Robert Lockett, the national team leader of housing stability for Rocket Community Fund, is always finding ways to promote affordable housing solutions. He was in Atlanta on March 28 as Rocket Community Fund announced a combined $550,000 in new funding to protect Atlanta homeowners and renters from displacement.
Lockett spoke with rolling out about the announcement and what Atlanta’s residents should expect.
Why is investing in the lives of residents and organizations that do housing work important?
You’re facing things across the country — in cities like Atlanta and other places — where property taxes are increasing, the cost of living just in general is increasing as well, and our seniors are on fixed incomes, a lot of them have retired or have low to moderate income. So being able to provide financial subsidies so they can take care of back property taxes is important to our displacement and related work that we do across the country. Atlanta is a key priority city within that work.
What are some of the things you’ve seen that raise concerns about housing?
Based on data and research that we’ve been able to collect through our Neighbor to Neighbor program, we were able to hear the concerns of residents on the ground, particularly senior residents who are basically saying they need relief. It’s not enough to just say it; you have to show up. We like to invest where our priorities are, and this is a major issue area for us. It’s a critical need for a critical piece of infrastructure that is happening and taking place across the country, but specifically in the city of Atlanta regarding residents and property tax relief.
What is the message that you give to those people who have those concerns?
Rocket Community Fund is here — take it from someone who is from the city. We want to make sure that wherever we can across the country, we are affecting housing stability issues and making sure that our philanthropy follows our business mission, which is to help everyone.
