​Thinking about Affordable Housing in Northern Westchester

"​I learned about the need for affordable housing in our nearby communities through a parishioner at church who had volunteered and been on the board of A-HOME. Since that time I have served on the boards of both A-HOME and ACE and been pleased to see that other friends and family members have continued to volunteer for these non-profits important for our communities. Through board service and other activities in support of the mission of these organizations, I have also gained an understanding of the critical and on-going contributions of other groups such as the Housing Action Council and Community Capital of New York. I have been inspired by the opportunity to meet and in some cases get to know staff and the residents and first-time home buyers of homes created with support of these groups. I remain interested in the public policy dimension of affordable housing. I am disappointed and perplexed by the limited level of governmental support for the creation and maintenance of affordable housing. The official support available relies excessively on the initiative and constrained finances of non-profits, and it is further limited by overly complex approval and financial assistance structures and procedures."

Meet Betsy Weir. Betsy lives in Katonah and is active in the Katonah Bedford Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps and sits on the Town of Bedford’s Conservation Board. Betsy is a member of the Ethical Culture Society in Ossining.She is retired from Westchester County and is ACE’s treasurer.
When I was looking for a place to live, I told the real estate agents that I hoped to find a neighborhood like New York City’s Upper West Side, where there were old people and young people and rich people and poor people; someplace where everyone was not just the same. Mixed neighborhoods feel right to me. Worth maintaining and worth creating!