HUD 2008 Homeless Report Submitted to Congress

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has submitted its 2008 homeless report to Congress. The 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report asserts homelessness has increased particularly in suburban and rural areas. The report provides a national review of homelessness in the country. In releasing its report, the department also unveiled a new quarterly assessment of homelessness, Homeless Pulse Project, which is designed to help the government determine the impact of the current economic crisis on families.

The annual report indicates the number of homeless individuals seeking shelter remained constant; however, the number of homeless families seeking shelter increased by 56 percent in the suburbs and rural areas while experiencing a nine percent increase overall.

HUD’s press statement also included the following data about sheltered homeless persons from the report:

• 68 percent are in principal cities – 32 percent are in suburban and rural areas.
• 68 percent are individuals – 32 percent are persons in families with children.
• 62 percent are members of minorities.
• 64 percent of all sheltered homeless adults are men and 36 percent are women.
• 40 percent of all homeless individuals are 31-to-50 years old.
• 12 percent of all sheltered homeless adults are veterans.

Additional findings in the report include the following:

1. About 664,000 people nationwide were homeless—either sheltered or unsheltered—on a single night in January 2008, down about 7,500 people (or one percent) from the previous year.

2. The number of people using homeless residential programs during the course of the year remained steady. Between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008, approximately 1.6 million homeless people used shelters or transitional housing programs at least once.

3. While the number of homeless individuals in shelters in 2008 was about the same as in 2007, the number of people in families increased by nine percent to 516,700, suggesting that family homelessness may be on the rise.

4. Family homelessness increased most especially in suburban and rural areas, by nearly 56 percent between 2007 and 2008. During that same time, the number of homeless individuals in suburban and rural areas increased by nearly 34 percent (see exhibit 4-2 and 4-3).

5. Homeless persons in shelters and on the street continued to be most heavily concentrated in urban areas. One in five people homeless on a single night in January were located in Los Angeles, New York, and Detroit.

6. However, in the twelve months ending on September 30, 2008, the number of people who accessed residential programs in suburban and rural areas increased substantially, from 23 percent in 2007 to 32 percent in 2008.

7. There were early signs that the economic crisis may be affecting trends in homelessness nationally. Notably, a greater share of people accessing the homeless system in 2008 came from stays with friends and family and from places where they had lived a year or more, suggesting that people who had been stably housed were becoming homeless after exhausting their housing options.

HUD to hold Web Cast on Fair Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will hold a forum and simultaneous web cast on “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” Wednesday, July 22. The forum will be held at its headquarters office in Washington, DC. The “discussion” is designed to assist the department in its efforts to ensure its efforts to further fair housing are effective.

Specifically, the department hopes to answer the following questions:

1. How can the existing AFFH review process be improved?
2. What documentation do recipients currently use to demonstrate compliance with AFFH requirements and to support their certifications to AFFH?
3. What factors should be included in an analysis of impediments (AI) for fair housing choice?
4. How often should AIs be updated without creating undue burden?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of creating a regional approach to affirmatively further fair housing?
6. What can communities and public housing agencies do to reduce housing segregation and increase housing opportunities for protected classes under the federal housing civil rights laws?

If you want to attend the forum you must register by sending an email to affh@hud.gov, with “Headquarters” in the subject line and the following information: (a) your full name; (b) organization; (c) phone number; and (d) e-mail address.

To participate via webcast, you must send an e-mail to affh@hud.gov, with “Webcast” in the subject line and the following information: (a) your full name; (b) organization; (c) phone number; and (d) e-mail address. You may view the webcast by going to www.hud.gov and clicking on Webcasts.

Mayoral Group Votes New Officers

The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) elected Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels its new president during its summer meeting in June. Also elected officers by the organization’s membership was Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz as Vice President and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa as Second Vice President for 2009–2010.

Other offices elected include five selected to complete vacancies on the organization’s Trustee and Advisory Board. They included Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Southfield (MI) Mayor Brenda Lawrence, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppart, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Bowling Green (KY) Mayor Elaine Walker.

Also appointed to the Advisory Board were: Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Arlington (TX) Mayor Robert Cluck, Rochester (NY) Mayor Robert J. Duffy, Bridgeport (CT) Mayor Bill Finch, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, Redondo Beach Mayor Michael A. Gin, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas, St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay, Mesa (AZ) Mayor Scott Smith, and Piscataway (NJ) Mayor Brian C. Wahler.

Interesting Read

What To Watch For At Sotomayor’s Hearing
By Keith Perine
Congressional Quarterly

White House to Push Forward on National Urban Policy Agenda
Administration to Host Daylong Talks Tomorrow; Tour of U.S. Cities Planned
By Robin Shulman
The Washington Post

Town hits economic jackpot to become 'Kia-ville'
By Elise Zeiger
CNN

Power of Stimulus Slow to Take Hold
Rising Joblessness Blunts President's Plan for Recovery
By Lori Montgomery
The Washington Post

White Committee Chairmen Have Fewer Black Aides
By Jonathan Allen
Congressional Quarterly

Cities Lose Out on Road Funds from Federal Stimulus
By Michael Cooper and Griff Palmer
The New York Times

Doubts About Obama’s Economic Recovery Plan Rise Along With Unemployment
By Edmund L. Andrews
The New York Times

It Came from Wasilla
By Todd S. Purdum
Vanity Fair

The Outsider: Where Is Sarah Palin Going Next?
By David Von Drehle and Jay Newton-Small/Dillingham
Time Magazine

Study: Many Payday Borrowers Need Additional Loan
Nancy Trejos
The Washington Post

Read more »

New Administration Initiative Hot Topic during Appropriations Hearing

Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), told a House panel the administration’s new Choice Neighborhood Initiative was crafted to build on the success of the HOPE VI program and will seek to include schools and other local players in redeveloping communities.

Donovan testified before the Housing Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies June 19. He reiterated the points he made in his testimony before the Senate Subcommittee (see June 15 posting) by summarizing the four objectives the department hopes to achieve with their budget proposal.

He spent a good portion of the question and answer period responding to questions about the administration’s Choice Neighborhood Program. The administration is proposing $250 million to build on the HOPE VI program to include privately assisted housing with the goal of creating “viable neighborhoods with decent and affordable housing, improved access to jobs, better schools, and increased public transportation opportunities.”

Donovan said the HOPE VI program has worked and is effective but needs to be expanded. He said public housing units are three times as likely to be distressed but said assisted housing can be part of the community’s problem. He said the Choice program can expand the offerings provided by public housing authorities.

Donovan also said the administration is committee to developing a new formula for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. It has agreed to a hold harmless which ensures communities will not lose any money in FY 2010 but would not commit to a hold harmless beyond the next fiscal year. He said they were looking at a formula which would better target need and are considering two particular factors – income levels and the range of housing services provided with these funds. He said they are not locked into a particular formula but are looking at how to weigh various factors to develop a viable one. He agreed the 2010 census will be a factor in determining the formula.

HUD could be heading for a major show down between local governments and low income advocates. Many advocates have sought changes to the CDB formula claiming it does little to address the real needs of the poor in their communities. Local governments argue the flexibility of the program allows it to tailor funds to its community needs. Deeper targeting of these resources will limit how local governments use these funds.

Note: A View from DC will not post June 29 but will return the week of July 10.

A View from DC would also like to give a shout out to the 1975 class of Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. Thirty-four years ago today that class joined the ranks of Hayes alumni which include Martin Scorsese, Regis Philbin, professional basketball player Jamal Mashburn and current Super Bowl champ Willie Colon. The class of 1975 features corporate executives, entrepreneurs, award winning writers, Grammy nominated artists and some of New York’s dedicated police and firemen. Scattered through out the world, this class has used the lessons learned from the dedicated men and women who offered guidance, discipline and direction. Nestled 10 minutes from Yankee Stadium, this “beacon from the Bronx” has been a source of salvation for many of New York’s youth of all races and ethnicities. It continues to shepherd young boys into manhood with more than 96 percent of its graduates going to major colleges and universities.

Interesting Read

Numbers on Welfare See Sharp Increase
By Sara Murray
The Wall Street Journal

Recovery's Missing Ingredient: New Jobs
Experts Warn of a Long Dry Spell
By Michael A. Fletcher
The Washington Post

Credit Score Shell Game
As High Scores Vanish, Borrowers' Luck Runs Out
By Nancy Trejos
The Washington Post

Owego Prepares for Rough Landing
Demise of Helicopter Program Means Hundreds of Jobs Lost in Struggling N.Y. Area
By Philip Rucker
The Washington Post

Old Public Housing Makes Way for New Approach in Atlanta
By Robbie Brown
The New York Times

Obama’s Pledge on Donations Faces Reality
By Jeff Zeleny
The New York Times

Read more »

HUD Secretary Testifies on Budget; Announces Partnerships with Other Agencies

Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies the department’s FY 2010 budget proposal is a “forward thinking budget with new ideas for driving energy efficient housing, sustainable, inclusive growth, and revitalization of neighborhoods of extreme poverty.”

Donovan said the budget achieves five objectives:

First, it addresses the housing and economic crisis by combining resources with tools to prevent foreclosures and making credit available to those in need. Second, it “returns the federal government to its leadership role as a catalyst for expanding the availability of decent and affordable rental housing.” He said the budget does this by providing funding for the Housing trust Fund, fully funding public housing, providing funding for tenant-based assistance and funding for homeless programs.

He said the third objective of the budget is to invest in urban and rural communities through funding for the community development block grant (CDBG) program and the Choice Neighborhood program. The Choice Neighborhood program replaces the HOPE VI program. Donovan said the new program builds on the successes of HOPE VI but is expanded to include improved access to jobs, schools and increase public transportation opportunities. A fourth objective is to create more efficient housing and sustainable growth. Donovan would like to see housing which requires less transportation and more energy efficient homes.

The final objective is to transform the way HUD functions, according to Donovan. To accomplish this, Donovan said the department is seeking to set aside one percent of its funds to allow HUD to increase it research and development, improve its technology and increase the technical assistance it offers.

Donovan is scheduled to testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development June 19 at 10 a.m. The testimony will be carried live via web cast. The subcommittee received its overall allocation of funds for next year. Each appropriations subcommittee received an allocation which determines how much it has available for the departments and programs in its jurisdiction. The FY 2010 allocation for this subcommittee is $68.8 billion which is $13.8 billion more than the FY 09 allocation of $55 billion.

HUD Partners with Other Agencies

An interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities was recently announced by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson which is designed to improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide.

The agreement establishes six principles to guide interagency coordination:

1. Provide more transportation choices.

2. Promote equitable, affordable housing.

3. Enhance economic competitiveness.

4. Support existing communities.

5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment.

6. Value communities and neighborhoods.

HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims and Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson issued a national 'call to action' to confront the prevalence of home-related preventable diseases such as lead poisoning and asthma. Sims and Galson unveiled HUD’s Healthy Homes Strategic Plan and the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes as a coordinated effort with other public and private partners to stimulate a national dialogue about creating healthier homes.

HUD's Strategic Plan focuses on four key goals:

1. Building a National Framework: Foster partnerships for implementing a healthy homes agenda.
2. Creating Healthy Housing through Key Research: Support strategic, focused research on links between housing and health and cost-effective methods to address hazards.
3. Mainstreaming the Healthy Homes Approach: Promote the incorporation of healthy homes principles into ongoing practices and programs.
4. Enabling Communities to Create and Sustain Healthy Homes: Build sustainable local healthy homes programs.

The Call to Action also offers a consumer-friendly punch list of things every family can do to make their home healthier and safer including:

1. Check gas appliances, fireplaces, chimneys, and furnaces yearly and change furnace and air conditioning filters regularly.
2. Keep children safe from drowning, lead poisoning, suffocation and strangulation, and other hazards.
3. Improve air quality in their homes by installing radon and carbon monoxide detectors, eliminating smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, and controlling allergens that contribute to asthma and mold growth.
4. Improve water quality by learning to protect and maintain private water wells.

Up Coming Conferences

The National Housing Conference will hold its Solutions for Working Families:
2009 Learning Conference on State and Local Housing Policy June 28-30 in Chicago.

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) will hold its summer conference in Portland, Oregon July 16-18.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness will hold is annual conference July 29-31.

Interesting Read

Atlanta Says Farewell to Last Large Public Housing Building
Donna Kimura
Housing Finance

California Aid Request Spurned By U.S.
Officials Push State To Repair Budget
By David Cho, Brady Dennia and Karl Vick
The Washington Post

Charter schools hit, miss in new report
Limited English, poverty students get math and reading boost
By Andrea Billups
The Washington Times

With Senate in Dispute, N.Y. Politics a 'Circus'
Party Defections Leave Control Uncertain
By Keith B. Richburg
The Washington Post

Hate Crimes Rise as Immigration Debate Heats Up
By Spencer S. Hsu
The Washington Post

The Unelected: Bennet Appointment Sets Up Hot 2010 Race
By Greg Giroux
Congressional Quarterly

The Unelected: New York’s Gillibrand Makes the Most of Brief Tenure
By Emily Cadei
Congressional Quarterly

Read more »

Affordable Housing Developers Urged to Have Voices Heard, Be Ready for Great Deals

Carol Galante, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), urged affordable housing developers to aggressively advocate before the government and philanthropy to ensure they have a seat at the table when decisions affecting housing are made.

Galante was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon for the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND). HAND was formed in 1991 to support a professional community of housing providers in order to increase the supply of affordable housing in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. HAND was incorporated in June 1998 and is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. HAND is open to all nonprofit and for-profit housing developers, technical consultants, lenders, local governments, and advocates.

The annual meeting is held each June and features the presentation of the HAND Housing Achievement Awards. The awards recognize the finest in affordable housing projects, programs, and organizations during the preceding year.

Galante said she wants to be a bridge between the Department of Treasury and HUD. Helping the credit industry move forward is one of three goals she hopes to accomplish during her tenure at HUD. She said there are not enough investors for the market and that it needs to be broadened to include other players such as utility companies. These new investors can be encouraged to be good corporate investors thru the low income housing tax credits (LIHTC). She wants to ensure HUD programs work better with the tax credits programs. She said there was a NOFA issued in April with a closing date of June 29 which seeks comments on how the programs can better perform together.

Her second goal is to draft new approaches to preservation and new development. She wants to maintain long-term housing affordability as much as possible. She points to the housing trust fund legislation and the president’s proposed successor to the HOPE VI Revitalization program as examples of trying to expand the assisted housing stock and incorporate schools and retail in neighborhood design.

Her third goal is to make multi-family FHA program more widely available. She said HUD programs are like “your dad’s Pontiac, they haven’t changed much.” She said there are a lot of tools which are not financially available for affordable housing in today’s market which presents an opportunity for FHA.

She offered five recommendations to participants:

1. She said they must be aggressively advocating for what is needed with government and philanthropists over the next year to ensure they have a seat at the table when decisions on housing are made.
2. She said it would be wise to assess their organizational strength at this point in time. “What do you do best? What is your value added? Focus on your portfolio and put it in the best position,” she said.

3. Be ready to acquire property. She believes there will be huge discounts on high end quality property which will be made available in many markets that can transition into effective mixed income housing.

4. She encouraged the developers to plan new mixed use, transit oriented, green developments.

5. Finally, she said to stay nimble, innovative, and be creative to get the deal done.


$1.5 Billion in New Market Tax Credits Awarded

On May 27, the Department of Treasury announce it was awarding $1.5 billion in New Market Tax Credits to 32 organization scattered throughout the country.

In making the announcement, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said, "Many communities have been left with a shortfall of financial support and are unable to pursue desperately needed projects, leaving residents to fall even further behind. The New Markets Tax Credit program helps break that cycle by providing an incentive to invest in communities to break ground on new projects, create jobs, and offer much needed services."

The 32 organizations receiving awards have identified principal service areas covering 33 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The NMTC Program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in investment vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. A majority of the taxpayer's investment must in turn be used by the CDE to make qualified investments in low-income communities.

Interesting Read

HUD Prepares a Plan to Struggling HFAs
By Donna Kimura
Housing Finance Magazine

For Some Homeowners, Promised Help Is Elusive
By Peter S. Goodman
The New York Times

Read more »

Bill Protects Renters Caught in Squeeze Due to Foreclosure

Congress passed legislation which prevents landlords facing foreclosure from evicting renters. The bill allows renters to stay in their homes for 90 days after the foreclosure notice. The bill is designed to prevent the eviction of tenants who pay their rents but could lose their homes because their landlord’s property fell into foreclosure. The bill extends the same protection to voucher holders. The bill is effective immediately upon signing and expires in 2012.

NLIHC Toolkit for Renters in Foreclosure

Renters facing the prospects of foreclosure can receive helpful hints by using the National Low Income Coalition’s Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit. It provides useful information for those at risk of losing their home due to the landlord’s property falling into foreclosure. Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes

Interesting Reads

Up and Out of New York’s Projects
By Lizette Alvarex and Michael Wilson
The New York Times

Slumping Economy Puts Test to an Aid System Tied to Jobs
By Jason DeParle
The New York Times

Fannie, Freddie Scale Back Gifts to Charity
By Terri Rupar
The Washington Post

One Legislative ‘Fix’ That Should Be In
By Tracie Powell
Congressional Quarterly

For GOP, A Southern Exposure
Republican strength in the South has both compensated for and masked the extent of the party's decline elsewhere.
By Ronald Brownstein

What You Earn is Key to Where You Live
By Ilyce R. Glink with Samuel J. Tamkin
The Washington Post

Read more »