Members of Indianapolis Community Land Trust gather for first meeting

A new housing organization hosted its first member meeting last week to find a lasting solution to make housing affordable for all Indianapolis residents.

The Indianapolis Community Land Trust or Indy CLT was created in response to rising rent and housing prices in the city. Its first meeting focused on building community connections, answering member questions and educating people on the importance of CLT’s.

“There is a much smaller group of people who own a whole lot and a larger group of people who own very little or nothing,” CLT coordinator Alvin Sangswangul said. “There's an economy of exploitation.”

A CLT organization focuses on creating affordable housing costs through purchasing and managing land, and then leasing the land to community members for a low fee.

The idea of community land trusts began during the Civil Rights Movement when activists wanted to help Black families secure land and housing, according to the Indy CLT website.

CLT’s can also curb gentrification and cultural displacement in neighborhoods.

Kahlil Mwaafrika, a board chair with the Kheprw Institute which helped launch Indy CLT, said Indianapolis has long struggled with these issues.

“There's a historic distaste in many members in this community relative to housing displacement,” Mwaafrika said. “We'll never forget the people of Lockefield Gardens and the displacement that took place there and other spaces inside this community. Indianapolis needs healing from a treacherous past.”

Other topics discussed during the meeting included the creation of the CLT board, hiring the executive director and information on a new homebuyer program.

The Kheprw Institute and Homes for All Indy Coalition launched the Homebuyer Choice Program last month. The program gives up to $100,000 in home buying assistance for Indianapolis residents.

To qualify for the program residents must be a CLT member, with an income at or below 60% of the area’s median, complete a screening form, attend a HUD-certified homebuyer education course and have a mortgage lender pre-approval letter.

The announcement of the first four homebuyer’s through the program will be at the CLT’s next meeting on October 9. The meeting is open to the public.

Another crucial topic of discussion during the meeting was finances. The organization received around $400,000 of funding from the city for its launch but that money will run out at the end of this year.

Sangswangul said Indy CLT is committed to the work beyond funding from the city.

“We have the power,” he said. “Change starts with us and how we see the world.”

The group plans to do funding research and apply for more grants. There are about 300 Indy CLT members, and it is free to become a member.

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Abriana Herron at aherron@wfyi.org.