Studies show foreclosed and abandoned buildings can have a devastating effect on not only a community’s financial health–but its mental health as well.
At 10 a.m today, Dr. Lynn Todman, Executive Director of the Adler School’s Institute on Social Exclusion, will testify at a hearing of the Chicago City Council’s joint Committee on Housing and Real Estate and Zoning, examining change to the city’s vacant housing ordinance. Dr. Todman, a trained urban planner and a member of the city’s Community Development Commission, will speak in support of changes that would require banks to take more responsibility for vacant properties.
Listen to the WBBM NewsRadio 780 AM report “Expert to Testify on Dangers of Vacant Houses.”
Last fall, Dr. Todman led a four-month Mental Health Impact Assessment (MHIA) last fall into how the proposal would impact mental health issues affecting residents of Chicago’s Englewood community. The MHIA team’s research identified how vacant buildings contribute to residents’ stress in disadvantaged communities.
Working with Dr. Todman and ISE as part of the MHIA team were staff from Teamwork Englewood, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, Imagine Englewood If…, the Chicago and Illinois departments of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Neighborhood Housing Association, and the Illinois Institute of Public Health.
The Socially Responsible Practitioner 