G.I.C.H. - University of Georgia

C o V e r S t o r Y
G.I.C.H.
GeorGia initiative for Community HousinG
Giving
Communities
“Boocoodles”
of Housing
By Denise Horton
4 F A C S . S P R I N G . 2 0 0 8
Tools
t’s an eyesore seen in towns throughout the nation: A small house
sitting on a corner in a depressed part of town. If the windows
aren’t boarded over, they’re broken. The paint has faded and
the porch is falling in. It may be a haven for drug users or other
criminal enterprises. Local residents ask again and again why it
can’t be bulldozed to make room for a new home.
To city managers throughout Georgia these houses are
ongoing nightmares, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg when
it comes to the housing issues they face on a daily basis. Housing
issues that can make a difference in whether a community
prospers.
“Quality, affordable housing is critically needed for Georgia’s
families,” according to Tom Rodgers (Professor Emeritus,
Housing and Consumer Economics). “But Georgia communities
have to simultaneously respond to the problems of substandard
and dilapidated housing and deteriorating neighborhoods.”
Since 2004, the Georgia Initiative for Community
Housing has provided Georgia communities a systematic way
to answer those needs through twice yearly, facilitated retreats
that also allow time for the sharing of ideas on subjects as diverse as
building codes, land banks and detailed information on federal and
state housing-related programs.
The idea for GICH grew out of the National League of Cities’
Affordable Housing Program, which identifies several communities in
a state to participate in an 18-month program.
“When that program ended, we realized that you can make a great
start in 18 months, but to really make progress, cities need three
years to determine what needs to be done in their communities
and to begin implementing those programs,” Rodgers says.
Lead by faculty in the FACS Housing and Demographics
Research Center, GICH partners also include the Georgia
Municipal Association and the Georgia Department of
Community Affairs. Funding for the program
has been provided by the Georgia
Power Co., the Wachovia
Foundation, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Rural
Development, while the Georgia
Electric Membership Corp. and the
UGA Archway Partnership Program
have provided program support.
2005 marked the kickoff for GICH
with the selection of its first class of
communities—Cartersville, Fort Valley,
Sylvester, Thomasville, Valdosta and
Waycross.