Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

The Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama (LIHCA) is a statewide coalition with a mission to increase housing opportunities for Alabamians with the greatest financial need. LIHCA's focus includes access to and retention of safe, decent, and affordable housing for individuals and families. LIHCA advocates on behalf of all low-wealth Alabamians, especially those living at or below 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI), and special needs populations including individuals who are experiencing homelessness, are disabled, live with mental illness or intellectual disability, are affected by HIV/AIDS or substance abuse, and the aging population. Membership is comprised primarily of individuals and organizations that work with people in need of affordable housing.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that Alabama lacks over 90,000 available and affordable homes for extremely low-wealth Alabamians. These numbers were published before April 2011. What was already a terrible situation was made exponentially worse by the tornado destruction on April 27th. Alabama’s Emergency Management Agency reports complete destruction of 5,800 homes, 7,300 homes with major damage, and another 15,000 homeowners reporting some level of storm damage. This is a significant housing crisis that affects all Alabamians, but disproportionately affects those who live in poverty.

LIHCA addresses the housing crisis by reaching out and educating Alabama residents about the need for more affordable housing, providing regular opportunities for housing and service providers to network, and working with state legislators to create a lasting resource. LIHCA disseminates information to Alabamians in a variety of ways. These include 1) educating membership on state housing policy issues and resources; 2) providing affordable housing-related information on the LIHCA website; 3) distributing The Alabama Tenant’s Handbook, a booklet designed to help renters understand and exercise their rights and responsibilities under state law; and 4) researching and documenting housing barriers for special needs populations in the state.