Pablo Davis, community activist (left), and Bernie Ricke, UAW Local 600 vice president (third from left, back row), were leaders of the labor-community coalition that won low-income housing for these residents of southwest Detroit.

To build decent, low-income housing, you need to locate the right property, develop a viable design, assemble the financial package, and hire capable contractors. But you also need to know how to mobilize people and fight the powers-that-be.

Since 1986, community leaders from a diverse Detroit neighborhood and their allies from UAW Locals 22 and 600 in Region 1A have gotten a huge dose of on-the-job training in the art of housing development.

Today the 80-unit Pablo Davis Elder Living Center--not far from Local 600’s hall--stands as a testimonial to what poor and working people can do when they stand together.

The new residents are pleased with the results.

"Living here I don’t have to worry about climbing stairs. Yet I am still in my own neighborhood, and I can be near my friends and family," says Theresa Belchunas, a long time area resident.

Several years ago a grassroots organization of labor, church, and community organizations called Bridging Communities decided to build quality, low-income housing for seniors.

Providing decent, affordable housing has always been an uphill battle for communities not just in Michigan but across the country.

Despite the economic boom, 5.4 million families--12.5 million people--are spending more than half their annual earnings on housing according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most are elderly, children, or disabled adults.

Low-income housing is "getting old, coming out of service and being knocked down," says Andrew Cuomo, the secretary of HUD.

One HUD study found one million families who are on waiting lists for public housing in just 40 cities. Similar waiting lists exist for housing which is subsidized through rental vouchers.

When he moved to southwest Detroit in the middle 1980s, Davis--a well-known leftwing activist for whom the center is named--found a housing and social crisis.

"I saw seven-year-old kids taking care of 90-year-old grandparents and seniors living behind closed doors. Many were retired steelworkers and autoworkers. They helped build the labor movement. Didn’t we owe them something?" he asks.

In 1986 community groups challenged public officials over the use of four acres of abandoned property in southwest Detroit. The community wanted the land for senior housing.

Frustrated by the unresponsiveness of the city, the Bridging Communities board finally met with UAW Local 22, which got behind the project.

Local 22 and UAW Local 600 contributed needed seed money according to Jerry Sullivan, president of Local 600.

Local 600’s vice president Bernie Ricke eventually became co-chair of the Bridging Communities board, and labor’s involvement became deeper.

"How can we expect people in the community to support us in our struggles if we don’t support them in their struggles?" says Ricke.

With labor’s support, city officials became more interested in the project.

"All of a sudden, officials were falling all over us," says Davis.

Once the plan was approved, a private company put together the financial package using low-income housing tax credits to enable construction of the center.

"The labor-community coalition made the difference," says Davis.