On Tuesday, March 21, Joy White and four other members of PCRI’s Parent Network traveled downtown to City Hall to visit the offices of the Mayor and four City Commissioners. Serving as a delegation for Affordable Housing NOW!, Joy and her fellow members of the Parent Network wanted to share with Council members the positive impact having a safe, stable place to call home had on their families. 

PCRI (Portland Community Reinvestment Initiative) is a nonprofit housing provider that develops and manages housing affordable to working families, seniors and people with disabilities in North and North East Portland.  For Joy, PCRI is the organization that was able to provide her and her husband with a place to call home as he finished school and as they started their family.

Entering City Hall, Joy was anxious, not knowing what response they would receive from these daunting figures that controlled the workings of her community.  Joy would be sharing her story, something that she had not shared with any “official” figures and she hoped that her message would be received by empathetic ears. 

Joy and her husband Kevin lived in Beaverton when Kevin decided to go to college to obtain a Bachelor’s of Science in Graphic Design.  Not long after Kevin started school the young couple found out they were expecting a baby.  At the time Joy and Kevin were “cutting expenses” by living with another couple in an apartment.  After having their beautiful daughter, Frenna, Kevin and Joy decided they needed to look into getting a place of their own. 

The couple felt silly daring to imagine they could afford the cost of renting a house, with a new child, living on one person’s income (one person who earned relatively low wages because she worked for a non-profit organization) but still they began their search. While investigating prices in the greater Portland area it seemed this silly notion was indeed “silly”, until they found out about PCRI. 

Two years later, the family (Kevin and Joy now have two daughters) has thrived in their beautiful house with a lovely, safe yard for their girls to play in. Kevin is three months away from graduation. 

“Sometimes I feel like shouting, ‘the system’ works!” said Joy. “My family is a testament to how crucial social services are to strong individuals and their families who need a little help to get through some of the rough times of life.  I am elated to say that affordable housing has helped shaped our family into a strong household; and strong households are what, in my opinion, make a strong community.”  

Every Tuesday morning for the last six weeks, small delegations similar to the PCRI Parent’s Network have been visiting the office of the Mayor and four City Commissioners to talk about the importance of having a stable place to call home. 

The delegations have included representatives from Elders in Action, Coalition for a Livable Future, the Community Alliance of Tenants, Sisters of the Road as well as a delegation of individuals from Affordable Housing NOW! 

In addition to bringing their personal stories, delegations have been presenting the Mayor and each Commissioner with pieces to a jigsaw puzzle intended to illustrate the complex interconnection between a community having an adequate supply of affordable housing and the overall health of the community. The puzzle is a collage of photographs of people who have benefited from nonprofit and public housing that they can afford.

The delegations are part of the AHN! 2006 Housing Opportunity for Portland advocacy promoting the Housing Investment Fund and urban renewal reform that would commit public funding to housing for working families, seniors and people with disabilities. The delegations will continue through late May.

After meeting with the staff members of the Mayor and other Council members, as well as getting to talk with Commissioner Sam Adams in person, Joy felt that not only were these “daunting figures” receptive to the messages of the PCRI Parents Network, but they were excited about it.  In four of the offices that her delegation visited, the Affordable Housing NOW! puzzle pieces were displayed on their walls right next to clippings, stickers, and photos of other successful projects.

“I am honored that through the right circumstances and affiliations I was able to share my story, something that I protect and cherish, with the men that have the power to ensure affordable housing for many individuals who may not have had or ever will have the stars line up perfectly to allow their voices to be heard.”  

Affordable Housing NOW! is a coalition of over 40 organizations and hundreds of individuals whose goals are to secure new resources for affordable housing for the Portland Metro area by building a movement large enough to make funding for affordable housing for people with low incomes a political priority in the Metro area.

To learn more about Affordable Housing NOW!, go to: http://www.cdnportland.org/ahn.html

To learn more about Affordable Housing NOW!’s proposal for a Portland Housing Investment Fund, go to: http://www.cdnportland.org/downloads/HIFProposal06.pdf

To learn more about Affordable Housing NOW!’s proposal for a Urban Renewal Reform, go to: http://www.cdnportland.org/downloads/Urban_Renewal_Recommendations.pdf

Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies Reports on Rental Housing

The state of rental housing in the United States is summarized in a new 30-page report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. The report, which is written and formatted similarly to the Center’s State of the Nation’s Housing reports but focused entirely on the rental sector, provides a clear and concise overview for a general audience of many of the trends and patterns in the rental market that affordable housing practitioners and advocates have observed in recent years. Primarily, the authors call for less emphasis in policy at all levels on promoting ownership over rental housing. Only with a more balanced policy, which recognizes the current state and strengths of rental housing, will safe and decent housing be affordable for all Americans.

One of the primary findings of the report is that while the attention to homeownership and the homeownership rate have grown in this country, the rental sector has proven to be resilient and continues to serve a wide variety of households. Though on average renter households have lower incomes, only 20% have incomes of less than $10,000 and another 20% have incomes of more than $60,000. One recent trend is that since rental housing increasingly serves recent immigrants, renters increasingly belong to racial and ethnic minorities. The elderly and families undergoing some kind of transition such as a move or divorce also continue to make up a large percentage of renters. With an aging population and continued high rates of immigration, the authors see these trends continuing for some time to come.

Along with providing statistics and a discussion on the strength and the diversity of demand for rental housing, the report looks at trends in the rental stock, its location, and its affordability. The study finds that while demand for rental housing has remained fairly stable, growing slightly, over the past decade, the supply of the most affordable housing has diminished. During that time, roughly two million low-cost units were razed or otherwise removed from the rental housing stock. Nearly half of these units were not replaced, and the total stock of low cost units declined by nearly one million from 1993 to 2003. The units that are available remain highly concentrated in and around central cities while jobs and population continue to move outward. The authors conclude that, as a result of declining renter incomes, declining affordable rental stocks, and increasing demand, 14.8 million (44%) renter households were moderately cost-burdened in 2003, representing a four-year increase of nearly one million households.

The report, America’s Rental Housing: Homes for a Diverse Nation, can be found at: www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/rental/rh06_americas_rental_housing.pdf

Report Estimates Budget’s Effects on Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Administration’s proposed budget for the Housing Choice Voucher Program for 2007 would underfund roughly 70 percent of the state and local housing agencies that administer the program, according to a new Center analysis.  These agencies would be forced to reduce the number of low-income families receiving rental assistance unless they can reduce costs in other ways.  At the same time, about one-quarter of agencies would be overfunded and thus would be able to expand their voucher programs.

The voucher program, the nation’s largest low-income housing program, provides low-income households with vouchers they can use to rent housing on the private market.

The inefficient allocation of voucher funds under the Administration’s budget reflects flaws in the voucher funding formula the Administration has used in recent years, which underfunds some housing agencies while overfunding others.

“Since early 2004, voucher assistance for more than 100,000 families has been lost, not only because Congress didn’t provide sufficient funds but also because the funds were not distributed based on current needs,” said Barbara Sard, director of housing policy at the Center and the report’s lead author.  “Given the long and growing waiting lists for vouchers in many communities, that’s a painful loss.”

“Unfortunately, the Administration’s new budget relies on the same basic funding formula that has caused problems over the past couple of years,” she added.  As a result, although the Administration’s budget would increase funding for the voucher program by 3 percent, some state and local agencies would be able to fund less than 60 percent of their authorized vouchers in 2007, while other agencies would be able to fund more than 140 percent of their authorized vouchers.  A quarter of all agencies would be able to use less than 90 percent of their authorized vouchers.

The Center’s report includes state-by-state and locality-by-locality estimates of the effects of the Administration’s budget on the areas served by the 2,400 agencies that administer the voucher program.  For example, the District of Columbia Housing Authority, which is assisting 610 fewer families this year than last year because of funding limitations, would be forced to shrink its program by another 145 families in 2007 under the Administration’s budget.  “Rents are increasing rapidly in the District, so housing is becoming much less affordable, but we’re being forced to cut back the number of people we help,” noted Michael Kelly, executive director of the DC housing authority.  “That’s the exact opposite of what we should be doing.”

Administration Funding Level Is Adequate If Funding Formula Is Changed

Under the Administration’s funding formula, each housing agency’s funding level is based on the amount of funding it was eligible to receive the previous year, adjusted by an inflation factor set by HUD based on two-year-old data.  Because the formula does not take into account the actual number of vouchers the agency distributed in the previous year or recent changes in local voucher costs, it leaves many agencies with insufficient funds to continue all of the vouchers currently in use.

An added problem is that the formula has never been fully funded:  since the formula was first introduced in 2005, the Administration has not requested, and Congress has not provided, enough funding to give agencies the full amounts for which they are eligible under the formula.  As a result, HUD imposed across-the-board funding cuts on agencies in 2005 and 2006 below the formula amount.  The Administration’s budget continues this pattern, imposing an even larger across-the-board cut in 2007.  This would force agencies that are already underfunded by the formula to eliminate even more vouchers.

Fully funding the formula would not eliminate the need for some agencies to cut back on vouchers, since many agencies are shortchanged by the formula itself.  If, however, the formula were revised to better reflect agencies’ actual costs and actual number of vouchers in use, the Administration’s proposed funding level for 2007 would be sufficient to continue all of the roughly 2 million vouchers in use in 2006.

Major Policy Shift Would Cut Back on Number of Replacement Vouchers

In addition, the Administration’s budget request for “tenant protection” vouchers, which replace other types of federal housing assistance that are being eliminated (such as when public-housing units are demolished) is nearly $30 million below last year’s appropriation.  In a major policy shift, the budget would provide tenant protection vouchers only to replace subsidized units that were under lease at the time they were eliminated.  In the past, tenant protection vouchers were generally provided to replace all lost subsidized units, including those that were temporarily unoccupied, in order to keep the community’s overall supply of affordable housing from shrinking.

“This change could be especially harmful for areas hit by last year’s hurricanes,” noted Sard.  “Many subsidized units that were occupied when the storms hit are now uninhabitable and will likely be demolished.  But because the units are not currently occupied and may not be under lease by the time they are demolished, the community would not receive replacement vouchers for these unoccupied units.  Communities could end up losing a significant share of their subsidized housing.”

For full report, go to http://www.cbpp.org/3-13-06hous.pdf

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs.  It is supported primarily by foundation grants.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated up to $539,886 for a new housing project that serves chronically homeless persons in Portland/Gresham/Multnomah County. Organizations interested in applying for the Continuum of Care funs must submit a permanent housing bonus pre-application by Wednesday, April 12, 2006.

HUD’s Continuum of Care is an annual competitive process for communities nationwide. The Notice Of Funding Availability (NOFA) containing the 2006 Continuum of Care application is providing an additional $539,886 in "bonus" money for communities that rank a NEW permanent housing project for chronically homeless people as the number one community priority. (HUD defines a chronically homeless person as an unaccompanied individual with a disabling condition who has been living in a place not meant for human habitation (i.e. the streets) or in emergency shelter for at least a year, or has had at least 4 episodes of homelessness in the last 3 years.) If successful, the funding would be available in Spring 2007.

For more information on application deadlines and an informational meeting, click here.

Portland Habitat for Humanity Seeks Homeowners; Attend April Workshop

Portland Habitat for Humanity invites low income families to attend its bi-annual Homeownership Application Meeting.  People interested in becoming a Habitat homeowner must attend one of the four application meetings to receive an application.

Portland Habitat for Humanity Spring Homeownership Application Meeting Dates:

Concordia University in the Luther Hall, Room L121

2811 NE Holman St., Portland OR 97211, Bus Line #9, Parking at 27th and Holman

·              Thurs. April 6^th at 6 pm English Only

·              Saturday, April 8th at 9:30 am English Only

·              Sunday, April 9th at 2 pm Vietnamese Only

The Hacienda Ortiz Center

6736 NE Killingsworth St.,  Portland OR 97218, Bus 72

·              Monday, April 10th 6 pm Spanish Only

Portland Habitat for Humanity provides homeownership opportunities to families that have good credit history, a steady income, currently live in substandard housing, and earn 30% to 60% of the median household income (in the Portland area this means earning between $20,350 and $40,750 per year for a family of four).

Portland Habitat for Humanity is the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, partnering with the Portland community to build decent, affordable housing.  Volunteers and future homeowners provide most of the labor, with individual and corporate donors providing money and materials.  These homes are then sold at no profit, 0% interest, to those in need.  Mortgage payments go into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more houses in the Portland area.

Anyone interested in volunteering or offering donations is encouraged to call Portland Habitat for Humanity at 503-287-9529 or visit our Website at www.pdxhabitat.org

Resident services programs connect families to high-quality services, including computer access, employment services, after-school programs, crisis assistance, childcare and a variety of educational programs for adults. Blending on-site programs with off-site service referrals, resident services coordinators help make affordable housing a gateway to stability and success for low-income families while improving property performance.

Join Enterprise Community Partners Chairman and CEO Bart Harvey for the launch of Enterprise’s resident services initiative with the introduction of a suite of new information tools, created with support from Freddie Mac, for anyone interested in creating or expanding a resident services program.  John Garcia, Executive Director of Fordham-Bedford Children’s Services, will provide perspective into the value of resident services for low-income families.

Join the Enterprise Foundation in this free Live Online Event on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 for 60 minutes beginning at 11:03 am. Click here for more information about the event and how to join: http://www.enterprisecommunity.org/training/events.asp

If you have any questions about the setup process or joining, please contact Kathy Holmes at 410.772.2411 or kholmes@enterprisecommunity.org.

The Washington County Housing Advocacy Group is hosting a Candidates Forum to introduce candidates for Washington County Commission and Metro to the HAG and to affordable housing issues, and to hear from the candidates about their campaigns.  We have invited all candidates for the three County seats and the Metro seat, and expect most of them to attend.

WHEN:   Thursday, April 6, 2006, Noon to 2:00 pm

WHERE:  Greenburg Oaks Community Room, 11895 SW 91st, Tigard

We are encouraging HAG members to come and to bring a board member from your organization or another guest.  We will also be inviting other interested folks, but seating is limited!  Please let me know (mparkhurst@ci.beaverton.or.us) if you plan to come. 

Thanks very much to Community Partners for Affordable Housing for the use of their community room.  Hope to see you there!

Pink Martini Kicks off FundFest with Benefit for REACH, Youth$ave April 19

REACH Community Development is pleased to be a recipient of Pink Martini’s First Annual FundFest. We are dedicating the funds raised to REACH’s nationally recognized Youth$ave program.

Please join REACH and Pink Martini on Wednesday April 19^th at the Crystal Ballroom. Tickets are $20 and available at the Crystal Ballroom Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Tickets to Pink Martini’s Patron Reception on Friday, April 21^st are available for $100 from REACH.  Music by Thomas Lauderdale and China Forbes and a chance to meet the band. Contact Kay at 503-231-0682 or khutchinson@reachcdc.org. Tickets are limited and are going fast.

Essentials in Healthy Homes Practitioner Training in Vancouver on April 24, 25

The National Center for Healthy Housing is offering a training on the Essentials in Healthy Homes Practitioner training in Vancouver, WA on April 24-25th. The training complements hazard-specific training in lead-based paint, radon, mold, pests, and asbestos.  It identifies root causes of health problems in a home and links them to seven principles of healthy housing:  keep it dry; keep it clean; keep it pest-free; keep it ventilated; keep it safe, avoid contaminants; and maintain the house.  Course participants will have a better understanding of how to collaborate to make healthy homes a reality in their community. 

To register for the training, or find out more information, go to: http://www.healthyhousing.org/training/

2006 James A. Johnson Fellowship Application Deadline May 31

The Fannie Mae Foundation is pleased to announce that nominations are now being sought for the 2006 James A. Johnson Community Fellows Program.  The Fellowship Program recognizes and rewards leading community-based urban and rural affordable housing and community development professionals and gives them the opportunity to pursue personal and professional development goals that will encourage them to contribute further to the housing and community development field.

Each year, the Fannie Mae Foundation selects up to six distinguished professionals as James A. Johnson Fellows.  The Fannie Mae Foundation will award each Fellow with a $70,000 grant ¾ plus up to $20,000 educational travel/study stipend¾ to pursue a self-designed, professional-development track to enhance the individual's skills and field experiences and to explore new solutions to current affordable housing and community development challenges.

A further description of the program, criteria for selection, as well as the nomination form can be accessed at:

http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/grants/johnson.shtml

The deadline for submitting completed nomination packages is May 31.

For further information, please contact Wendy New at 202-274-8043 or via e-mail at wnew@fanniemaefoundation.org.