Working with the Community Development Law Center, Hacienda CDC has established a new non-profit, Verde, to house the Nursery and future environmental employment opportunities for residents and other disadvantaged communities. 

Since late 2003, Hacienda CDC has worked to establish a combined native plant nursery/restoration business to provide jobs, job training, better incomes, and business ownership to residents of Hacienda CDC housing.

The Verde Native Plant Nursery is a project to deliver environmental job and business opportunities to Hacienda CDC residents, and to promote future opportunities for residents and other disadvantaged communities in the Portland region's sustainable development efforts.  Commencing operations in Fall 2005, the Nursery will make ferns, rushes, sedges, and Oregon iris available for use in Portland area wetland restoration, streamside revegetation and stormwater management projects, and provide the following services: Landscape Maintenance of Hacienda CDC properties; Removal of Invasive Plant Species; and Native Plant Installation and Maintenance. 

Nursery employees will receive competitive wages with benefits, work in a healthy and environmentally beneficial field, have year-round and full-time employment, receive ongoing job training, and have the chance for to earn greater incomes as the Nursery grows.  Importantly, the Nursery's employees will have the chance to become business owners, either through Nursery ownership (tax laws permitting) or through support to establish their own environmentally sustainable landscaping and/or nursery businesses.

Currently, Hacienda CDC sponsors 321 units of affordable housing in NE Portland, Oregon's Cully Neighborhood, available to households earning at/below 60% median area income, and occupied mostly by recent immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

On November 1, Verde hired the Nursery's first two Resident-Employees. By the close of FY 2006-2007, the Verde Native Plant Nursery will employ 9 Hacienda CDC residents.

Hacienda's mission is to develop affordable housing for low-income Latinos and other families throughout the State of Oregon.

Cascadia’s West Gresham Apartments Earns Rave Reviews

It's been five years in the making, but the West Gresham Apartments officially opened on Oct. 19th with a celebration including Multnomah County Commissioner Lonnie Roberts and other state and local officials.

Roberts told the nearly 75 attendees at the opening that Cascadia did a ”fantastic job” and this was evidence of the “collaboration and kind of support that makes such a great project.”

Betty Dominguez, from the state’s Housing and Community Services, spoke of the “fabulous work” that Cascadia does in putting together projects like West Gresham.

The four-story, 27-unit building includes Wi-Fi Internet access throughout, as well as a retail space on the first floor.  The $4.5 million project, which started when property owner Tri-Met first suggested the development in 2000, received a significant Low-Income Affordable Housing Tax Credit as part of the complex financing arranged by Cascadia Housing Development. 

Phil Selinger, TRIMET Project Plan Manager, pointed to “the great design, which sets a standard for transit-oriented development.”  There is a MAX stop right outside the entrance to the building.

“Safe, stable housing is a prerequisite to recovery from mental illness,” said Neal Beroz, Cascadia’s Vice President for Housing.

Andy Wilch, Housing Director from the Portland Development Commission, noted the intense perseverance that was necessary to see the job through to completion.  “This is so important—it’s not an individual need, it’s a regional need.” 

Funding sources include Oregon Housing and Community Services, Oregon Office of Mental Health and Addictions Services, the City of Portland through the Portland Development Commission and the Housing Authority of Portland, the Enterprise Social Investment Corporation, Bank of America, Network for Oregon Affordable Housing, Seattle Federal Home Loan Bank, the City of Gresham, Multnomah County, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she said.

This brings the total number of units Cascadia owns or operates for those with special needs to 767.  Cascadia has been providing such housing for more than two- dozen-years with award-winning properties throughout Multnomah County.  Tenants may receive supportive services, such as counseling, psychiatric consultation, peer recovery groups, money management, skills training, and vocational services through Cascadia or other providers.

Community-based Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare provides high-quality, innovative services to strengthen the health of individuals, families, and their communities. Cascadia provides a range of mental health services including Community Support Services, Crisis Services, Integrated Treatment, Outpatient Programs, Medical Services, and Housing.

State Awards Tax Credits to Fund Needed Housing for Seniors in Hillsdale

Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Inc. (CPAH) announced today that it has been awarded an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department, that will enable a 51-unit affordable housing, mixed-use development for seniors to move towards construction.  Located in the Hillsdale neighborhood of Southwest Portland, bounded by Capitol Highway, Bertha Boulevard, and Bertha Court, and on multiple bus lines, the project known as “Bertha Station” will serve as a gateway to the Hillsdale neighborhood.  

“We are so pleased to provide a stable place to call home to seniors who have spent their lives contributing to their local communities,” said CPAH Executive Director Sheila Greenlaw-Fink. “With the sky rocketing costs in our housing market, staying in your community on a retirement income can be nearly impossible. Seniors should be able age in place. That means being able to afford housing and still have enough money for groceries, medications and other basic necessities. With this new housing, we will be able to give seniors the security and stability they deserve.”

The project will be a landmark in terms of sustainability as well as geographically.  One goal of Bertha Station is to be a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified project through the US Green Building Council, focusing on water conservation, energy efficiency, conservation of building materials and resources, and enhanced indoor environmental quality. Two design charettes held last year brought together community members, architects, contractors, landscape architects, and other professionals with green building expertise to brainstorm ideas and concepts to include in the final design and construction of the project.

CPAH has agreed to re-name the project, based on community input. At Hillsdale Neighborhood and Business Association meetings over the next two months, a process will be defined, and a new project name will be selected by early 2006.

In previous awards, the Environmental Protection Agency provided $180,000 for brownfields clean up, the Portland Development Commission $725,000 in low income loans, the Portland Office of Sustainable Development awarded $80,000 and Enterprise Foundation/Green Communities $50,000 in green building assistance. Oregon Housing & Community Services Department provided the acquisition loan which allowed CPAH to purchase the property from Oregon Department of Transportation. Lenders for the project will be: Wells Fargo and NOAH, Architect: William Wilson Architects, Contractor: Walsh Construction, Project Consultant: Housing Development Center.

Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Inc. (CPAH) is a non-profit community development corporation serving Southeastern Washington County and Southwest Portland.  With an existing portfolio of 175 units, CPAH provides safe and healthy housing along with support and skill building activities for individuals and families of modest means.

On Friday November 18th, the Neighborhood Partnership Fund (NPF) will host Bill Faith, the Executive Director of Ohio’s Coalition on Homelessness and Housing and the Chair of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Faith will discuss funding housing needs through bi-partisan State legislative action. In 2003, Faith led a broad coalition of housing and homelessness advocates that successful secured a $50 million annual revenue stream for housing. 

Faith will be speaking in the Portland Building auditorium (1120 SW 5th Ave) from 3:00-4:00 pm. Attendance is free, no registration necessary.

The lecture is one in an ongoing series of coordinated presentations by the Community Development Network and the Neighborhood Partnership Fund (NPF) on strategic approaches to housing resource policy. In October, CDN hosted Jan Breidenbach, Executive Director of the Southern California Association of Non Profit Housing, discussing the $100 Million Housing LA Campaign, California's spending requirements in Urban Renewal Areas, and California's recently passed voter initiative that secured $2.1 billion in funds for affordable housing. In February, CDN will host Andy Mott, formerly of the Center for Community Change, who will discuss the qualities and components of successful housing coalitions.

The bill dealing with oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that establishes a new affordable housing fund passed the House, but at the expense of nonprofits' rights to engage in, or affiliate with organizations that engage in, nonpartisan voter registration or lobbying activities.

On Oct. 26, H.R. 1461, the Housing Finance Reform Act, which would increase regulation of federal mortgage entities, passed the House 331-90 despite a provision offered as a manager's amendment by Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH) that disqualifies nonprofits from receiving affordable housing grants if they have engaged in voter registration and other nonpartisan voter activities, lobbying, or produced "electioneering communications." Organizations applying for the funds are barred from participating in such activities up to 12 months prior to their application, and during the period of the grant even if they use non-federal funds to pay for them. Most troubling, affiliation with an entity that has engaged in any of the restricted activities also disqualifies a nonprofit from receiving affordable housing funds under the bill.

Much of the debate on the floor centered around whether nonprofits should have to make a choice between their right to freely associate, advocate and conduct voter registration, and their ability to provide much-needed services. Republicans argued that the bill did not limit political speech - as long as an organization did not want affordable housing fund monies. They also misrepresented the provision, claiming it is aimed at preventing federal funds being used for political purposes. According to Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), "They want to allow folks that engage in political activity, including voter registration, to have access to money that otherwise would go to low-interest loans or to help affordable housing builders at the local level that actually build bricks and mortar."

However, nonprofits are already barred from using federal funds to lobby or electioneer, and have long supported current laws and regulations that prohibit the use of federal funds for lobbying and partisan political activities. Additionally, investigations have shown no pattern of abuse by nonprofits.

The Rules Committee did not allow Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) to offer his amendment to strike the anti-advocacy provision from the manager's amendment. In response to debate on the House floor that money is "fungible" and therefore housing grant funds indirectly help support nonprofit political speech, Frank argued:

"We are talking about whether groups with their own money can do other things. People have said the money is fungible. Well, when we were debating faith-based groups, when we said if you give money for day care, is that going to go to religious activities, we were told, no, they will be segregated. I agreed with that. So the argument about fungibility, apparently, appears to be itself very fungible."

Frank also agued that this provision would hit faith-based groups the hardest. The provision restricts grants to those groups that have building houses as their "primary purpose." Since the "main purpose" of many faith-based groups is faith-related, they would likely be barred from receiving housing grants.

Frank urged other representatives to vote against the manager's amendment with the promise that his motion to recommit with instructions forthwith would include essentially the same manager's amendment, however, the "primary purpose" language would be changed to "among its primary purposes," and the restriction on nonpartisan voter registration and "get out the vote" work would be dropped. Such a motion to recommit forthwith, if adopted, would have forced the committee chairman to immediately report back to the House in conformity with the instructions and the bill to then automatically return to the House floor.

In an extremely close vote, the House voted 210-205 in favor of Oxley's manager's amendment, which contained the nonprofit gag provision.

After a number of other amendments were addressed, Frank moved to recommit with instructions forthwith to the Financial Services Committee. In another close vote, this motion failed 200-220.

The members who spoke on the floor largely avoided the "affiliation" restrictions in the provision. Extremely far-reaching, the language creates "affiliations" between organizations that share resources, have overlapping boards or staff, or receive too much money from one entity. Once affiliated, the action of the affiliated entity can disqualify the nonprofit from receiving money under the Affordable Housing Fund. For example, if a private company donates office space or equipment to a housing group, the two entities are now affiliated. If the private company lobbies or endorses a candidate for federal office, the housing group would be barred from receiving money under the Affordable Housing Fund.

The legislation passed the House Financial Services Committee in May on a 65-5 vote, indicating strong bipartisan support. At that time, there was no gag provision. The legislation stalled, however, because of concerns voiced by the conservative House Republican Study Committee (RSC) that the Affordable Housing Fund provision would be used to "finance third- party advocacy groups that have agendas far beyond simply increasing affordable housing for low-income Americans." As RSC member Tom Feeney (R-FL) said, "I'd rather burn the money than give it to an advocacy group."

The RSC essentially blocked the bill from coming to the floor unless it contained the gag provision. At the same time, an ongoing dialogue was taking place between the sponsors of the legislation and some from the faith-based community. As the faith community learned of the restrictions on speech and voter engagement activities, it mounted a strongly opposition to the provision. Despite objections raised during drafts, the final version of the gag provision went further in the direction of restricting nonprofit speech and association rights than earlier drafts. While this further inflamed the issue for supporters of the affordable housing fund, it provided the poison pill the RSC sought, and the RSC thus allowed it to go the House floor for a vote.

The prospects of Senate passage this year are unclear. Reportedly, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) opposed an affordable housing fund. The Senate version, S. 190, which passed out of committee on July 28 by a party-line vote of 11-9, does not contain an affordable housing provision. The main debate in the Senate has not focused on the affordable housing fund, but rather on the main provisions in the legislation - the oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some speculate that, if an agreement on the broader oversight issues can be worked out, a compromise could likely be reached on the affordable housing fund. There is also speculation that, while the Senate bill has stalled, it may pick up speed over the next month when two reports regarding Fannie Mae oversight are expected to become public. Nonetheless, considering the tightness of the Senate's schedule, it is unlikely the bill will reach the floor this year. 

Over the last two weeks, Congress has forged forward with plans to enact fiscally irresponsible budget and tax reconciliation bills that together will raise the deficit by as much as $35 billion over the next five years. That such a plan ignores new fiscal strains and the public's changed priorities since Hurricane Katrina seems of little consequence to lawmakers. Despite reaching agreement earlier this year on the elements of a dreadfully harmful reconciliation package, the House and Senate are currently crafting even more appalling (and now drastically different) bills. The various versions now aim to cut more than the original $34.7 billion from entitlement programs agreed to last April and threaten the ability of the two chambers to reach consensus in conference committee later this fall.

Senate Increases Cuts, But Attempts to Protect Beneficiaries

A number of committees in the Senate spent much of the last two week crafting individual bills that, in total, would cut a net of $39.1 billion from entitlement programs over the next five years. This is $4.4 billion more than was outlined in the original budget agreement that Congress passed last April.

Last Thursday, the Senate Budget Committee compiled those bills into the omnibus spending reconciliation bill and sent it to the floor of the Senate on a 12-to-10 party-line vote. The $39.1 billion outlined in the bill includes cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, agricultural subsides, student loans, pension supports, and other entitlement spending.

It appeared for a time that the Senate Finance Committee would not be able to meet its requirement to cut $10 billion from programs under its jurisdiction, which include Medicaid and Medicare. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the committee, spent weeks negotiating with Republican members of the panel from both ends of the political spectrum to forge consensus on a package. In the end, he was able to win the approval of Sens. Jim Bunning (R-KY) and Trent Lott (R-MS), who generally wanted more cuts to Medicaid and none to Medicare, and Sens. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who would only agree to a package with cuts from both Medicare and Medicaid.

Despite the cuts, the compromise worked out by Grassley in committee is not expected to impact program beneficiaries from either Medicaid or Medicare, instead it focuses on eliminating the Medicare stabilization fund for private health care plans, linking Medicare payments to quality of care, and closing loopholes for seniors who transfer assets in order to qualify for Medicaid nursing home care.

Many other committee chairs in the Senate seemed to go out of their way to spare low-income Americans from a decrease in vital human needs supports. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) had originally planned to include significant cuts to the Food Stamp program, but eventually reported a bill with no cuts after a number of Agriculture Committee members requested they be removed. The Senate bill also does not include cuts to foster care, supplemental security income, child support enforcement, or child care funding -- all services that primarily benefit children and low-income families.

The Senate began the required 20 hours of debate Monday afternoon at 4:00 pm and the debate will continue through Wednesday and possibly Thursday of this week until time for debate expires. Senators will then begin a succession of votes on amendments to the bill and then eventually vote on final passage. It is unlikely the unexpected secret session that took place in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon will push a final vote on the budget reconciliation bill beyond the end of this week.

House Version Contains More Ruthless Cuts

 The House is approximately a week behind the Senate's reconciliation schedule since the House has been maneuvering to increase cuts to entitlement programs to $53.9 billion. Multiple House committees compiled individual bills detailing required cuts last week, and the House Budget committee is scheduled to compile those bills this Thursday, Nov. 3. The bill will likely be considered on the House floor the following week.

The House version is drastically different from the Senate and hits low- and middle- income Americans particularly hard. First, the House version includes no cuts to Medicare, instead slashing $9.5 billion from the Medicaid program and requiring beneficiaries to pay more for prescription drugs, adding new co-payments for children and other new costs, while also limiting beneficiaries' access to medical care. The stark contrast between this and the Senate’s approach to program cuts in Medicaid and Medicare could be a central point of contention between the two chambers during a conference.

Also unlike the Senate's version, the House bill will cut $844 million from the Food Stamp program that will, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates, exclude between 225,000 and 300,000 working families from this essential nutrition support. It would seem the proposal could not come at a worse time for the working poor, with a report from the Agriculture department released the same day the cuts were approved showing the number of "food insecure Americans" has increased for the fifth consecutive year. The USDA reported the total number of people living in "food insecure households" -- those suffering from hunger without resources to purchase an adequate diet -- increased to 38.2 million last year, an almost two million person increase from 2003. The food stamp program cuts proposed by the House would undoubtedly increase those ranks, leaving hundreds of thousands more Americans struggling to put food on their tables without the support.

Both the House and Senate include cuts to student loan programs, but the House includes almost twice as much ($8.5 billion vs. $15 billion). The State Public Interest Research Group's Education Project has calculated these cuts in the House bill will cost a typical student $5,800 per year on average in additional education costs - causing many financially strapped students to drop out of school.

The list of cuts continues, with the House bill including cuts to foster care ($600 million), supplemental security income for the disabled ($730 million), and a whopping 40 percent cut to child support enforcement ($5 billion). In general, the Senate has been less draconian in proposing cuts that affect low-income Americans, yet any compromise reached with the House during conference will almost assuredly add or increase cuts to low-income programs from the Senate level.

All For The Tax Cuts

Most troubling of all is that the savings from these miserly proposals would merely pay for new tax cuts for wealthy Americans. GOP leaders, leaving out this inconvenient fact, claim the reconciliation bills are needed to reign in spending to get the deficit under control. Yet, the same voices calling for tightening our belts, plan to pass $70 billion in additional tax cuts through the fast-tracked reconciliation process in the next two weeks, after the spending bill is completed.. Once the spending bill is passed, the reconciliation process -- designed to make easier enacting difficult legislation to cut entitlements and increase taxes in order to reduce deficits -- will actually increase deficits by at least $35 billion.

Neither the House nor the Senate is considering canceling plans to pass these new tax cuts or delaying the enactment of planned cuts benefiting the richest of the rich. A disproportionate share of the burden is being hoisted on the shoulders of those least able to bear it - the young, the old, the sick, disabled, and hungry, and many other vulnerable citizens. All the while, the well-off continue to receive very generous benefits through continued tax cuts.

House GOP leaders announced today that a final agreement between the House and Senate on a tax cut reconciliation bill could slip into 2006 due to difficulty not only building consensus among House Republicans, but also finding support within the Senate GOP, as to the necessity of enacting another round of new tax cuts. Acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-MO), however, remained optimistic about passage in the House of the additional tax cuts this year.

The Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center (TPC) reports that households with incomes of over $1 million are receiving tax cuts this year from the 2001 and 2003 tax-cut legislation that total on average $103,000 a year. The total cost for these tax cuts for this year alone is $225 billion.

In addition, neither chamber has even broached the subject of stopping two extremely expensive tax cuts that will exclusively benefit very high-income households that have yet to take effect but are scheduled to do so on Jan. 1. The TPC estimated that 97 percent of the benefits from these tax cuts (commonly referred to as the PEP and Pease provisions) will go to the 4 percent of households with incomes greater than $200,000. When these two tax cuts are fully in effect, more than half (54 percent) of their benefits will go to households with income of over $1 million a year -- each millionaire household will receive $19,200 each year -- an amount nearly equal to that earned by two working parents each year making minimum wage: $21,424.

Speak out now and tell your representatives to scrap the reconciliation bills this year and enact sound fiscal policies that promote the common good for all Americans. For talking points or to network with Oregon Center for Public Policy’s federal advocacy, contact Janet Bauer at jbauer@ocpp.org.

HAP Receives $16.8 Million Hope VI Grant to Revitalize Iris Court

The Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) has received a $16.8 million Fiscal Year 2005 HOPE VI Revitalization Grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to revitalize the Iris Court Cluster housing development in Northeast Portland.  HAP received one of seven grants awarded from a competitive field of 29 applications submitted across the nation.

“This is very exciting to be awarded a second HOPE VI grant in just four years,” says Kandis Brewer Nunn, chair of the HAP Board.  “We’re pleased to be building on the success of New Columbia by making a much-needed investment in another North Portland neighborhood.”

The Iris Court Cluster, located in the Humboldt neighborhood, consists of 101 rental units located in four different public housing developments. According to Steve Rudman, HAP Executive Director, Iris Court has long been a HAP priority for renovation. 

“The time was right for Iris Court,” explains Rudman. “HUD was emphasizing readiness to proceed, a strong development team and a sound approach in this recent funding round.  The Iris Court residents are equally enthusiastic about this revitalization plan, and have been asking for this for a very long time. Many of the residents were involved over the summer helping us put together the application.” HAP submitted its application in July 2005 and learned of the award in late October.

Fifty percent of the Iris Court Cluster adults signed a letter of support for the application. HAP received support from the Mayor, City Council, and Portland Police Chief, the Oregon congressional delegation, Oregon State representatives, the Portland Public Schools, and the Humboldt Neighborhood Association.

Redevelopment of the Iris Court Cluster is estimated to cost $40 million. In addition to the HUD grant, the City of Portland has pledged $1.5 million and the Oregon Treasurer’s office has pledged tax exempt bonds. Financing will also come from the sale of low income housing tax credits and funding from Energy Trust of Oregon, Inc.   All buildings currently on site will be removed and replaced with 100 units of very low income public housing and 29 units of moderate income affordable housing. One of the goals of the redevelopment will be improving neighborhood safety by creating a greater sense of community and stronger connection among neighbors than currently exists.                    

As HAP did at New Columbia, they are pledging support for 20 percent targeted business participation in construction and professional services contracts.  Outreach to engage businesses or other organizations located in North and Northeast Portland will further increase the positive impact of the redevelopment. HAP will support the City’s workforce goals and actively promote the employment of HAP residents, women, minorities and residents of North and Northeast Portland in construction and non-construction jobs.

Oregon was the only state in the country to see a statistically significant decline in its hunger rate in recent years, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nationally, the USDA report found that between 2003 and 2004 food insecurity and hunger worsened. The national hunger rate increased from 3.5 percent in 2003 to 3.9 percent in 2004, while the food insecurity rate rose from 11.2 percent to 11.9 percent.

Oregon’s improvement demonstrates the effectiveness of Oregon’s efforts to expand access to food stamps, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Oregon’s expansion of food stamps and hunger gains, though, may be reversed by cuts to the Food Stamp Program being proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Bush Administration.

“Oregonians should celebrate the improvement in hunger, but we should also be very concerned that our progress may be undermined by decisions pending in Washington, D.C.,” said Michael Leachman, a policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy who has studied the hunger data.

The USDA report, based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that 3.8 percent of Oregon households included members who went hungry at times in 2002-04. This compares with a rate of 5.8 percent in 1999-01 and a rate of 6.0 in 1996-98. Oregon’s hunger rate is now not statistically different than the national rate.

“Oregon is no longer an outlier on hunger,” said Leachman. “We have made impressive gains in recent years. But because no hunger is acceptable, we still have work to do.” Leachman said that with many states bunched near the national rate and the error ranges inherent to all surveys, Oregon’s 16th in the nation ranking is not considered very precise. “The bottom line is that Oregon is now in the middle of the pack among the states,” he said.

In 2000, faced with one of the nation’s highest hunger rates, Oregon raised the income limit for families to be eligible for Food Stamps. Today, the maximum income a family of four can make while remaining eligible for food stamps is about $35,800. Under the previous rules, the maximum for a family of four would have been about $25,200 this year.

At the same time, Oregon also amended its rules to allow struggling families who needed food stamps to own more reliable cars and other basic assets. These improvements, along with an aggressive outreach effort, sharply increased the number of Oregon families eligible for food stamps. The number of Oregonians receiving food stamps jumped 81 percent between August 2000 and August 2005 because of these policy changes as well as increased demand caused by the economic downturn.

“The U.S. House of Representatives and the Bush Administration want to eliminate the provision Oregon used to increase the income limit and to eliminate the car value limit for food stamps,” said Leachman. “If they succeed in eliminating this provision, Oregon would have to take Food Stamps away from thousands of families, dealing a blow to our recent success in reducing our hunger rate.”

The USDA report also noted that in 2002-04 11.9 percent of Oregon households struggled to get food on the table and typically reduced the quality of meals because there is not enough money for food. This rate, the food insecurity rate, also improved in Oregon since 1999-01, when the rate was 13.7 percent. Similar to the figures on hunger, Oregon’s food insecurity rate is on par with the national rate and Oregon’s food insecurity rank of 19th places Oregon in the middle of the pack because the rankings are not precise and the survey has error ranges.

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.

City Club Friday Forum Nov 4

You and your guests are invited to attend City Club's Nov. 4 Friday Forum "Ending Homelessness in Portland: Deja Vu All Over Again?" with guest panelists: Genevieve Nelson, co-founder of Sisters of the Road; Lisa Schroeder, business owner, co-chair of the Downtown Retail Council and member of Mayor Potter's Public Safety Action Committee; and Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten; moderated by Gretchen Kafoury, former City Commissioner and current faculty of Portland

State University's Hatfield School of Government.

It's been almost 20 years since Portland Mayor Bud Clark introduced the "12-Point Plan to Break the Cycle of Homelessness." Fast-forward to 2005. The city has initiated its "10-Year Plan to End Homelessness." How has the face of homelessness and our approach to the problem changed? Why do some think the outcomes will be different this time?

On Friday, Nov. 4, City Club convenes a panel of three community leaders who influence local policy: Sten, in charge of the city's program; Nelson, who is overseeing an in-depth survey of 400 Portland homeless; and Schroeder, who brings the views of the downtown business community to the table.

This City Club Friday Forum, which is open to the public, will be held Friday, November 4, at the Governor Hotel (614 SW 11th Ave.). Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Program begins at 12:15 p.m. and concludes at 1:15 p.m. Luncheon reservations must be made no later than 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, either online after Oct. 28 at http://www.pdxcityclub.org/forums-events/friday-forums.php#FridayForums or anytime by calling 503-228-7231 ext 103 (members only may call 503-241-9242 to make reservations). Luncheon tickets are $20 ($16 for members of City Club and up to two guests). Coffee/tea table tickets are $5 at the door. General seating, available at the door, is $5 (free for members of City Club).

League of Woman Voters and St. David of Wales Episcopal on Nov 8

The League of Women Voters of Portland and St. David of Wales Episcopal

Church presents "Portland's Struggle Against Homelessness: What's Working, What's Not,

And What the Future Holds."  The panel discussion will be held  Tuesday, November 8, 7 p.m. at St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, 2800 S.E. Harrison St., Portland.

The panel discussion will feature:

* Kevin Donegan, Program Director for Homeless Youth Services, JANUS Youth Programs;

* Rob Justus, Executive Director of JOIN; and

* Heather Lyons, Homeless Program Manager, City of Portland Bureau of Housing and Community Development

Public is invited!

Questions?  Call 503-228-1675

Info on First Time Homebuyers Grants at PCLT Homebuyer Orientation Nov 10

Affordable Homeownership is possible with Portland Community Land Trust!

Grants of $50,000 are available through Portland Community Land Trust (PCLT) towards new homes being built a New Columbia, a development of 232 new homes in the Portsmouth neighborhood with many amenities (purchase price approximately $125,000 for a 3 or 4 bedroom home). People need to start NOW to get a grant reserved for homes being built this Spring.

With help from the Portland Development Commission, the Portland Community Land Trust is offering a limited number of $49,000 grants to help first time homebuyers who have low to moderate incomes to purchase and update an older home in the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Area (SE 82nd to 122nd and from Powell Blvd. south to the city border).

Families must have incomes of below 80% of median area income and be able to qualify for a mortgage for $100,000-145,000 in order to receive the grant (A shared appreciation resale restriction applies).

To learn more and begin the process, attend a free Portland Community Land Trust Homebuyer Orientation. The next one is:

Thursday, Nov. 10th from 6:30-7:30 pm at 3109 NE Broadway, Pdx OR 97232 (other dates and times also available)

Contact Kelly at 503-493-0293 or kelly@pclt.org to sign up or ask questions!

The Portland Community Land Trust is a nonprofit membership organization that buys and permanently holds land for the benefit of the Portland community. PCLT's mission is to keep homes affordable forever by maintaining a community organization dedicated to the creation of high quality, affordable housing and the stewardship of land.

CPAH Invites You to the Grand Opening of Oleson Woods Apartments Nov 16

Please join the Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) for the grand opening of this beautiful new green, affordable, sustainable apartment community nestled among trees and functional wetlands, minutes from Washington Square transit and thousands of jobs. On Wednesday, November 16 from 11:30 am-2:00 pm, CPAH will celebrate the grand opening and dedication of the Loren Community Center, honoring CPAH’s ‘founding father’ Loren Kerkoff. The celebration will continue in the evening, with an Open House from 5:30-7:00 pm.

For more information, please visit www.cpahinc.org.

Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Inc. (CPAH) is a non-profit community development corporation serving Southeastern Washington County and Southwest Portland.  With an existing portfolio of 175 units, CPAH provides safe and healthy housing along with support and skill building activities for individuals and families of modest means.