Neighborhood Partnerships

On Friday, February 12 constituents gathered in Salem for Oregon Thrives’ “Have a Heart Day” in honor of Oregon’s 151st birthday and Valentine’s Day.  Oregon Thrivesis an emerging coalition of advocacy and service organizations in Oregon, and Neighborhood Partnerships is a founding member and participates in the steering committee.  NP staff went to Salem to participate in the event and encourage legislators to have a heart and remember Oregon’s most vulnerable citizens during this special legislative session and these difficult economic times.

After a brief discussion of the day’s issues and schedule, close to 100 constituents left to talk with 65 of their Senators and Representatives.  We spoke to our elected representatives about critical issues facing hard working Oregonians such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Employment Related Day Care (ERDC), and the Emergency Housing Account.  Constituents also passed out Valentine messages thanking legislators for remembering hard working Oregonians during this special legislative session.

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon led an interfaith prayer vigil on the steps of the Capitol, drawing attention to the many homeless school children and families.  The vigil was preceded by a conversation focusing on ways to work with schools to serve their homeless students, as well as policy and funding issues.  Janet Byrd lent her expertise to the discussion, focusing on policy and NP’s extensive experience with the issue of family homelessness as a result of its involvement with Bridges to Housing. This discussion was spurred by the 18,000 school-aged children who were homeless for at least some part of the 2008-2009 school year.  The group is planning an interfaith summit on child and family homelessness in late spring.

The afternoon ended with a legislative hearing on increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).  Oregon is one of the few states where income tax is still applied to low-income families.  Multiple testimonies cited the ways in which EITC eases the burden on those in Oregon’s lowest tax brackets.  Expanding Oregon’s EITC was the first recommendation made by the Corporation for Enterprise Development in their Assets for Opportunity Scorecard suggesting how Oregon could improve its climate for its most financially vulnerable citizens.  Increasing the EITC from six percent of the federal credit by three points each year until it reaches 18% in 2014 would benefit over 220,000 households throughout Oregon.  It would also help to boost the local economy as EITC dollars are often spent locally and quickly.

Have a Heart Day was a great success!  Together with Oregon Thrives and their other partners we were able to thank many members of the Oregon State Legislature, reminding them to have a heart during the remainder of the February session to ensure that all Oregonians have an opportunity to thrive.

On February 12^th, people from across Oregon will travel to Salem for three important events to support our hardworking neighbors, families, and their children.   We will ask our legislators to “Have a Heart,” with Oregon Thrives; we will join faith leaders for an interfaith prayer vigil for homeless children and families; and we will attend a hearing on the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tool which helps low and moderate income families build assets.

First, we will join with Oregon Thrives and meet in Salem at the State Capitol to support our legislators in continuing to “Have A Heart.”  We will ask our Legislators to continue to work their hardest to find resources to meet the needs of vulnerable Oregonians in our midst.

We’ll convene at 8 am for check in and coffee.  We will begin promptly at 8:30 with a legislative briefing in the Public Services Building, 255 Capitol Street NE, Basement Room A.

After a legislative briefing, participants will move to the state capitol and deliver Valentine messages to their legislators.  Please join us for this special event! RSVP today. (Link to: Claudette@caporegon.org)  Download the invitation here.

Next up, we will participate in an Interfaith Briefing and Dialogue on Homeless Children and Families and Prayer Vigil.  This important event will bring faith leaders from across the state to help draw attention to the growing number of homeless families statewide and the increasing number of homeless children in our public schools.

The interfaith briefing and dialogue, sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and the Interfaith Project on Homeless Children and Families begins at 10:00 am.  Briefings and discussion will focus on education of homeless children and youth, and on programs that prevent and reduce homelessness.  We’ll meet across the street from the Capitol at the Public Service Building, 255 Capitol Street NE, Basement Room A.

At noon, join us as we move across the street to the capitol steps for a rally and prayer vigil in support of homeless children and families.  Find out more about the Briefing or Prayer Vigil by contacting Kevin Finney or Rev. Chuck Currie.

Last up, at 1:00 pm we will join an important legislative hearing on reducing taxes on low‐income working families by increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit.  The Earned Income Tax Credit is an important tool which helps low and moderate income families build savings and assets.  Help us show the legislature that we care about our hardworking families and their children in Oregon.  This is a hearing of the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee on SB 1044 in Hearing Room A. Please join us! Questions, please contact us.

If you only come to Salem once in 2010, please come on February 12^th.  Let’s thank our State Legislators for continuing to Have a Heart, and show them how important it is that everyone has a safe place to call home.

Efforts are underway at the national level to fund the National Housing Trust Fund.  The House of Representatives recently passed the “Jobs for Main Street Act” (HR 2847) which would provide $1 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund, as well as $65 million for project-based housing voucher programs.  However, whether these funds will be included in the Senate version of the bill is still unclear.

A National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) would provide significant benefit to Oregon.  As the bill stands currently, the bill would provide $15 million to Oregon per $1 billion allocated to the trust fund.  These funds would be used to provide housing to those at the lowest incomes – 30% of area median income or lower.   We here in Oregon know that housing gives people an opportunity to build better lives, and we believe that funding the NHTF would provide much needed resources to Oregon.

We want to thank our Senators, especially Senator Jeff Merkley, who recently initiated a letter to President Obama asking that $1 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund be included in the President’s budget that he will submit to Congress on February 1. Senator Merkley has asked fellow Senators to sign the letter with him. Senator Wyden of Oregon has signed on as well.

Other efforts are moving forward to ensure the Senate provides funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, including a letter by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) which asks fellow Senators to request that the Senate also provide $1 billion for the NHTF and $65 million in housing vouchers.  Read the letter here.

Want to help? Be sure to contact Senator Merkley and thank him for his work to date to make funding for the NHTF a reality. You can also ask whether Senator Merkley is planning to sign onto the letter from Senator Reed.  Senator Wyden has already signed on to this letter.

Want to learn more? Check out the Center for Community Change website or listen to the audio of a call hosted on Tuesday, 1/19/2010 by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in which their President, Sheila Crowley brings us up to date on the latest news.

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Neighborhood Partnerships, along with Oregon Thrives, the Oregon Center for Public Policy and the Oregon Hunger Task Force were fortunate to be able to collaborate and bring Patrick Bresette of the Public Works project of Demos to Portland the week of November 9^th.

Mr. Bresette presented a lecture, “A Case for Government,” In it, he presented Demos’ research  on Americans’ current views of government and strategies to help people think about the often invisible roles of government and a more involved, “citizen – manager” role for themselves.

The lecture was well attended – over 100 people braved the downpour to hear Patrick speak about the public’s images of government and their declining trust in government. Research conducted by Demos indicates that all too often people think about government as partisan bickering and political theater.  He spoke about how to help people rediscover the important functions of government and how everyone can and should play a role in managing those functions. You can download the powerpoint from Tuesday night’s lecture, as well as a two-page handout summarizing the research findings of Demos on this subject.

Thanks are also due to NW Natural for their assistance in hosting a small reception following the training and their generous donation of space for the event.

While in Oregon, Patrick also led two day-long trainings. The first training focused on talking about financial asset building, drawing on his background developing the IDA program for the state of Texas.   This session focused on how to communicate the importance of asset building as tools to expand economic opportunity. Download the powerpoint from this training.

The second training focused on talking about state and local revenue needs.  This training was an extended and more in-depth version of Tuesday’s nights lecture.  Download the powerpoint from this training here.

I recently had the pleasure of hearing Professor Myron Orfield speak at Portland State University’s “What’s the Big Idea?” Lecture Series, co-sponsored by Coalition for a Livable Future.   Professor Orfield teaches at the University of Minnesota and was a former Minnesota State Legislator.

Professor Orfield titled his talk “Creating Successful Communities: Sharing the Benefits and Burdens of a Growing Region.”  He spoke about all of the many things Portland has done well, from an urban planning perspective – our success with an urban growth boundary, controlling sprawl, concentrating housing and jobs in the inner city and along transit lines. He repeatedly called Portland an urban planners “utopia.”  This is high praise indeed – and it’s true, Portland has done a good job of all of these things.  We have created and have to date maintained a successful urban growth boundary.  We’ve worked to build mass-transit options, and we’ve built in-fill housing and even managed to place a significant percentage of our affordable housing in the urban center and on transit lines.

Unfortunately, Portland isn’t a utopia for too many of our citizens.  We have a shortage of safe, decent affordable housing and increasingly, communities of color and poor communities are being pushed away from jobs and transportation options in search of affordable places to live.   Professor Orfield demonstrated this last problem in particular – providing data on the significant increase over the past few years of minority students and students who qualify for free and reduced lunches in suburban schools.  The increase has been fast and significant, and is likely to continue.

While Portland faces many challenges, creating opportunity for all of its citizens is a critical one we must choose to address.  Fortunately, there are ways we can address this challenge.

Myron Orfield spoke about one solution we have talked a lot about in recent years. We can address this challenge in part by increasing the supply of affordable housing across the metro area.  Increasing the supply of affordable housing throughout Portland will ensure families have more choices about where to live – and where to send their children to school.  Housing is needed near transit lines, employment centers and schools throughout the region.

He also spoke about a policy I haven’t thought much about, but which I would love to explore further. He argues that we can also address this challenge by considering changes to our school districts and enrollment policies.  Other municipalities such as Louisville, Kentucky and Raleigh, North Carolina have made improvements to ensure integrated schools.  These changes address both racial and economic integration and have increased access to opportunity for children while stabilizing neighborhoods.

Its time to move forward in creating opportunity for all Oregonians.

Read the Oregonian’s article about Professor Orfield’s visit to Portland.

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Yesterday, Neighborhood Partnerships and Oregon Thrives, in conjunction with the national Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) released its 2009 – 2010 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard. The Scorecard gave Oregon a “C,” and highlighted areas for improvement in Oregon. To help more Oregonians, the state could expand the refundable earned income tax credit, remove asset limits for public benefits and help to promote and preserve homeownership.

Neighborhood Partnerships, as the leader of an emerging coalition, was offered the opportunity to release Oregon’s Scorecard for 2009-2010 this year by CFED. We held both a press conference, and a forum for advocates to discuss the results of the report and possible improvements to Oregon policy to improve the lives of hard-working Oregonians.

Oregon is doing well in important business and education matters but lags behind national performance in annual pay, extreme asset poverty and health care for adults, according to a report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), a national economic nonprofit. The state earned a “C” on the 2009-2010 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, with Oregon showing room for improvement in important financial assets and income measures, as well as health care.

Advocates at the press conference called for changes to three main policy areas:
• First, an expansion of the refundable earned income credit. The state should increase the value of the Oregon credit to 18% of the federal credit.
• Second, the state should increase access to and ensure access to foreclosure prevention services, as well as safe, affordable mortgage products.
• Third, Oregon should remove asset limits for public benefits.

You can learn more here:
• Download the Press Release 9.21.2009
• Download Oregon’s scorecard for 2009-2010,
• Visit the CFED website for detailed information about each of the issue areas.

Thanks to everyone who attended the forum and the press conference – both were a huge success! We’re excited to move forward building a strong coalition to improve the lives of all Oregonians. Check back soon for more updates, and links to media coverage.

I was struck by this opinion piece in today’s Oregonian by Larry Wallack, now Dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University.

I had the pleasure of working with Larry beginning in 2004 as a group of us worked to hone messages that would help us build affordable housing champions. One of the outcomes or byproducts of that working group on messages was the Housing Alliance, and the commitment to collaboration for the greater good that has always guided our work. I’m not sure we can give Larry credit for all of our successful collaboration, but he certainly inspired us to define a unified agenda, taught us the value of message discipline and helped inspire us to pull towards a common goal.

Yes, collaboration does feel good, especially when we look at the results, and the ever-increasing visibility and impact of the coalition.  And even a chocolate lover like me has to admit that the benefits – to Oregonians who need a place to call home – are even better than chocolate.

Housing Alliance Results:

2005:    Regular Session

• Expansion of the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit cap by $2 million

2007:    Regular Session

• $26 million in new one time funding to house working families, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, and to preserve existing housing.
• Another $2 million expansion for the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit.
• Protections for renters displaced by condo conversion.
• Improved protection for manufactured home park residents.

2008:     Supplemental Session

• $2 million to seed the ‘Housing Acquisition Fund’ to preserve the homes of thousands of vulnerable Oregonians.
• $4 million for the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit.

2009:     Regular Session

• Housing Opportunity Bill creates a dedicated revenue source for affordable housing.
• Funding for Emergency Housing Account and State Homeless Assistance Program spared the worst of the budget cuts.
• Tenants living in foreclosed properties gain some protections from hurried eviction.
• Lottery Backed Bonds support preservation of existing affordable housing ??
• Expansion of Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit ??

2009 and beyond: There’s more to do!!!

As the 2009 Legislative session draws near an end, I’ve been reflecting on our experiences and success. There have been a lot of especially rewarding moments, and a recurring theme.

When a small group of advocates formed the Housing Alliance in 2004, we had three main goals.

First, we wanted to increase ongoing resources available to meet the growing need for affordable housing.

Second, we wanted to move housing up the priority list for at least some legislators, from number eight or nine to up among the top three.

And, third, we wanted to build a cadre of housing champions in the legislature – representatives and senators who understood the needs for affordable housing in their districts and who cared enough about those needs to do some work on the issue.

Our success this session is directly attributable to having accomplished the third goal.  We’ve done such a solid job of educating legislators about the issue that it’s hard to winnow the list down to a top ten or even a top twenty champions. On Lobby Day, March 13, we delivered “Housing Champion” awards and “Housing Advocate” awards to more than forty legislators.  And believe me, they had all earned the recognition, not just by voting to support Housing Opportunity, but by going out of their way to bring another legislator along, to speak out in committee or on the floor, and to dig deeply into the details of the issue and build their own passion for making housing opportunity a reality.

The credit for these housing champions belongs to all of you. If you’ve made a visit to a legislator, shared a story, invited a representative to a project opening, written an email, had a conversation, written a letter to the editor, or done anything else to bring home the fact that housing needs exist in every corner of the state, you should feel good about the results of that effort. Even if your representative didn’t vote with us, believe me it’s made a difference. The other thing I noticed this session is that even our “opponents” are supporters. Their statements typically began with “ We all know that everyone needs a safe decent place to live” or “ I support affordable housing,”.

When even your opponents carry your message, you know you’ve gotten your point across. Yes, everyone does deserve a safe decent place to call home. And together, we’ve made that vision more of a reality.

Janet Byrd