Neighborhood Partnerships

The Housing Alliance is gearing up for the upcoming 2011 Legislative Session.  We have a series of membership meetings planned, and we are getting ready to finalize our agenda.

In September and October, we’ll hold two Housing Alliance Membership Meetings.  We will be meeting in Salem on Monday, September 27, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Friday, October 29, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Prospective members may be invited to attend, but will not be allowed to vote—please contact Alison McIntosh if you are a prospective member or have an organization you would like to invite. Find out how to join the Housing Alliance!

Another revenue forecast is scheduled to be released on August 26, 2010.  We will be watching this closely, both to see what it holds for the remainder of this biennium as well as 2011-2013.  Early reports are predicting another downturn—which will make meeting needs and balancing the budget even harder than we already anticipated.

We are continuing to refine our list of legislative priorities.  Right now, the list includes:

Maintain Document Recording Fee Resources for Affordable Housing;
Increase the Emergency Housing Account;
Preserve Existing Affordable Housing;
Maintain current tools to keep affordable housing affordable, including the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit and maintaining state enabling legislation for local property tax abatement programs;
Permanent supporting housing construction to help end homelessness;
Increasing resources to support Minority Homeownership;
Expanding protections for tenants in foreclosed properties;
Supporting resident purchases of manufactured home parks;
Supporting land trusts; and
Protecting homeless from hate crimes.

A full and more detailed list is available here.

Questions? E-mail us.

On Friday, July 16, 2010, Bridges to Housing case managers, staff, and Multnomah County partners gathered to appreciate and celebrate the success of the program, now four years old.

Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, describing herself as a member of the Bridges to Housing fan club, welcomed families, case managers and those who’ve worked at the City and County to make this program a success.  Commissioner Kafoury also announced the great news that Multnomah County had committed over $400,000 to services in 2010-2011 for Bridges to Housing!

Photo by Maileen Hamto, Portland Housing Bureau

Commissioner Nick Fish discussed the importance of the regional effort, and talked about the critical contributions made by various partners: the Housing Authority of Portland, which dedicated project-based Section 8 vouchers, making housing affordable for these families and allowing funds to be spent on case management; the City of Portland, who contributed resources to build new affordable housing units and to reprogram existing units to create 139 units dedicated specifically to this program; and Multnomah County, who committed funds for services to continue the program.

Photo by Maileen Hamto, Portland Housing Bureau

Janet Byrd of Neighborhood Partnerships described the four county effort, and the importance of the ongoing evaluation, which is being conducted by Portland State University.  Janet also talked about the private funds raised to support Bridges to Housing and thanked the many foundations who have contributed over the past four years.  She also described the huge contribution of time from Regional Steering Committee volunteers and thanked them for their efforts.

Jean DeMaster talked about the contribution and partnership shown by housing providers, and property and asset managers, and how important their support had been to making the program successful.   Suzanne Washington recognized the dedication and hard work of case managers who have been working alongside these families since day one.  The case managers have played a huge role in helping these families maintain their housing, and move forward on their goals.   She thanked them for their commitment to the program and to the families

Photo by Maileen Hamto, Portland Housing Bureau

We also had the opportunity to hear from some of the families who have participated in Bridges to Housing.  Several were generous enough to tell us their stories of how they came into the program, and how it’s helped them.  We heard from a family of four, who camped for a year after losing their rental apartment when it was sold.  The father is now back in school and earning a degree in green building.  We also heard from a family who escaped domestic violence and substance abuse and is now also back in school.  Commissioner Kafoury said it best when she reminded us that the families are the one and only reason this program matters.

Photo by Maileen Hamto, Portland Housing Bureau

Thanks to everyone who came, and thank you especially to the families who shared their stories and their afternoon with us.

Photo by Maileen Hamto, Portland Housing Bureau

Also special thanks to those who donated food or raffle prizes to the event: Cupcake Jones, New Seasons Market, Starbucks, World Cup Coffee, Human Solutions, and Ellington Handbags.  Thanks to Maileen Hamto of Portland Housing Bureau for taking photographs. And thanks to Hacienda CDC’s Micro Mercantes for a wonderful lunch.

Federal spending on affordable housing and preventing and ending homelessness continues to improve!  We are very pleased that on Thursday, July 1, 2010 the House Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD) Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its Fiscal Year 2011 spending bill.  This subcommittee oversees funding for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and sets spending levels for federal housing programs.

Some highlights of the appropriations bill include: A 10% increase to $2.055 billion in funding for HUD’s McKinney-Vento programs which serve homeless families and individuals.  While this is great news, estimates indicate that to fully implement the Hearth Act will require $2.4 billion.  The Hearth Act was the 2009 reauthorization of the McKinney Vento act, and it expanded the definition of homelessness; expanded homelessness prevention activities; and increases efforts to serve homeless families and children, among other things.  (Read a summary here.)

The bill also requested $75 million for additional VA Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers to serve homeless veterans, continued funding for housing programs for seniors and people with disabilities; and increased funding for the tenant based rental assistance program renewals.

The bill does not provide funding for two new HUD initiatives, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, or PETRA (Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance). Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is a HUD proposal to replace HOPE VI, a program which was designed to rehabilitate and replace distressed public housing properties.  PETRA is a proposal by HUD to transform its current programs.  The proposed changes would: streamline its current subsidy programs, change the way public housing is rehabilitated and preserved in the future, and promote resident choice.  Advocates for affordable housing and their residents are concerned about some components of PETRA, while HUD asserts that PETRA will be both beneficial and critical to the future of affordable housing.

Funding for the National Housing Trust Fund was not included in this appropriations bill.  Advocates are still hopeful that the Senate will again consider legislation to fund the Trust Fund through the Tax Extenders Bill (HR 4213).  A $1 billion investment into the Trust Fund would bring over $15 million to Oregon.

What’s next?

The Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee will also markup its Fiscal Year 2011 spending bill.

Want to know more?

If you’re interested in learning more, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Low Income Housing Coalition are both tracking this issue.  Download the NLIHC summary of spending since FY 2005 and proposed FY 2011 levels.

On Thursday, June 24, Neighborhood Partnerships staff attended the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s Interfaith Summit on Homeless Children, Youth, and Families. Over 200 people from across Oregon also attended, including many from the faith community, non-profits, and government.

After an opening interfaith devotional the first panel on Childhood, Youth, and Family Homelessness in Oregon began. Members of this panel gave participants background on the current state of homelessness in Oregon and some of the efforts underway to help those in need. After a short break, the group moved right into an overview of the four small group topics for the afternoon. They included: Shelter and Services; Preventing, Reducing, and Ending Family Homelessness; Education of Homeless Children; and Homeless and Runaway Youth.

The group moved outside to enjoy the sunny weather and hold a walking vigil late morning. We heard a bit about the history of churches marching for social justice. Over lunch keynote speaker Barbara Duffield of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth spoke about why it’s so critical to ensure homeless children have access to education.

Afternoon breakout groups filled the afternoon, with Neighborhood Partnership’s Executive Director Janet Byrd helping to lead the panel on Preventing, Reducing, and Ending Family Homelessness. We talked in our session about the various responses to homelessness, how to contact the folks in your community working on 10 Year Plans, and how churches can and are playing important roles in this effort.

The day ended with a call to action and a discussion about next steps. Neighborhood Partnerships is excited to meet so many folks from across the state who are interested in and committed to ending homelessness in Oregon. We’re looking forward to taking the next steps with our faith-based partners!

If you’re interested in hearing more about the day, or want to get involved moving forward, contact us or Kevin Finney from Ecumenical Ministries.

On June 16, a rainy Wednesday in Salem Oregon, 50 people from across the state joined Neighborhood Partnerships, Oregon Housing and Community Services, JP Morgan Chase, and others in a thoughtful and provocative conversation about minority homeownership.  Victor Merced began the day by calling on all of us to look carefully at what we are doing now that works, and to think about how to do more to close the minority homeownership gap.

A review of available data shows us that we need to create 30,000 or more new homeowners from communities of color to close Oregon’s homeownership gap.  This task will require the hard work of all existing partners, and some creative work to improve our impact, increase the tools we have at our disposal, and increase the resources available to us.

The good news, though, is that partners now hard at work in Oregon know how to accomplish this.  We heard from several speakers about the barriers that we need to overcome in various communities across the state, and reviewed materials gathered from the City of Portland’s Operation Home efforts.  Then, we heard from a diverse panel about a sampling of the successful efforts now underway.  Strategies shared included a tribal-sponsored down payment initiative, maintaining a multi-cultural staff, focus groups and homebuyer clubs, and land trusts to increase affordability.  Creative partnerships, efficient use of resources, and genuine commitment to reaching people in their communities were evident in all the examples shared by the panel and participants.  And we know we just scratched the surface and did not have time to acknowledge all of the expertise in the room.

Regrettably we couldn’t hear from everyone, and we only touched on key strategies. But our goal was to highlight possibility and commit to taking the next steps together to increase resources and political will to close the gap.

Several next steps were identified.

Best practices sharing through practitioner networks. Oregon Opportunity Network will discuss possible next steps for peer learning and sharing.

State funding decisions for use of the document recording fee. Roberto Franco shared timelines for the five program areas to be funded through the document recording fee. Neighborhood Partnerships will track these timelines and processes and facilitate comments on priorities and processes.

Our Oregon plans to continue discussing legislation that would tie financial education to some loan products. Neighborhood Partnerships will track development and facilitate Housing Alliance consideration of proposals.

There was lots of interest in improving our data—on historical trends in homeownership rates, on the impacts of foreclosures, and on lending practices. Neighborhood Partnerships will follow up on these ideas in the coming months.

Email Janet with your thoughts, or let us know what you’d like to be part of in the comments section of the blog!

The Housing Alliance is in the process of setting its 2011 legislative priorities.  While the budget picture for both the remainder of this biennium and next biennium is bleak, the continuing recession and high unemployment mean the need for affordable housing and other safety net services remains critical.

In 2011, we’re considering the following priorities:

Maintain Document Recording Fee Resources for Affordable Housing—Use proceeds of the fee to support development, preservation, homeownership, ending and preventing homelessness, and building capacity of non-profit partners.

Increase the Emergency Housing Account—This is our most flexible resource to end and prevent homelessness. This resource has not been increased since it was created, while the need is growing at an alarming pace.

Preserve Existing Affordable Housing—Existing housing with federal rent subsidies are at risk of loss to market rate, as is housing built and owned by non-profit partners statewide. We cannot afford to lose this precious resource.

Maintain current tools to keep affordable housing affordable—among others, we need to re-structure the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit so that it works in the current financial climate, and maintain state enabling legislation for local property tax abatement programs.

Increase resources to end homelessness through permanent supportive housing construction.

Improve the financial stability and resiliency of Oregon’s minority communities by increasing resources to support minority homeownership.

Continue and expand protections for tenants in foreclosed properties.

Support resident purchases of manufactured home parks.

Support land trusts as an option for affordable home ownership.

The Housing Alliance may also vote to support other proposals that improve the financial well-being of low income Oregonians, who are the residents of affordable housing.  Stay tuned this summer and in early fall as we finalize our agenda.

While in Washington, D.C. for the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) Annual Conference, The Oregon Housing Alliance won NLIHC’s first ever  State & Local Organizing Award for our work in 2009, an honor we shared with Oregon’s Community Alliance of Tenants.

DeDe Carney, NLIHC Board Member, poses with Janet Byrd, Executive Director of Neighborhood Partnerships and Chair of the Oregon Housing Alliance, and Dung Ho, CAT Staff Member, after awarding them the State and Local Organizing Award.

George Moses, Board Chair, NLIHC, Janet Byrd,  Alison McIntosh, Project Associate for Neighborhood Partnerships, and Sheila Crowley, Executive Director, NLIHC.

Photos courtesy of Jamie Rose Photography.

Higher prices in the rental market continue to force Oregon families to choose between paying rent, putting food on the table, and paying utility bills.  A national study reports that the cost of renting an apartment in Oregon has increased again, an alarming trend for a state with unemployment at 10.6% and whose number of homeless children attending schools has more than doubled since 2003.

According to the report released today, the Housing Wage for Oregon is $14.93. The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a family must earn – working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year – to be able to afford rent and utilities in the private housing market. The average fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Oregon is $776—a number that has increased 27.5% since 2000. These increases continue despite high unemployment and foreclosures. As rents continue to increase, more and more Oregon families find themselves homeless for the first time.

“Every year it is becoming more difficult for hard working Oregonians to find decent homes they can afford,” said Bill Hall, Lincoln County Commissioner. “In the past year, rural Oregon has seen huge increases to the number of children and families experiencing homelessness. If we want kids to succeed in school, or parents to succeed in the workplace, people need a place to call home.”

The report, Out of Reach 2010, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a Washington, DC-based housing advocacy group, and Oregon’s Housing Alliance. The report provides the Housing Wage and other data for every state, metropolitan area and county in the country.

“Housing gives people an opportunity to build better lives,” said Cathey Briggs, Executive Director of Oregon Opportunity Network, “And yet an estimated 45% of renters in Oregon don’t earn enough income to afford a two-bedroom unit at the Fair Market Rent.”  Fair market rents are a federal statistic for determining market rents.

“The on-going recession and increasing rate of foreclosures in Oregon continues to make it more difficult for hard working Oregonians to find a safe, decent and affordable place to call home,” said Janet Byrd, Chair of the Housing Alliance, “The Housing Alliance will call on the legislature in 2011 to help all Oregonians have a safe place to call home.  Over the past year, we’ve seen significant increases in the number of families with children who’ve become homeless.  All too often these days, people are forced to choose between rent and food.”

The typical renter in Oregon earns $12.84, which is $2.09 less than the hourly wage needed to afford a modest unit.

Working at the minimum wage, $8.40 in Oregon, a family in Oregon must have 1.8 wage earners working full-time—or one full-time earner working 71 hours—to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

This year, Oregon is the twenty-sixth most expensive state in the nation for renters. The National Housing Wage is $18.44 in 2010.

Oregon’s unemployment rates remain high—10.6% statewide.  Many of Oregon’s counties have even higher unemployment:  Crook County’s unemployment is the highest in the state at 17.9%, Harney County is second with 16.1%. Columbia, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Grant, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath and Linn counties all have unemployment rates above 13%.

For additional information, visit http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2010/.

Want to find data on your local community?  Download a PDF here.

You can download a PDF of the media advisory here.

On April 10, 2010, Neighborhood Partnerships staff traveled to Washington, D.C. for the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) Annual Conference.  We were kept busy– we won an award, attended a meeting of other statewide coalitions, learned about changes to federal policies related to affordable housing, and met with our congressional delegation.

First up – our award! The Oregon Housing Alliance won the first ever NLIHC State & Local Organizing Award for our work in 2009, an honor which we shared with Oregon’s Community Alliance of Tenants.  Read all about it here!  Senator Jeff Merkley, who is quickly becoming the go-to-Senator on affordable housing issues, also spoke at the conference the day we received our award.  Senator Merkley called for significant new investments in housing through new vouchers and the National Housing Trust Fund.

We learned about federal legislation related to affordable housing:  The continued campaign to fund the National Housing Trust Fund is in high gear.  The National Housing Trust Fund would bring nearly $15 million to Oregon to serve very low income households! Read more here. Potential changes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through their Transforming Rental Assistance initiative are also moving forward; and we learned more about what was included in the President’s Budget for housing.

We also visited Capitol Hill to meet with our Oregon delegation.

While on Capitol Hill, we talked to our delegation about what’s going on in Oregon related to preservation of affordable rental housing and federal rent subsidies; how we hope to protect tenants living in foreclosed properties; and what changes to federal law would help us work more effectively here in Oregon.

The Housing Alliance and Neighborhood Partnerships are pleased to announce that we’ve been selected to receive the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) first annual State and Local Organizing Award! We are sharing this honor with another Oregon organization, the Community Alliance of Tenants.

We’ll be presented with this award at the NLIHC’s Annual Conference in Washington, DC on April 13, 2010.   The Alliance was selected for this honor due to the strength of our campaign to win the statewide 2009 Housing Opportunity Bill, which creates a dedicated, ongoing source of revenue for multifamily housing, homeless prevention, affordable homeownership opportunities, and other housing needs.

The bill increases the state’s existing document recording fee by $15, which is expected to generate as much as $20 million per biennium in new funds. Check out Janet’s post right after we won the Housing Opportunity Bill discussing the many contributions you all made to the victory, and also our accomplishments for the past four years.

We are very excited to win this award, and congratulate our co-recipient, the Community Alliance of Tenants. If you want to be part of the ongoing work of the Housing Alliance, we’d love to hear from you.