds of “orders to vacate” and “orders to demolish” that the City of San Antonio has issued between 2015 – 2020; these numbers far higher than other metropolitan areas in the state like Houston, Austin, and Dallas combined.

In addition to Professor Way, A Little Louder also welcomes Texas Housers South Texas Regional Director Mia Loseff to the podcast to talk about how our organization contributed to the report, what the local organizers and community activists are doing to counteract demolitions, and our extensive work in San Antonio.

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