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Housing Alliance Preservation Bill in Front of Ways and Means The Housing Alliance effort to save the at-risk homes of Oregon seniors, people with disabilities, and working families has gotten off to a great start in the 2008 Special Session in Salem. SB 1073, the Housing Alliance preservation and homeless plan bill introduced by Senator Betsy Johnson, requests $2 million to establish a Housing Acquisition Fund and another $750,000 to help Oregon counties develop plans to address local homelessness. The Oregon Legislature convened for a one month session Monday morning. Monday afternoon, affordable housing was featured in the Co-Chairs budget, with an announcement that if the Friday Feb. 8th Revenue forecast stays level that the co-chairs are recommending $2 million for affordable housing. Chair Mary Nolan specifically mentioned that this is a priority issue for both Republicans and Democrats in both chambers! Then, on Tuesday, an informational session was held in Ways and Means at which the Housing Alliance was asked to present SB1073, and the Housing Council was asked about their proposal to raise the cap on the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit. It was a good hearing. The members of the Ways and Means committee had a lot of interest in the issue, especially sympathy for the residents of this housing. Though we still have some hurdles to get over these next three weeks, clearly there is broad based commitment to act. This is a great start to the session, but we still have a long way to go and we need your help! Here is what you can do! · Write a letter to your local paper · Email or call your Senator and Representative Write a Letter to the Editor: One of the best ways to influence elected officials is through the media. Writing a letter is easy. Most newspapers only accept short letters (125 words or less), so simple is the way to go. See below for suggested talking points. Go to you local newpaper’s website and you will either be able to submit your letter over the web, or send the letter in by email. We need as many letters in as many papers as possible through the first week of February. Email or call your Senator and Representative: It is very important that your Senator and Representative hear from his or her constituents on SB 1073. Using the same suggested talking points (see below), write a brief letter/email or make a phone call to both your Representative and Senator. In general it’s more powerful to call or send a personal letter, but emails are helpful too. You can find your legislators’ contact information at http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/. Suggested Talking Points: Every letter, email or call should include a few basic elements: (1) Opening statement of support, (2) a brief explanation of the problem, (3) a statement of why you care about this issue, and (4) why SB 1073 will make a difference. 1. Opening statement: We need the Legislature to allocate $2 Million to create a Housing Acquisition Fund to help preserve 7000 affordable homes in Oregon. 2. Brief explanation of problem: Federal contracts that have provided affordable homes to seniors, people with disabilities, working families for the last 20 years or more are about to expire. If the contracts are allowed to lapse, all of these households will be at risk of losing their homes. 3. Why I care (choose one): · When people do not have a place to call home, families and communities suffer. Oregon cannot afford to lose vital affordable housing, and these Oregon families cannot afford to lose their homes. We need to protect housing opportunity for all Oregonians. · It’s only fair that everyone has a safe, decent place to live. We need to protect this valuable affordable housing for the seniors, people with disabilities and families with children that call it home. · Children deserve an opportunity to succeed in school and life, which is tied to having a stable home. Currently, families with children comprise 72% of those being turned away from emergency shelters. Let’s protect the housing for families we already have. The Housing Acquisition Fund requires a small investment by the state but saves us all a lot in the long run. 4. Pass SB 1073 and Protect Our Homes: The Housing Acquisition Fund is an essential tool to save our homes. A $2 million investment from the state will leverage an estimated $150 million from private foundations, commercial banks and other local governments. Plus, by preserving this housing Oregon saves well over $250 million in potential replacement costs and lost federal subsidies. Passing SB 1073 is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. Advocacy Tools: · Download talking points and answers to common questions. · Read a summary of both proposals in SB 1073. · Read an in-depth summary of the preservation loan fund. · Read an in-depth summary on the funding to end homelessness. Questions about writing a letter or contacting your legislator? Call Michael Anderson at (503) 577-5124 or Amy Fauver at (503) 226-3001 x-102. If your legislator is on the Ways and Means Committee it is particularly important that you make the call (List of Ways and Means members below-- the number beside their names indicates the number of units at risk of being lost in their districts if we cannot step in and preserve the projects). Please have your colleagues, coworkers and board members call too. Sen. Kurt Schrader, Co-Chair (293) The Housing Alliance brings together advocates, local governments, housing authorities, community development corporations, environmentalists, service providers, business interests and all others dedicated to increasing the resources available to meet our housing needs to support a common statewide legislative and policy agenda. To find out more about the Housing Alliance, go to: http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/ OHCS Authorized to Provide $191 Million for First-time Homebuyer Assistance Oregon’s first-time homebuyers will benefit from action by the Private Activity Bond Committee to allocate almost $191 million in tax-exempt bond authority to the state’s housing finance agency, OHCS. Oregon Housing and Community Services, accordingly, will issue these bonds over the next several years for first-time homebuyer loans through the agency’s Residential Loan Program. This allocation will support the long-term availability of resources for homeownership in the state. “We understand the struggles that first-time homebuyers face, and we will continue to help them,” Victor Merced, OHCS director, said. “This is not a fix to the crisis that confronts many Oregonians who have been hit with dramatic mortgage interest rate hikes, but it will help many who need support getting into their first homes.” OHCS periodically issues revenue bonds to fund mortgage loans at below-market interest rates. The agency helps low- and moderate-income households buy their first homes by providing below-market-rate financing and down-payment assistance through its Residential Loan Program, also known as the Oregon Bond Loan. Buyers, lenders and real estate agents may obtain information about the loan program at www.oregonbond.us. The program’s below-market rate helps eligible families increase their home purchasing power with reduced monthly house payments. OHCS mortgage interest rate is to 1 percent below the market. The department approved 1,381 loans, totaling some $227 million, to first-time homebuyers in 2007. The average loan was about $164,000. OHCS has helped nearly seven-thousand first-time homebuyers realize the dream of homeownership since 2002. As the state’s housing finance agency, OHCS works with the federal government along with public and private partners to deliver a variety of programs designed to increase and preserve homeownership in Oregon. The department provides financial and program support to create and preserve opportunities for quality, affordable housing for Oregonians of lower and moderate income, and administers federal and state antipoverty, homeless, energy assistance and community service programs. For more information, visit our website at www.ohcs.oregon.gov. Salem-Keizer CDC Welcomes New Director Bruce Crane Please welcome Bruce Crane as the new Executive Director of Salem-Keizer CDC. Bruce has been involved in the affordable housing field since 1983. More recently, he was the Executive Director of Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada. Bruce is replacing Beverlee Hughes who has left after 7.5 years to work in Eugene. Bruce Crane can be reached at 503.856.7077 and bruce@salemcdc.org. CDN and AOCDO would like to acknowledge the excellent work of Beverlee Hughes at Salem-Keizer CDC. We wish her the best of luck on her next chapter.
Housing & Homeless Groups Co-Sponsor City Council Candidate Forum Feb 21 On February 21st, a broad base of community organizations will be asking candidates for Portland City Seat No. 2 questions about homelessness and affordable housing. The Housing Opportunity Candidate Forum is a tremendous opportunity to listen to candidates hoping to occupy Erik Sten’s former seat on City Council. This is our chance to find the next City Council champion on the issues on housing and homelessness. This is the first time in recent history that affordable housing and homelessness advocates in Portland have come together to plan a joint candidate forum. Street Roots, Sisters of the Road, JOIN, Coalition for Homeless Families, Affordable Housing NOW!, Community Alliance of Tenants and the Community Development Network have developed a list of poignant questions designed to get to the heart of a candidate’s views on the issues. Please join us for this groundbreaking event on Thursday, February 21st from 12pm – 1:30pm at First Unitarian Church (1011 SW 12th Ave. in Portland). Questions? Contact Julie via email or at 503-335-9884 PDC Regional Lead Hazard Control Program Has Grants for Multi-Family Properties The Portland Regional Lead Hazard Control Program provides grants to qualifying households and properties to reduce lead-based paint hazards. Grants are available to both owner-occupied homes and affordable housing units including non project-based Section 8 properties. For affordable housing units, grants of up to $4,000 per unit are available to remediate lead hazards. Basic qualifications include: · property was built before 1978, · property is in Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington or Clark (WA) County, · 50% or more of the units are affordable at 50% MFI or less, · units are occupied by children under six. Both Northwest Housing Alternatives (NHA) and Portland Community Reinvestments Initiatives (PCRI) have taken advantage of the lead grant program to ensure that some of their older properties are lead-safe. Sunset Gardens in Hillsboro was also treated by the grant program and received new exterior siding. More information or an application can be obtained at www.pdc.us/leadhazard or by calling 503-823-3400.
Volunteers Needed: Portland Homeless Connect Feb 26 Project Homeless Connect is a one day event that simultaneously connects homeless people in Portland and the surrounding area with services (medical, dental, vision, chiropractic, veterinary, and legal among others) while also connecting businesses, organizations and individuals with Portland and Multnomah County's efforts to end homelessness. Over the past two years, more than 2300 volunteers, 60 agencies and 30 local businesses have helped make Project Homeless Connect a powerful part of the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The next Project Homeless Connect event is scheduled for February 26 at Memorial Coliseum. Organizers are expecting more than 1000 homeless individuals and families to participate. Volunteers are needed to help with all aspects of Project Homeless Connect, from helping people find their way around Memorial Coliseum to serving lunch or conducting exit interviews with attendees. To find out more, contact Rachel Devlin.
National Housing Trust Fund Seeks Co-Sponsors in Senate: Take Action Today Help Make the national Housing Trust Fund a reality: Urge State & Local Elected Officials to Endorse NHTF We have an unprecedented opportunity to make the National Housing Trust Fund become a reality. In December, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007, S. 2523, was introduced in the Senate with tri-partisan support. To build on this momentum, we now need as many senators as possible to sign on as co-sponsors. We urge you to take two steps: · Write or call your senators, urging them to co-sponsor S. 2523. Why? Each additional co-sponsor can generate further action. · Get NHTF endorsements from your other elected officials, such as governors, state legislatures, mayors, city councils, county executives and commissioners. Why? These endorsements can have a significant, positive impact on your senators. Here are some tools that you can use to help get S. 2523 passed in the Senate: · Sample letter to send to your senators. Click here for a sample letter for you to personalize and send to your senators' offices in Washington, D.C. and back in your state. · Toll-free number, 1-877-210-5351, for the Capitol switchboard. Use this to call your senators' offices in Washington, D.C. · Elected official endorser form. Click here for a form your state and local elected officials can use to formally endorse the NHTF. · Sample letter to send to your state and local elected officials. Click here for a sample letter for you to personalize and send. For more information on the NHTF campaign, such as answers to frequently asked questions, state-specific data on the need for affordable housing, and issue-specific fact sheets, click here to visit the NHTF website, and go to the "Toolkit" below the logo. We have come a long way since we began our work to establish the National Housing Trust Fund. With your continued support and action we can create a ground swell of tri-partisan support for this legislation in the Senate and continue our forward momentum. Thanks for all that you do, and please contact us if there is anything we can do to support your efforts. Let us know the outcome or any feedback by emailing outreach@nlihc.org. HUD Announces $14.7 Million in Funds to Assist Homeless in Oregon The United States Dept of Housing and Urban Development announced Oregon would receive $14,730,979 to provide shelter and care for persons and families without a home of their own. The funding to Oregon is part of more than $1.5 billion announced nationwide—the largest single commitment of federal funds supporting an unprecedented number of local projects on the front lines of caring for people who might otherwise be living on the streets. Included in this record level of funding is $992,775 to Oregon faith-based organizations to continue successful programs to help the homeless: St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County (SVDP) will receive $249,736 for a one year extension of the LIFT Permanent Housing Program and $88,470 for a one year extension of VETLift. They will also receive $222,219 for a one year extension of the Connections Transitional Housing Program. In Salem, the YWCA of Salem will receive $83,572 for a one year extension of the Resource Assistance Program and the Salvation Army will receive $39,375 for a one year extension of the Alpha Life Skills Program. The Salvation Army will also receive $125,769 for a one year extension of the West Women’s and Children’s Center in Portland and $50,000 for a one year extension for the Hope House program in Medford. Lutheran Community Service Northwest will receive $133,634 for a one year extension of the HopeSpring program in Washington County. A list of all awards made in the state of Oregon is available here.
UCAN Wins Maxwell Award from Fannie Mae The Fannie Mae Foundation and the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness have announced the four winners of the Seventeenth Maxwell Awards of Excellence. The winning organizations will receive $75,000 apiece from the Fannie Mae Foundation to continue work in the field of supportive housing for homeless individuals and families. The winners are: in the category of Housing for Homeless Veterans, The Connection Fund for its Legion Woods development in New Haven, Conn.; in the category of Housing for Chronically Homeless Individuals, the Downtown Emergency Service for its 1811 Eastlake Project in Seattle; in the category of Housing for Homeless Youth, La Casa Norte for its Solid Ground Supportive Housing Program in Chicago; and in the category of Housing for Homeless Families, Umpqua Community Action Network for its Grandview Homes complex in Roseburg, Ore. Ten additional organizations will receive honorable mentions awarded $10,000 each. Maxwell Award winners' case studies are posted on the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness Click here to read more. Umpqua CDC Wins Northwest Area Foundations 'Great Strides Awards' Four rural nonprofits and the communities they serve have won $100,000 apiece as the winners of the Northwest Area Foundation's 2008 Great Strides Awards. The awards program recognizes communities that have designed and benefited from creative models of long-term poverty reduction. The winner's innovative approaches include an agricultural marketing cooperative, self-help housing, low interest loans to Native American businesses, and a leading edge forest restoration project intertwined with poverty reduction. The winners are: representing Eagle Butte, S.D., the Four Bands Community Fund; representing Elk City, Idaho, Framing Our Community, Inc.; representing Glendive, Mont., Community GATE; and representing Roseburg, Ore., the Umpqua Community Development Corporation. For more information on the winners and the program, click here.
Housing Development Corp. of Northwest Oregon Receives OCF Grant Housing Development Corp. of Northwest Oregon has received a grant of $25,000 from the Northwest Area Oregon Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation for expansion of marketing and fund development activities. The grant was made by The Oregon Community Foundation as part of their initiative to Strengthen Capacity for Community-Based Poverty Reduction in rural Oregon. Housing Development Corp. of Northwest Oregon (HDC) is a private non-profit agency that provides 456 affordable rental housing units in nine developments to 2,200 farmworkers and low-income families of Washington and Columbia counties. HDC also provides supportive programs to residents to build leadership, educate on health and other issues, and provide basic work skills to youth and adults to help them move toward self-sufficiency. Founded in 1981, Housing Development Corp.’s mission is to empower those working families who have the greatest barriers to stability and prosperity by ensuring they have quality housing and services. “We are very grateful to The Oregon Community Foundation for this generous grant”, says HDC Board Chair Gary Dodge, “which will allow us to diversify our funding base and expand our activities in the provision of housing and services to low-income families. The need for affordable housing and programs for the working poor to help them move to self-sufficiency is so critical at this time in Oregon.. We welcome the understanding and support of The Oregon Community Foundation in helping us build capacity to reduce poverty in rural northwest Oregon.” The Oregon Community Foundation is a statewide nonprofit organization that administers permanent charitable funds established through gifts and bequests from individuals, families, businesses and other organizations. OCF currently manages over 1,300 permanent funds with assets over $900 million. OCF is the 9th largest community foundation in the U.S. in assets, and 21st largest in annual grants awarded. The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. Grants Available for USDA Farmworker Housing TA, Section 202 Predevelopment Nonprofits and public agencies are eligible for grants to provide technical assistance to applicants for Section 514/516 Farm Labor Housing funds in the Eastern, Central, and Western regions. Deadline is March 14. See Federal Register, 1/29/08, pp. 5167-74, http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a080129c.html. Contact Sue M. Harris-Green, RD, at 202-720-1604. FY 2007 Section 202 awardees can apply by February 27 for grants to cover predevelopment costs. See Federal Register, 1/23/08, pp. 3985-91 or www.grants.gov. Contact a local HUD office or Brenda M. Butler, HUD, at 202-708-3000, or via email. CASH Oregon Offers Tax Help, Seeks Returns for Low Income Oregonians Tax season is upon us again and CASH Oregon wants to make sure that your clients know how they can get FREE TAX RETURN PREPARATION assistance and about the benefits that may be available to them from filing a tax return whether they are required to or not. We have developed outreach materials for you to distribute to your clients that you can either download from our website here: http://www.cashoregon.org/pubs.htm or obtain in hard copy by calling us at 503.243.7765. Materials are in English and Spanish (and some in other languages) and include brochures explaining the EITC, sample newsletter copy you can use, posters, and Tell A Friend cards with information on where to find Free Tax Preparation. Enterprise Web Training on Transit Oriented Development Feb 14 Sign up now for an Enterprise Live Online Event “Transit Oriented Development: A Tool for Promoting Regional Equity” on Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 11:00 AM PST. Transit Oriented Development is “the creation of compact, walkable communities centered around high quality train systems.” For a variety of reasons, the popularity of living in such places is rising. Left strictly to market forces, this demand pushes up rents and home prices in transit oriented developments (TOD) and they can quickly become communities affordable only to the wealthy. But there is an increasing awareness that the regions in which we live fare better when a cross-section of all its inhabitants are able to take advantage of the region’s amenities, including this less car dependent sort of lifestyle. One of the advantages of living near transit is the lowered cost of transportation. The average household spends 19% of its income on transportation, and that figure drops to 9% when there is access to good transit. Remembering that low-income households have less than average income, their lowered costs due to living near transit are even more significant. Making housing and transportation affordable and jobs accessible to all is a major goal of the regional equity movement. Transit oriented development, done with intention and the participation of local governments, private developers, and nonprofit developers, can be an excellent vehicle for promoting regional equity. Join us to learn what some cities and regions have done to overcome considerable barriers to affordable housing in their TOD projects, including planning and zoning, land assembly, land speculation, parking requirements, and opposition to density. Mariia Zimmerman of Reconnecting America will highlight strategies that have been effective, and describe ways to advocate for equitable development and affordable housing in your region’s TOD projects. Expected Outcomes Learn about effective strategies for making TOD projects great tools for promoting regional equity. Gain insight as to how for-profit developers, nonprofit developers and government entities can be good partners in TOD projects designed for a cross-section of the region’s citizens. Who should attend? Local and regional government housing and transportation personnel. For-profit developers interested in being good partners while still making money. Nonprofit and affordable housing developers looking to become involved in TOD. Presented by: Mariia Zimmerman, Vice President for Policy, Reconnecting America. www.reconnectingamerica.org Sponsored by: The Ford Foundation Registration takes place 20 minutes prior to the event. More information on how to participate can be found at http://webinars.enterprisecommunity.org/ Community Alliance of Tenants Offers Renters’ Rights Training Feb 23-24 Want to fight for social justice? Interested in educating yourself and others about renters’ rights? The Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) is looking for volunteers to staff our peer-run Renters' Rights Hotline. Based in NE Portland, the hotline gives renters from throughout the state accurate and detailed information about our rights and practical tips on how to protect them. We counsel dozens of tenants a day, many of whom are at immediate risk of losing their housing. The next volunteer training will be Saturday and Sunday February 23rd and 24th from 1:30 to 6pm. This is a great opportunity to learn about our rights under the law and how to stand up for them, while building tenant-power in Oregon- all in just four hours a month! Please call or email Ari for more information or an application at (503) 460-9702 or ari@oregoncat.org OSU Workshop: Household Mold in Oregon City Feb 23, Beaverton Feb 27 OSU Extension Service announces a free, educational program, " Household Mold: What You Need to Know.” An overview of mold and moisture problems in housing in the Pacific Northwest, the program will distinguish fact from fiction in this highly publicized issue. The focus will be on mold problems in single family homes and multi-family housing. Sponsored by funds from HUD, and hosted by OSU Extension Service, there is no charge for this program but seating is limited. It is scheduled Saturday, February 23. 10:00 am – noon at the Clackamas County Extension Office, 200 Warner Milne Road, Oregon City and will be repeated Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the Washington County Extension Office, 18640 NW Walker Road #1400, Beaverton. Please call OSU Extension Service at 503-725-2101 for more information and to reserve a spot. USDA Rural Development Multi-Family Training 2008 Conference March 11-13 The USDA RD Oregon is hosting a Oregon Rural Development MFH Conference and Training class to be held in Portland, Oregon, March 11th thru March 13th, 2008. The location of the conference is the Embassy Suites Hotel—Portland Washington Square, 9000 SW Washington Square Road, Tigard, Oregon 97223. (503) 644-4000 (be sure to mention USDA MFH Training 2008 to receive the group discount) The Conference will discuss various MFH loan and grant funding programs and include training courses for MFH Owners/Borrowers, Management Agents, Housing Authorities, and RD staff. Workshops will include: · An opening remarks session and Oregon MFH State Restructuring Plan by Mark Simmons · Making Rural Development Programs Accessible · Self-Evaluations and Transition Plan Requirements · Capital Needs Assessment Requirements · Proposed Budget Requirements (rules of reasonableness, capital budgeting, and physical maintenance standards) · Year-End Actual Budgets · Agreed Upon Procedures and Audit Program · Section 514-516, 515, 533, and 538 Notices of Funds Availability and List of Designated Places for FY 2008 · MPR Program Changes 2008 · Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program & Changes Fiscal Year 2007 · RD Voucher Program · Site Manager of the Year Nominations · Management Agreements, Management Plans, and Management Certifications · Open Forum Discussion and Question and Answer Session. Please register by January 22, 2008. The above agenda is being provided to help participants determine the topics that are most beneficial to their workplace. Participants who register early will receive an electronic message acknowledging they are registered for the MFH 2008 Conference and training. Attendees should plan to travel to Portland on Monday, March 10th, and check in at the conference registration desk between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 P.M. The conference will begin with an opening session on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 morning at 8:00 a.m. and end on Thursday at about 12:00 noon. Conference Contact: Rodney L. Hansen Housing Programs Director 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd, Suite 801 Portland, OR 97232-1274 (503) 414-3353 phone (503) 414-3394 fax
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