Affordable Housing Trust Funds for Mississippi

The Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) is a nonprofit, public interest law firm committed to advancing racial and economic justice and assisting low-income Mississippians to break the cycle of poverty. In an effort to strengthen communities by addressing gaps in affordable housing, the MCJ introduced legislation to establish a statewide Affordable Housing Trust Fund in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2013, but with limited progress. Rather than continue to pursue a broad, statewide solution, the MCJ commissioned the Capstone team to explore the implementation of an affordable housing trust fund on the municipal level. The team conducted pilot studies for two Mississippi cities, Jackson and Oxford, in order to develop implementation plans for a municipal housing trust fund at each site. The Capstone team’s final report included a practical toolkit for other cities in Mississippi to establish similar models of municipal affordable housing trust funds.