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| A Record 400 Attend CDN Annual Awards Banquet Friends of community development were in full bloom at the Oregon Zoo for the Annual CDN Awards Banquet this past Wednesday, September 29. Over 400 CDC staff and board members, elected officials, representatives from state and local government, members of the lending and legal communities, as well as other industry partners enjoyed an evening of celebrating achievements in community development. Emceed by the ebullient Gretchen Kafoury, the banquet featured a riveting keynote by Professor Larry Wallack, Dean of Portland State University’s College of Urban and Public Affairs. Wallack discussed effective communications and messaging strategies that raise the profile of affordable housing and progressive public policy. Wallack, who spent nine months in the past year working with housing advocates to develop a communications strategy (click here for related story), explained basic principles of communication and how people develop opinions in terms of what the liberal community needs to do to better make the case for a compassionate society. Wallack emphasized that liberals need to better demonstrate the moral values that drive their beliefs, and use those values to frame important issues relating to housing, healthcare, education and the economy. CDN Executive Director Sam Chase also gave a rousing speech, highlighting the success of the Affordable Housing NOW! coalition over the past year, and urging supporters of affordable housing to continue to participate in AHN advocacy. Chase noted the leadership of Portland Mayor Vera Katz and Commissioner Erik Sten in securing $11 million for affordable housing from the city budget. But as significant as the $11 million will be for local housing projects, Chase pointed out that the work to meet the community need for affordable housing has just begun. The focus of the evenings activities were of course the awards to the outstanding contributors in the community development field. The toast of the evening was Richard Harris, the Executive Director of Central City Concern for the past 25 years, the recipient of the Gretchen Miller Kafoury Award for lifetime achievement. Harris attributed his success to his staff and to the wealth of programs they have developed that serve low income people in downtown Portland, particularly people in recovery. Harris was sure to mention that the Oregonian news story that hinted at his retirement was incorrect and that his passion will keep him at Central City for years to come. CDN would like to acknowledge an ommission from the awards presentation. Community Partners for Affordable Housing selected Eva Meyer and Alan Walker, property managers for CPAH's Greenburg Oaks property, as Star Players. Meyer and Walker, who are with Income Property Management, were in attendance at the Banquet, but their names were inadvertently left off the awards program. A full list of award recipients is as follows: The Washington Mutual Award for Property and Asset Management Best Practices: Community Partners for Affordable Housing. The Washington Mutual Award for "Property and Asset Management Best Practices" is awarded annually to a CDN member organization for outstanding and innovative achievements in the field. This award honors the CDC that, during the last two years, has shown particular merit in the field of property and asset management, for example, working through a troubled acquisition-rehab project, developing new tracking systems or other innovations. Gilman Award: REACH CDI’s Community Builders program. The Gilman Award, presented to a community development organization to honor a special event or program occurring within the past two years that highlights extraordinary innovation and positive impact. The Golden Hammer Award: ROSE CDC for the Lents Town Center Project. The Golden Hammer is presented in honor of a housing project, completed within the past two years, that best demonstrates the ideals of affordability, quality of design, livability, community revitalization or service integration. The People’s Program Award: Central City Concern’s Family Mentor Program. The People’s Program Award is presented in honor of an outstanding program that effectively addresses the needs of low income families or individuals through stabilizing housing, providing employment or skills training, increasing income or assets, supporting innovative solutions to family or neighborhood problems, offering homeownership opportunities, developing programs for children and youth, reaching un- or under- served populations, or implementing creative solutions to other community needs. Industry Partner Award: Tim Otani and Brian Stewart of Washington Mutual. Each year the CDN Board of Directors presents an Industry Partner Award to an organization that is an invaluable partner in strengthening nonprofit community development organizations or helping provide a collective voice for healthy, diverse communities. Gretchen Miller Kafoury Award: Richard Harris, Central City Concern. The Gretchen Miller Kafoury Award is a "Lifetime Achievement" award for outstanding long-term work in the field of community development. 2004 Star Players Eva Meyer and Alan Walker, CPAH property managers for Greenburg Oaks Jan Yocom, Innovative Housing Robert Ridgway, Central City Concern Craig Kelley, Housing Development Center Jon Gail, Home Ownership One Street at a Time Vynette Arnell, Human Solutions Jonathan Trutt, Northwest Housing Alternatives Lou Battams, ROSE CDC Rachel Huber, REACH Community Development, Inc Elizabeth Hoffecker, Hacienda CDC Arika Bridgeman-Bunyoli, Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives Susan Law, Peninsula CDC Karen Walker, Community Development Network For more information about the awards and award history, click here. The Community Development Network would like to thank all of the Banquet Sponsors, particularly our Rooftop Sponsor Washington Mutual, our Development Sponsors Enterprise Foundation/ESIC and the National Equity Fund, and our Network Sponsors Gerdling/Edlen Development, Holland and Knight, Homestead Capital, NW Natural and the Portland Development Commission. To see a full list of the 2004 Banquet Sponsors, click here. A special thanks also goes out to the volunteers who committed their time and energy to the Awards Banquet Planning Committee. With out the work of co-chairs Scott Shlaes (REACH CDI) and Tanya Wolfersperger (Hacienda CDC), Valerie Garrett (PCRI), Kate Kealy (Northwest Housing Alternatives), Kevin Kraus (REACH CDI), Mary Lucero (PCRI), and Dorene Warner (Human Solutions, Inc.), the banquet would not been nearly as successful. CDN greatly appreciates your help. Statewide Housing Alliance Will Create Unified Housing Advocacy Agenda In recent months, a new and exciting coalition has formed in Oregon to strengthen our advocacy efforts in Salem. The Neighborhood Partnership Fund, Community Development Network, Association of Oregon Housing Authorities, Association of Oregon Community Development Organizations, Community Alliance of Tenants, and several local governments including the City of Portland and Multnomah County joined together in launching the Housing Alliance, modeling it after a successful coalition in Washington state. Since the inception of the Alliance, membership has grown steadily to include a wide range of non-profit advocates and partners. The Housing Alliance hopes to be a strong partner in Salem, and to raise the level of attention and priority given to housing issues. We believe that by joining together to discuss and unite around common goals, messages, and issues we can engage the Legislature and industry partners in working for real solutions. On October 6th Housing Alliance members will come together at a Legislative Agenda Caucus to finalize a consensus legislative agenda for the 2005 session. Adequate funding for affordable housing needs will be the primary focus, and a number of exciting policy proposals are up for discussion. Watch this space for details of the agenda. The Housing Alliance will be hiring a lobbyist to represent our interests in Salem. A request for proposals has been distributed, and responses are due by October 15th. For information about the Alliance or the RFP, please call Janet Byrd at 503-226-3001 ext. 103. Advocates Learn to Talk about Housing: Putting Values in the Forefront A group of housing advocates from around Oregon has been meeting since last October in a Neighborhood Partnership Fund sponsored roundtable to take a closer look at how we talk about the need for affordable housing and our proposed policy solutions. Working with Larry Wallack, now Dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University, we have been made aware of the critical role that values play in the way people perceive issues and public policy proposals. As housing advocates, we need to constantly remind folks of the ‘why’ behind the work that we do, and give them a big-picture frame to fit our work into. For example, talking about housing as creating opportunity fits into the bigger frame of America as ‘the land of opportunity’, and makes people feel good about the ideas that follow. We learned from Larry Wallack that an effective message has three parts: * What is the problem – specific example/proof of the need for affordable housing * Why should I care (values statement – see below for effective statements and frames) * What is the solution – define a specific needed policy step (and action that the listener can take) A key part of the working group’s efforts has been to test messages we believed to be effective through focus groups with the general public. We found several values statements that work well: * Hard-working people should be able to afford housing and still have money left for food and basic necessities. * Children deserve an opportunity to succeed in school and life. * Housing gives people the opportunity to build better lives. To succeed, you need a place to call home. * It’s only fair that people have a safe, decent place to live. Finally, we learned that while we as community members, non-profits, and charitable organizations are well trusted, we are most effective when: * We talk about non-profits as problem solvers rather than government or the private sector * Our messages are supported by other voices such as the Food Bank, educators, League of Women Voters, etc. Housing advocates plan to use these messaging strategies to better raise the profile of housing need and convince the public that as a community were are able to ensure that all people can be safely housed in housing that they can afford. If you would like become more involved housing media strategy work, please contact Michael Anderson at mike@cdnportland.org. War on Poor: HUD, FBI, Local Police Launch Dawn Raids on Voucher Holders Hacienda Announces Pietro Ferrari as New Executive Director; NPF Bids Farewell to Ferrari and Ned Rosch, Welcomes Byrd as Interim ED It is with great pleasure that Hacienda CDC announces the appointment of Pietro Ferrari as Executive. Ferrari is fully bilingual English/Spanish, and brings extensive experience in affordable housing, community and economic development, and fund management to Hacienda. Ferrari has been a program officer for the Neighborhood Partnership Fund for the past six years, developing and managing programs that support Oregon’s CDC community. Previously, Ferrari worked as Director of Acquisitions with Homestead Capital and as a Program Manager with CASA of Oregon. He will start on October 4, 2004. In addition to the departure of Ferrari, Neighborhood Partnership Fund is losing Executive Director Ned Rosch is leaving NPF effective Oct. 1. Rosch had served as NPF’s executive director for over two years. Janet Byrd, who has been managing the NPF policy initiatives for the past 18 months will take over as Interim Executive Director effective immediately. "This is an exciting time at NPF. We have very strong program initiatives underway and there are a number of opportunities for further collaboration and growth with our partner organizations," said Byrd. "I look forward to working with CDN, its members, and our other partners to advance the cause of housing and community development in Oregon." Enterprise Launches $550 Million "Green" Initiative The Enterprise Foundation and ESIC announced today in Washington, D.C., the launch of the Green Communities Initiative. This program is a five-year, $550 million initiative to build more than 8,500 homes that provide significant health, economic and environmental benefits to low-income families and communities across the country. This groundbreaking effort is a partnership of Enterprise, ESIC and the Natural Resources Defense Council, along with the American Institute of Architects, the American Planning Association and leading corporate, financial and philanthropic organizations. "Too many Americans live in unhealthy, inefficient and poorly sited housing that hinders them from reaching their full potential," said Bart Harvey, chairman and CEO. "Enterprise and NRDC have forged an unprecedented alliance of housing, health and environmental organizations to ensure smarter, healthier homes are available to Americans with limited incomes." Green Communities will provide grants and favorably priced financing to developers for affordable rental and for-sale homes nationwide, leveraging another half-a-billion dollars in development. Green Communities homes will be built in accordance with proven planning, design, development and management practices selected by Enterprise, NRDC and other experts to promote health, conserve energy and natural resources and enhance access to jobs, schools and services. For more information: http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/majorinitiatives/green/index.asp AHN to Celebrate $11 Million for Affordable Housing October 6 at YWCA Come join your fellow housing advocates on Wednesday, October 6 at the Downtown YWCA to celebrate the City of Portland committing $11 million for affordable housing. Members and supporters of Affordable Housing NOW! pushed hard to get the Portland City Council to include $11 million for affordable housing in the 2004-05 Budget. Now it is time to celebrate! Whether you sent one of the 3,000 postcards to City Council, rallied at the steps of City Hall, or submitted testimony at a City Budget hearing, this $11 million victory belongs to you. Please join your fellow Affordable Housing NOW! supporters Wednesday, October 6 from 4:30-6:00 pm in the 3rd Floor Conference room at the Downtown YWCA (1111 SW 10th Avenue). Light refreshments will be served. The Downtown YWCA is fully accessible to people with disabilities. Questions? Contact Sam Chase at (503) 335-9884 or sam@cdnportland.org To find out more about the $11 million, click here
Independent Living Resources, PSU Host Mayoral Candidates Forum Oct 12 Jazz Duo Blackburn and Duthie Perform Benefit for Human Solutions Oct 17 The Beehive Breakdown: The Northwest is A Wired Region |
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