Linda Hogan

Linda Hogan shares photographs of permanently affordable & fair housing communities, along with her own personal reflection on discrimination she experienced from being a single mother renting for her and her son.

After my divorce  the 1980’s my son Justin and I were happily living in a beautiful single family rental home in Montpelier. It was owned by a very lovely elderly woman who lived next door. She had been a Child Psychologist in her younger years and delighted in Justin’s monthly visit with the rent check. One day we heard a knock on the door and opened it to a relative who informed us that she had passed away the night before and we would have to immediately vacate as the family was going to renovate so they could have a Vermont vacation home. 

We moved into a two family home down the street that belonged to friends but was on the market for sale.  I tried to buy it but was told by my bank that they did not usually approve home mortgages to single women. We weren’t there long when the house sold, but this time we were given a longer time to find a new housing situation. 

A rental came up that was a property owned by my bank. I went to look at it and told the woman I would take it and was happy that is was close to Justin’s school. Suddenly things changed and she said she would get back to me. When she called later I was informed that she was sorry but it had already been rented. It was back in the day that many ads for apartments for rent had a line in the classifieds that said “No children, no pets.” I immediately changed banks due to their two discriminatory determinations. I was employed in a good long time job during this time and felt violated for being a both a single mother and a woman.

These days there are laws prohibiting these kinds of practices but I have heard that there are still many people who struggle with discrimination when trying to secure an affordable housing situation for themselves and /or their families. In many communities the Housing Authorities are building or rehabbing buildings and opening up more housing opportunities for everyone. I now own my own Condominium in Montpelier that is overseen by Downtreet.”