Affordable Housing NOW! is asking you to turn out on Wednesday August 16 and Monday August 28 to support City Council’s proposal for a 30% set aside of urban renewal funds for affordable housing. 

On Wednesday, August 16 at 10:45 am, the Portland City Council will hear a Urban Renewal Expenditure and Forecast Report from a technical advisory committee that has analyzed historic and projected affordable housing expenditures at Portland City Hall (1221 SW 4^th). Though there will likely be little or no opportunity for testimony on August 16, AHN! is asking for supporters to turn out in large numbers to express our support for the set aside to Council.

According to the technical advisory committee, over the past eight years, Portland has allocated 16% of its urban renewal funds to affordable housing (excluding admin costs). Had Portland a 30% set aside in place over this same period, an additional $97 million would have been allocated to creating affordable housing options for working families earning low wages, seniors on fixed incomes and people with disabilities relying public assistance.

On Monday, August 28 at 6:00 pm, the Housing and Community Development Commission will be taking public comment on the 30% set aside at the office of the Portland Development Commission (222 NW 5th Ave). AHN is asking supporters to come and give testimony in support of the 30% set aside.  To help people prepare testimony, AHN is hosting a briefing session on the 30% Set Aside on Monday, August 14 from 6:00 to 7:30 at the offices of the Community Alliance of Tenants (2710 NE 14^th Ave).  Come hear a presentation on the set aside, explaining why a 30% is the right level for Portland, and what we need to do to get the housing set aside passed.

For more information on the set aside and upcoming dates for education and input, click here, or contact Michael Anderson via email or at (503) 335-9884.

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

Portland Housing Center Helps 498 Families Realize the Dream of Homeownership 

In efforts to increase the number of first time homeowners, the Portland Housing Center has helped 498 families realize the dream of homeownership in the 2005-2006 fiscal year. In April 2006, City of Portland Commissioner Erik Sten said, “We need to find a way to keep families and working people living in our city.” In response to this challenge the Portland Housing Center has created an aggressive public education and media campaign to encourage first time home buyers in the Portland metropolitan area to own their own homes.  

 “We are committed to working with our local communities.  We pride ourselves in providing quality services and offer programs that encourage homeownership opportunities especially among first-time home buyers, low and moderate income people and minorities,” says Peg Malloy, Executive Director, Portland Housing Center

In addition to launching public education and media campaigns that target first time home buyers, Portland Housing Center is an active partner in home buying fairs, community events and employer based housing initiatives.  Portland Housing Center also works to promote homeownership through its collaborations with private sector lenders, real estate agents, homebuilders and insurance companies, government and non profit organizations. All of these efforts coincide with National, State and local efforts and goals to target and bolster homeownership.

Portland Housing Center specializes in providing comprehensive home buyer education, one-on-one counseling, financial education and gap financing to help first-time home buyers become mortgage ready. As a designated NeighborWorks? HomeOwnership Center Portland Housing Center works with people from a variety of income levels to provide access to affordable and stable housing.

Study Finds Housing Gap of 9,500 for Central Oregon Workers

About 9,500 additional workforce housing units will be needed by 2008 in Central Oregon to address an existing deficit, allow new employees to move into the region to fill an existing surplus of vacant jobs, and allow the labor force to grow to meet employers’ expansion plans. 

Developed from a variety of sources—including a statistically-valid survey distributed to more than 1,000 public and private sector employers—the report was commissioned by Housing Works, an agency that builds affordable housing in the region. The report defines workforce housing as residential units that are occupied (or likely to be occupied) by at least one person who works in Deschutes, Crook or Jefferson Counties.

“As housing costs rise faster than incomes can keep up, it’s time for a fresh look at what ‘affordable housing’ really means,” says Cyndy Cook.  “This study documents the imbalance between demand and supply of workforce housing in Central Oregon, and the mismatch between prices and household incomes.”

To read more about the study, go to: http://www.corha.org/press/p_pressreleases.php?id=58

Owning a home is widely recognized as a way to accumulate wealth, to counter rising housing costs, and to provide a favorable climate for child development. While there have been several recent reviews of empirical evidence on the benefits of homeownership, HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research initiated a unique analysis of the homeownership experiences of low-income and minority households and the gains they derive from owning a home. The Homeownership Experience of Low-Income and Minority Families: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature reviews decisions regarding different types of homes to buy, neighborhoods to settle in, and housing costs to assume. In light of the persistent lag in homeownership rates related to income, race, and ethnicity, this study offers useful data for effective policymaking by highlighting the choices and subsequent outcomes for low-income and minority households.  The report is available as a free download at http://www.huduser.org/publications/HOMEOWN/hisp_homeown9.html or in print for a nominal fee by calling 800-245-2691, option 1.

Promote Democracy: National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Voterization 2006

Back in 2004, many of you participated with us in our Voter Registration, Education and Mobilization campaign (VREM). Now, we’ve launched Voterization 2006 to once again help you and your member organizations engage the people you serve in the voting process. We encourage you to forward this information to your members and encourage them to get involved.

Here’s what’s new:

WEBSITE. We have our 2006 materials up on our new web page, at www.nlihc.org/VOTE.

PLAN. The centerpiece of these materials is our Voterization plan, to help organizations think through each component of their projects. Print this plan out and get started! www.nlihc.org/VOTE/voterizationplan.pdf.

NATIONAL REGISTRATION DAY. We’re working with the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) to hold National Homeless and Low Income Voter Registration Day on July 27. It’s the perfect time to kick off your Voterization project for 2006, or hold an event to let the public know about your efforts. A flier to help you get started is at www.nlihc.org/VOTE/NHLIVRDflier.pdf.

POSTERS. We’ll soon have posters and other materials to help with registration, education, and mobilization, which many groups found helpful in 2004. Check back to the website for more information.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that the voices of the people we work with are heard on November 7, 2006, and beyond. For assistance with any project, contact Kim Schaffer at kim@nlihc.org or Elisa Ortiz at elisa@nlihc.org, or call us at 202-662-1530.

Kim Schaffer, State Coalitions Director

National Low Income Housing Coalition

202.662.1530 x232

visionPDX is a whole community effort to create the city we call want in the next twenty years.  In order to create this community-owned vision, it is important to hear from as many people as possible about their hopes and dreams for the future. You can share your ideas for the future of Portland by answering a short questionnaire online at www.visionpdx.com. 

Why visioning?  Visioning is a tool that has been successfully used by jurisdictions around the world to make the best of changing situations.  Portland has changed a great deal since the last time there was a comprehensive effort to create a shared vision for the city: Portland Future Focus, in the early 1990's.  Forty percent of the current population of Portland didn't live here when Portland Future Focus was created.  Our community has become more ethnically and racially diverse, and the economic base has changed too.  Portland has become the destination of choice for young creatives and is consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the nation.  At the same time, Portland is experiencing serious problems such as the lack of affordable housing and insufficient funding for education.

Mayor Potter launched visionPDX in order to get broad community input on how to build on Portland's successes and also how to solve the difficult issues.  The City and other government agencies don't have all the answers to these problems.  The best way to solve these vexing issues will come from the creative collaboration between the community and government entities.  visionPDX is one way how we can all become more involved in shaping the future of Portland in an intentional way.

Want to get involved?  Here's how:

--Speak up online...respond to the visionPDX questionnaire at www.visionpdx.com

--Host a discussion with friends and neighbors.  A discussion guide is available online at:  www.portlandonline.com/mayor/vision

--Volunteer to lead a discussion out the in the community!  Contact visionPDX at:  503.823.4430

--Visit the Vision Vessel, our mobile idea collection station.  For its daily whereabouts, check out www.visionvessel.org

So, what is your vision for Portland?

Your voice, your ideas, your future.

Be a part of community visioning. 

"What we're creating is an 'intentional city'-a Portland whose future isn't left to chance, but grows from people's dreams, and what they are willing to do together to make those dreams happen."--Mayor Tom Potter

Diane Luther, the County's Housing Director since 2002, has accepted a new leadership position as Assistant Director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA). As the position of County Housing Director was eliminated from the FY '06-'07 budget in mid-August.

With an annual budget of $227 million and over 300 employees, SHRA is the lead public agency and public developer for the City and County of Sacramento regarding affordable housing, public housing and urban renewal projects and issues. At SHRA, Luther's first assignment will be to lead implementation of the 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.

"I am grateful for Diane' Luther's leadership in the affordable housing and homelessness arenas in our region over the last 15 years," said County Chair Diane Linn. "There are fewer people living on the streets of our community today as a result of her work. Multnomah County's loss is Sacramento's gain."

Finish Line in Sight - Reserve Your Copy of The Regional Equity Atlas Today!

The Coalition for a Livable Future is glad to announce that the much anticipated, first-ever analysis on the concept of equity planning in the six-county Portland metropolitan region will be available this fall. Three years in the making, the Atlas explores how fair our region's development and planning approach really is, providing an innovative new tool for understanding what's happening in our communities.

The Portland region is widely recognized as a national leader in sustainable development. Much as this reputation may be deserved, it has a soft underbelly: like most places, Portland's planning approach tends to focus on places rather than people. The consequence? Too often, places improve, but people get left behind or pushed out.

In vivid color, The Regional Equity Atlas displays dozens of maps, data and analysis that examine the geographic distribution of people and assets in our region and the relationship between the two.

Learn more about the project and download a pre-order form to reserve your copy of the Atlas now at http://www.clfuture.org/projects/atlas/index_html

TechSoup: A Nonprofit's Guide to Green Printing

If you use traditional printing techniques for your marketing materials, you may be doing less to reach out to constituents and more to damage the environment. Luckily, there are eco-friendly (and cost-effective) ways to make your print projects and your organization look good. To learn more, go to: http://ga0.org/ct/8116yKS1mR-I/