Years of cuts to crucial housing programs and a federally orchestrated dismantling of the nation’s affordable housing infrastructure has galvanized dozens of organizations to sponsor the 3rd annual Housing Justice Day rally.   The rally, which will be held at noon on Thursday, May 25 in front of Portland City Hall, will feature Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams and Community Alliance of Tenants leader Mary Latourette speaking out against proposed federal housing policy that would cut essential programs that serve working families, veterans, seniors and people with disabilities.

“Enough is enough,” said Latourette, Board President of the Community Alliance of Tenants. “Oregon simply cannot afford cutbacks that undermine the stability of our families, seniors and people with disabilities. We had over 11,000 homeless children attending public school in Oregon during the 2004-05.  The President goes on about ‘No Child Left Behind.’   How about ‘No Child Left Homeless?’” 

According to the American Community Survey, low incomes and high housing costs make Oregon the second least affordable state for renters in the nation. One in four Oregon renters pay more than half of their total income in rent each month. Federal housing programs have historically provided needed relief to low income working families and people on fixed incomes. 

Despite Oregon’s growing housing crisis, over the past four years the Congress and the President have made significant cutbacks to the Section 8 housing assistance program, slashed the highly successful Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs, restructured U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules for housing authorities to bait them into no longer serving the most economically vulnerable, and reduced funds to public housing programs serving the lowest income seniors and people with disabilities.

At the same time the Bush Administration is proposing cuts to existing housing programs, in the counties of Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington, there are nearly 18,000 income qualified households on waitlists of at least three years for the Section 8 housing assistance program.

The cuts to housing programs in the Bush Administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2007 Budget are particularly outrageous, especially for seniors and people with disabilities. First, there's a proposed 20% cut to the Community Development Block Grant which help fund housing for low income people. Then there's a proposed 26% cut to the Section 202 housing program for the elderly. And finally, there's a cut of 50% to the Section 811 program for people with disabilities.

“Why is the Bush Administration cutting housing programs for the most vulnerable people in the country? Because it's the most convenient way for them to fund the president's tax cuts for his rich friends and to bankroll an increasingly unpopular war” said Steve Weiss, a founding Board member of the Community Alliance of Tenants. “Doing this sort of thing at the expense of the poor is a hallmark of this administration.”

The Rally, sponsored principally by the Affordable Housing NOW! coalition, Community Alliance of Tenants, Community Development Network, Elders in Action, Independent Living Resources, Mental Health Association of Oregon, NW Pilot Project and the Portland Habilitation Center, will take place on SW 4th Avenue by Portland City Hall.  The Rally begins at noon on May 25, and will last approximately one hour.  To get involved with the Rally or if you have questions, contact Michael Anderson at (503) 335-9884.

Affordable Housing NOW! is a movement of affordable housing advocates and tenants 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 low income people a political priority in the Metro area. To learn more about Affordable Housing NOW!, go to: http://www.cdnportland.org/ahn.html

House Tax Reconciliation Bill Benefits Millionaires at Ratio 2098:1

2098:1 is the ratio of the tax cut for millionaires ($42,977) to the tax cut for middle income Americans ($20) under the tax reconcilation bill that passed the House yesterday and is on its way to the Senate floor.

Read the Oregon Center for Pubic Policy(OCPP)'s revised issue brief, The Budget Deficit Gimmick: Will Oregon's Senators agree to increase the deficit?, and check out TAX RECONCILIATION AGREEMENT DISTORTED BY OBSESSION WITH CAPITAL GAINS AND DIVIDEND TAX CUTS: Middle-Income Households to Receive Tax Cuts Averaging Only $20 (PDF), by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The Oregon Center for Public Policy uses research and analysis to advance policies and practices that improve the economic and social opportunities of all Oregonians.

CDN Welcomes Housing Northwest as Newest Voting Member

The Board of the Community Development Network welcomed its newest Voting Member organization Housing Northwest, a Portland non-profit corporation that provides housing to students of higher education as well as low income residents, at CDN May board meeting. Voting Membership is open to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and other nonprofit development, service, and technical assistance organizations that meet criteria established by CDN’s board.

CDN Voting Members create and manage affordable housing, facilitate homeownership, promote neighborhood stability and improvement, produce jobs, and provide opportunities for economic self-sufficiency for residents and communities in the city of Portland and Multnomah County. CDN currently has 20 Voting Member organizations.

The roots of Housing Northwest reflect a strong student orientation.  Housing Northwest was founded in 1969 by students at Portland State University.  Housing Northwest is a not-for-profit corporation governed by a Board of Directors.  In every phase of its operation, HNW focuses its energies on providing an environment in which students attain goals of self-development, academic success and life enrichment.  HNW also believes strongly in involving students in their own governance.

Housing Northwest recognizes the increasingly competitive environment in higher education for attracting and retaining students.  High quality student housing is an important piece of the competitive puzzle.  Housing options can be a huge factor in student’s overall satisfaction with their educational experience. 

Housing Northwest is dedicated to exceptional customer service for tenants and the partner institution’s administration.  HNW has a proven track record of facilities maintenance and open communication lines with residents. 

In addition to its student housing portfolio, Housing Northwest has over fifteen years providing low income housing through a unique partnership with the Housing Authority of Portland.  In 1988, Housing Northwest entered into an agreement with the Housing Authority of Portland to renovate and manage three vintage apartment buildings in close proximity to the Portland State campus.  The agreement provided that up to 50% of the 96 units be used to house students, while the remainder was to be leased to qualified low-income tenants.  Housing Northwest now owns and manages the properties.   This partnership between government and the private sector for the mutual benefit of students and low-income tenants was the first of its kind in the City of Portland.

To learn more about Housing Northwest, go to http://www.chnw.org/.

More than 6,500 affordable housing units across Oregon, financed through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC), will complete their initial 15- year compliance period (Compliance Period) between 2006 and 2011. As these projects reach this milestone, the project sponsors may seek to terminate LIHTC rent restrictions on these units and either sell the project or take the rents to market. Alternatively, both for and not-for-profit organizations may chose to preserve these units and continue serving low income Oregonians for another fifteen years. Across the country, both of these scenarios are occurring.

It will take education, planning and financial resources to assure that as many of these units as possible continue to serve low income Oregonians.  The Housing Development Center’s work is the most comprehensive body of knowledge on preservation issues in Oregon to date and includes recommendations from a task force that was convened to address issues around preservation; a list of expiring tax credit projects inside and outside Multnomah County; and a review of best practices on issues such as notification, risk assessments, and QAP policy... http://www.hdc1.org/Yr15Main.html

Hacienda’s Micro-Mercantes Food Vendors at Hollywood Farmer’s Market

Hacienda CDC has started a pilot project to assist six vendors from their resident community (Micro-Mercantes) in utilizing their natural entrepreneurial spirit and develop markets for their micro-enterprises.  Participating vendors are from low-income Latino households residing at Hacienda's properties. The goal of the project is to help them increase their income by 25% so that they can aspire to pursue other opportunities for upward economic mobility.

As part of the project, the Micro-Mercantes are being trained and mentored on developing business skills including management, finance, marketing, securing licenses and learning compliance issues with local governments.  Business mentors are being used to advise on topics from marketing, equipment and supply purchases, product recipes and sales forecasting.  Links with other support services such as IDAs, business and food consulting services are also being provided in order to improve the capability of vendors to become sustainable and increase penetration into local markets.

The first group of Micro-Mercantes participating in the pilot consists of food vendors who have experience producing and selling traditional foods from their native country.  A booth in the popular Hollywood Farmers Market was secured by Hacienda and the vendors will begin their operations on the first Saturday of May through the end of October, from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm on NE Hancock Street between 44^th and 45^th Avenue NE (just one block south of Sandy Blvd).  Assistance is also provided by Trinity Lutheran Church which has a licensed kitchen that they are lending to the vendors for food preparation.  The vendors have also taken courses in Spanish through the Multnomah County Department of Environmental Health on food protection management and are being given guidance on food regulations in order to ensure compliance and safe food production, handling and vending of prepared foods.

Other vendors that make arts and crafts will also be assisted in accessing events including farmers markets that have spaces available for artisans and other work.  This pilot project is being made possible thanks to funding from the City of Portland’s Bureau of Housing and Community Development and The Project for Public Spaces.

For more information about this initiative contact: Eric Brainich at 503-961-6407 or via e-mail.

Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson apologized Wednesday for telling a business forum in Dallas, Texas, he had spiked a contract bid of a critic of President Bush. His comments at an April 28 real estate conference have spurred calls for investigations from Democratic lawmakers, and the department's internal watchdog said it is looking into the matter.

Jackson, infamous for his assertion that poverty is a state of mind, has led the Department of Housing and Urban Development since 2003.

On April 28, Jackson told the real estate conference he killed a deal with a prospective HUD contractor after the owner told him he had "a problem with your president," the Dallas Business Journal reported earlier this week.

Even though the contractor had "made a heck of a proposal," Jackson reportedly said, "he didn't get the contract."

"Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president?" Jackson was quoted as saying. "Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."

Now under scrutiny for is remarks, Jackson is singing a different tone.

"I deeply regret the anecdotal remarks I made at a recent Texas small business forum and would like to reassure the public that all HUD contracts are awarded solely on a stringent merit-based process," Jackson said in a written statement Wednesday afternoon.

"During my tenure, no contract has ever been awarded, rejected or rescinded due to the personal or political beliefs of the recipient."

The remarks prompted Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey to call for Jackson's head.

In a letter to Bush, Lautenberg said imposing "political litmus tests" for government contracts violates federal law, "undermines the integrity of our government and leads to the waste of taxpayer dollars."

"If the secretary's statements are an accurate report of his actions, it would be appropriate that he be asked to promptly resign from office," Lautenberg wrote.

He added, "It is abundantly clear that public confidence in government is on the wane, and swift action against this breach of law and common sense is critical."

Bush picked Jackson to lead HUD after Mel Martinez resigned as secretary to mount a successful Senate campaign in Florida.

Jackson had joined the agency as Martinez's deputy and HUD's chief operating officer in 2001 after running housing authorities in Dallas and St. Louis, Missouri, and an Austin, Texas-based utility.

The agency has a $32 billion budget and has been heavily involved in reconstruction efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, urged HUD's inspector general to investigate whether contracts were being awarded "without partiality or political bias."

Mike Zerega, a spokesman for the inspector general, said the HUD watchdog had received "a number of complaints from the public as well as from members of Congress" about Jackson's remarks.

"We are reviewing this matter as to the facts and any applicable law," he said.

The situation Jackson described would have been "totally improper" if true, said Jennifer Gore, a spokeswoman for the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-based watchdog group.

"There is a list of criteria that the federal acquisition regulations say should be considered when awarding federal contracts, and political affiliation, politics, is not supposed to enter into it at all," Gore said.

Procurement decisions are supposed to be handled by career civil servants, not political appointees like Jackson, she said.

(Much of the above text was taken from a CNN news report)

The Neighborhood Fruit Tree Project is working to organize neighbors to share in the bounty and care of urban fruit trees. In this first stage of the project we looking for renters/homeowners with mature fruit trees, who would like assistance with tree care and harvesting. We will work with interested neighbors and with experienced volunteers to collectively care for the tree(s), harvest the fruit, and make preserves together. We especially hope to work with lower-income members of the community.

To download a flyer with more information about the Neighborhood Fruit Tree Project click here.

Questions?  Contact Katy Kolker at The Neighborhood Fruit Tree Project via email or 503 939-4914.

PSU and Sabin CDC Community Mentor Project Present Photo Show May 25

PSU and Sabin CDC Community Mentor Project present a digital photography art openning on Alberta Streets Last Thursday Art Walk, May 25th 2006 with students from Portland State University's Freshman University Studies Department documenting community members with the project goals of:

Communication -to convey meaning and interpetation in other forms that work with the written word

Critical Thinkinking -coordinate thinking from visual images

Human Experience and Today's Diversity -explorethe social judgements and processes that deal with shades of color

To find out more, download the event flyer.

Workshop on Homelessness in Clackamas County on May 19

How does homeless affect you and your community?

What can you do to be part of the solution?

There are over 7,800 homeless people in Clackamas County; over 2,500 of these are children under the age of 18.

Join us for a public workshop to hear from experts and discuss these and other issues related to homelessness in Clackamas County:

·         Affordable Housing

·         Loss of Health Care

·         Lack of Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Services

·         Effects on Children

·         Effect on Environment

·         Public Health and Safety

·         Best Practices

Friday, May 19^th, 8 a.m. to 12 noon at Clackamas Community College's Gregory Forum, A Section (19600 South Molalla Avenue, Oregon City).

Please RSVP by Friday, May 12 to: Brenda Durbin, Clackamas County Social Services, at 503-650-5661 or via email.

TACS presents ‘Strategic Fundraising’ Workshop June 15

Explore an enticing menu of fundraising opportunities and then take an honest look at the resources needed to successfully implement each strategy. Identify the right fundraising approaches for your organization.

Founding Executive Director of Western Prison Project, Brigette Sarabi will share strategies she's used to build her small, grassroots advocacy organization with a mission that not everyone wants to fund into a large and growing organization. Brigette developed the Strategic Fundraising workshop for the nationally recognized Grantsmanship Center and in 2004 was the recipient of a Gloria Award from the Ms. Foundation for Women for her work with Western Prison Project. Her hands-on, practical approach to fundraising for organizations of all sizes makes her a perennial favorite among TACS presenters.

Whether your nonprofit has relatively little experience with fundraising or is looking for fresh ideas, Strategic Fundraising will provide a great opportunity to diversify your fundraising in ways that maximize your organization’s strengths.

Learn to

·       Reach new donors and get larger gifts

·       Pick the fundraising strategies which will work best for your nonprofit

·       Mobilize your board, volunteers, staff and current donors to raise more money

·       Evaluate the true costs and benefits of special events

The training will be held at June 15, 2006, from 8:30am - 4:30pm at the Mission Mill Museum, 1313 Mill Street, SE Salem, OR 97301

The registration cost is $125. To register, go to: http://www.tacs.org/training/event.asp?evID=393

Will you come to a skate party to support tenant power in Oregon?  We'll be skating together on Saturday, June 17th from 3-5pm as a fundraising event.

So bring your family and friends and have some fun!

At the Mt. Scott Community Center rink (in the basement), 5530 SE 72nd Ave, bus 10 or 14. Skaters of all levels and ages are welcome.  $7-$15 sliding scale (admission includes skates). Questions or comments?  Email Ari or Elisa, or call 503.460.9702.

Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) is Oregon's only grassroots, tenant-controlled, tenant-rights organization.  CAT educates, organizes and develops the leadership of low-income tenants to directly challenge unjust housing policies and practices. To learn more about CAT, go to http://www.oregoncat.org/.