CALEB shares their vision for affordable housing at city council

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equality and Benevolence, or CALEB, voiced their concerns Tuesday night at City Council.

CALEB presented their own housing plan for the city and came to city council to discuss what they called a housing crisis.

Reverend Charlotte Williams with CALEB said, “We are here because we want to see a city that’s working for all of us. Aspirations and false promises are not going to cut it. We want concrete action. I present to you on behalf of CALEB a message of hope.”

CALEB believes there is a housing crisis in Chattanooga. 

“How can we enjoy the beauty and prosperity of Chattanooga when income is too low, and rent is too high? How can we claim to be one Chattanooga when the rich get richer and the poor keep getting poorer,” said Rev. Williams.

CALEB outlined points that they liked about the cities housing plan. 

“The plan has a clear method for the development of long term or permanently affordable units,” said Janice Gooden with CALEB.

But she mentioned things that could be improved, “The city should prioritize fast tracking applications by a nonprofit organization.”

Community members also came to show their support for CALEB. 

Jon Jon Wesolowski said, “A lot of what they are proposing is here as a stop gap and something we need to be doing as a bare minimum. We also need to be increasing housing across the board.”

He expressed that he believes this is a urgent issue.

“Everyone who moves to Chattanooga seems to think that it is frozen in time and stays the Chattanooga that they inherited, but we need to change to address the issues. One of the most pressing issues right now is housing,” said Wesolowski.

CALEB was asking the city to do more.