News Briefs
This section provides web links, PDFs and descriptions of recent news stories about affordable housing and related matters.
Meade/ Lawrence County Housing to Host HQS Training in Sturgis
The Meade/ Lawrence County Housing and Redevelopment Commission will be hosting a NAHRO NPDS Housing Qulaity Standards (HQS) Training in Sturgis, South Dakota October 10-12. Due to funding from Lawrence County Housing and Redevelopment, the registration cost has been kept affordable at $350. This is about half what NAHRO normally charges for the training. Click here for more information.
Whitefish Housing Authority Request for Proposals
Whitefish Housing Authority
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Whitefish Housing Authority (WHA) has been awarded a Planning Grant through the Community Development Block Grant Program and the Montana Department of Commerce for the purpose of creating a Five Year Plan which will address the need for affordable rentals in Whitefish. The process will evaluate several housing projects as they relate to the long term planning, the projected increase in need for rental housing in the low income, elderly and disabled populations, and the long term sustainability of the Whitefish Housing Authority.
The Five Year Plan will identify and prioritize current housing authority programs including the possible repositioning of the public housing project, the status of the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and a plan and funding sources for the development of housing authority owned properties, specifically including the BNSF donated homes in Railway District.
Copies of the detailed request for proposals, including a description of the services to be provided by respondents can be obtained by contacting SueAnn Grogan, Whitefish Housing Authority, PO Box 1237, Whitefish, MT 59937, 862-4143.
All responses to the detailed RFP must be submitted by September 19th to the contact person listed above.
2011 Mountain Plains Conference, June 22-24 in Park City, Utah
Join us for the 2011 conference hosted by Utah NAHRO. This year's event will take place a the lovely Chateaux Hotel and Conference Center in Park City, Utah. The planning process is underway and complete details will be posted on this webpage as they become available. Stay tuned!
Professional Development Survey- please participate!
Members are asked to fill out a short online survey to help us identify the Professional Development curriculum offered at our regional training centers in 2011. Just click on "Read Story" below to be connected to the survey. It only takes a few minutes.
| Read storyNAHRO NPDS Newsletter for September
Provides a summary of NAHRO Professional Development opportunities and activities for members.
| View PDFNAHRO Professional Develpment System (NPDS) Brochure
Provides a summary of NPDS program philosophy, course titles and cerification requirements.
| View PDFNAHRO NPDS Newsletter for August
Provides a summary of NAHRO Professional Development opportunities and activities for members.
| View PDFNAHRO NPDS Newsletter for July
Provides a summary of NAHRO Professional Development opportunities and activities for members.
| View PDFNomination Deadlines for National NAHRO Awards
NAHRO Fellows Program, deadline of June 18 http://www.nahro.org/awards/fellowship.cfm
Other Individual Awards, deadline of July 16 http://www.nahro.org/awards/awards_ind.cfm
NAHRO NPDS Newsletter for May
Provides a summary of NAHRO Professional Development activities and opportunities for members.
| View PDFNAHRO NPDS Newsletter for April
Provides a summary of NAHRO Professional Development activities and opportunites.
| View PDFRecovery Act Progress Report
Our friends at CLPHA have put together a useful report about how ARRA funds are being utilized by agencies across the nation.
| Read story2010 Mountain Plains NAHRO Annual Conference
The Lodge at Deadwood, South Dakota, June 9-11, 2010. Visit our Annual Conference page for more information. | Read storyHousing America Resolution
The following resolution was adopted by the Mountan Plains NAHRO Board at their meeting in Washington DC on Monday, March 16, 2009.
Resolution:
Be it resolved that the Mountain Plain Regional Chapter support the goals and objectives of Housing America 2009 Campaign.
As such, by June 2009
A) Each State Chapter of MPRC draft and submit to HA State Coordinator (or designee) a specific plan on how they intend to promote the Housing American Campaign; including but not limited to:
1. Develop guidelines and calendar for outreach and promotion of Poster Contest;
2. Ensure greatest participation by all members in the Poster Contest;
3. Develop incentives and prizes for winners of State “What Home Means to Me” winners;
4. Display of Posters in elected officials offices, etc.
5. Showcase HA Posters, locally, state and national, etc.
B. Outline plans for month or week long event(s) for Housing American during the month of October 2009.
1. Put a face on HA;
2. Celebrate Senior Housing, Family Housing, etc.
3. Celebrate programs of HA/CD;
4. Outreach and coordinate with local partners of HA (Realtors, HD, etc.)
2009 National NAHRO Awards Submission Deadlines
Listed below are the deadlines for the various NAHRO Awards. Please pass this information along to your fellow staff members and other collegues in the region.
- NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit/Excellence December 22 for the 2009 awards
- Mary Nenno Advocacy Award January 16, 2009
- NAHRO Fellowship Early ($25) April 30, 2009
- Regular ($50) May 19, 2009
- Final ($75) June 12, 2009
- Herman Award July 16, 2009
- Lange Award (International) July 16, 2009
- Wells Award (Commissioners) July 16, 2009
- Community Service Award (MSC) July 16, 2009
All deadlines are for postmark rather than receipt.
Additional information is available at http://www.nahro.org/awards/index.cfm under the Awards tab on the left of the NAHRO Home page.
Should NAHRO Continue to Offer the Summer Conference- PLEASE COMPLETE A ONE MINUTE SURVEY!
National NAHRO is collecting important data to help evaluate whether to continue offering a summer conference. This is a one question survey and will take you less than a minute to complete.
Simply click here to link to the survey:
Your input is greatly appreciated.
NAHRO’s Board of Governors Signs on to Public Housing Policy Framework Document
October 30, 2008Washington Update
NAHRO’s Board of Governors Signs on to Public Housing Policy Framework Document
At its October 28, 2008 meeting, NAHRO’s Board of Governors adopted a resolution authorizing NAHRO to sign on to a document titled “The Future of Public Housing: Policy Framework.” The document represents the end point of a series of meetings and conference calls kicked off in June 2008 with a facilitated, two-day retreat involving representatives from nearly two dozen organizations. NAHRO understands that the final document will now be presented to the transition teams of the Democratic and Republican candidates for president.
The policy framework document was developed jointly by a broad-ranging group of public housing stakeholders and, as a result, reflects many and varied perspectives on the role of public housing in the United States. NAHRO Executive Director Saul Ramirez observed that “NAHRO’s participation in the ‘future of public housing’ process reinforced what we already know — that affordable housing is an indispensable starting point for the achievement of a broad range of critical social policy goals. While we support these goals,” Ramirez said, “we need to take a lesson from the ‘Housing First’ movement, which has shown that vulnerable families and individuals are in a better position to benefit from social services and other forms of support after they are settled into stable, affordable housing.”
Echoing Ramirez’s sentiment, NAHRO President Renée Rooker, Executive Director of the Walla Walla Housing Authority, said “as we endorse this policy framework document, we recommit ourselves to the notion that, first and foremost, public housing agencies need access to the tools and resources that are so essential to the fulfillment of their primary and most solemn responsibility: the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary housing.”
NAHRO was represented in the development of the policy framework document by Renée Rooker, NAHRO’s President and Executive Director of the Walla Walla Housing Authority; Betsey Martens, Vice Chair of NAHRO’s Housing Committee and Co-Executive Director of Boulder Housing Partners; Saul Ramirez, NAHRO’s Executive Director; Bill Maher, NAHRO General Counsel and Senior Advisor for Legislative and Regulatory Policy; and Jennifer Lavorel, NAHRO’s Senior Policy Advisor for Programs and Policy Development. NAHRO members who have questions about the content of the document or the process by which it was developed are encouraged to contact Bill Maher (bmaher@nahro.org) or Jennifer Lavorel (jlavorel@nahro.org). For a list of the organizations and individuals who participated in the development of the policy framework, visit http://www.nahro.org/members/news/2008/summit_participants.pdf.
Colorado Department of Human Services, Supportive Housing and Homeless Programs Wins National Excellence Award
Contact: Tracy D'Alanno of the SHHP, (303) 866-7361 or tracy.dalanno@state.co.usWASHINGTON, Oct. 25 – The Colorado Department of Human Services, Supportive Housing and Homeless Programs (SHHP) has won a national award honoring superior assisted housing and community development programs. The SHHP won in the Program Innovation: Resident and Client Services category for the Project-Based Program for Mentally Ill Ex-Offenders.
The 2008 Award of Excellence comes from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and will be officially presented on Oct. 28 at NAHRO’s National Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas. The SHHP is one of 23 programs nationwide to receive the 2008 award, out of an original pool of 188 applicants.
More than 10 percent of those coming in and out of prisons are homeless in the months before and after their incarceration. However, ex-offenders with mental illness are twice as likely to experience homelessness. After receiving a Justice Assistance Grant, Larimer County began a Jail Diversion project, which provides intensive treatment, case management and supervision services to adult offenders with mental illness. The SHHP then set out to address the missing component of the project—access to affordable housing—by providing six Project-Based Vouchers (PBVs) to adult offenders with mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders who have a history of incarceration and are involved in the County's Diversion project. Since the inception of the PBV program, eight ex-offenders have been housed. The project has seen success in a decrease in the number of jail days served by housing participants – an estimated 789 days, a savings of $48,523 annually. The continuity of treatment and collaborative support from community leaders has helped make this project exceptionally successful.
"Dreams have become reality through commitment, passion and innovation of NAHRO professionals who are increasing opportunities in their communities," said NAHRO President Renée Rooker. "Our Awards of Excellence program recognizes their accomplishments as the best across our nation and they are truly making a difference in communities and the people who live there."
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Aurora Housing Authority Wins National Excellence Award
Contact: Elizabeth Gundlach Neufeld of the Aurora Housing Authority, (720) 251-2075 or egneufeld@aurorahousing.orgWASHINGTON, Oct. 25 – The Aurora (Colo.) Housing Authority (AHA) has won a national award honoring superior assisted housing and community development programs. The AHA won in the Program Innovation: Community Revitalization category for the Aurora Community Reinvestment Plan.
The 2008 Award of Excellence comes from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and will be officially presented on Oct. 28 at NAHRO’s National Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas. The AHA is one of 23 programs nationwide to receive the 2008 award, out of an original pool of 188 applicants.
Beginning in 2004, the AHA set out to address the need for multi-family construction in Aurora. According to a Housing Needs Assessment, no new multi-family construction occurred between 1960 and 2001. The study also indicated that 4,000 new units of housing per year would be needed. The AHA began a systematic approach to acquiring, renovating, preserving or building affordable housing. The AHA began by reinvesting in its own properties and by creating opportunities for building or acquiring other affordable developments. By breaking away from its role as an 'old fashioned' public housing authority, the AHA preserved 271 units of project-based Section 8 housing; built 68 new tax credit units; entered into limited partnerships with for-profit developers to newly construct or renovate 359 tax credit units; reinvested in its own properties through tax credits partnerships and grants to upgrade 210 units; and formed alliances with other non-profits to preserve 140 units of special needs housing.
"Dreams have become reality through commitment, passion and innovation of NAHRO professionals who are increasing opportunities in their communities," said NAHRO President Renée Rooker. "Our Awards of Excellence program recognizes their accomplishments as the best across our nation and they are truly making a difference in communities and the people who live there."
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Housing Authority of the City of Colorado Springs Wins National Excellence Award
Contact: Eugene Montoya of the Housing Authority of the City of Colorado Springs, (719) 387-6700 or edm@csha.usWASHINGTON, Oct. 25 – The Housing Authority of the City of Colorado Springs (CSHA) has won a national award honoring superior assisted housing and community development programs. The CSHA won in the Project Design category for the Rio Grande Village Apartments.
The 2008 Award of Excellence comes from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and will be officially presented on Oct. 28 at NAHRO’s National Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas. The CSHA is one of 23 programs nationwide to receive the 2008 award, out of an original pool of 188 applicants.
The CSHA replaced an outdated, post-war 40-unit duplex rental with Rio Grande Village Apartments, an innovative five-plex design development that models a Victorian "great house" appearance and looks like a single-family dwelling from the exterior. The "great house" concept was devised to complement the surrounding neighborhood with its architectural style of large Victorian buildings. The five-unit, three-story structures are close to the street, with front porches and rear parking. The compact design makes room for 100 units on a site that previously held only 41. In order to create space and compatibility with existing structures adjacent to the site, one-story "cottage" type structures were designed to abut the neighboring houses. For the exteriors, stucco and cement board lapped siding were used to create a clean appearance and keep maintenance costs low. Each five-plex contains two one-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom apartments, complete with private entrances, laundry facilities, and energy-efficient windows and appliances. Apartments are separated by concrete floors and sound walls to screen out neighbor noise and provide energy efficiency. Reports show that winter-time gas and electric bills come in at less than two-thirds of the utility allowance for such units.
"Dreams have become reality through commitment, passion and innovation of NAHRO professionals who are increasing opportunities in their communities," said NAHRO President Renée Rooker. "Our Awards of Excellence program recognizes their accomplishments as the best across our nation and they are truly making a difference in communities and the people who live there."
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Lakewood Housing Authority Wins National Excellence Award
Contact: Ms. Sabrina Pierre-Louis of the Lakewood Housing Authority, (303) 987-7583 or sabpie@lakewood.orgWASHINGTON, Oct. 25 – The Lakewood (Colo.) Housing Authority (LHA) has won a national award honoring superior assisted housing and community development programs. The LHA won in the Project Design category for the Residences at Creekside.
The 2008 Award of Excellence comes from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and will be officially presented on Oct. 28 at NAHRO’s National Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas. The LHA is one of 23 programs nationwide to receive the 2008 award, out of an original pool of 188 applicants.
Responding to the need for housing units for low-income seniors in Lakewood, the Residences at Creekside project adds 118 units of affordable housing in a six-story "green" building. The project is a freestanding, six-story concrete and steel building over a parking structure, and includes 85 one-bedroom units, 28 two-bedroom units and five studio apartments. The interior of the building showcases rich earth tones, which complement the art objects and paintings throughout the common spaces. There are many niches throughout the building where residents can curl up in a chair and enjoy the sun through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Residents can also take advantage of high speed internet, a community garden, laundry facilities, a fitness center, a hair salon, and an outdoor walking path. Individual units are equipped with energy-efficient windows and appliances, balconies or patios, an abundance of windows, carpeting and mini-blinds. In order to keep the building green and lower utility costs, a 25,000-watt rooftop photovoltaic solar system was installed, along with a system that recaptures heat from wastewater. The Residences at Creekside is also close to public transportation, shopping, a park and a medical clinic.
"Dreams have become reality through commitment, passion and innovation of NAHRO professionals who are increasing opportunities in their communities," said NAHRO President Renée Rooker. "Our Awards of Excellence program recognizes their accomplishments as the best across our nation and they are truly making a difference in communities and the people who live there."
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Mountain Plains NAHRO Membership Survey
Mountain Plains NAHRO recently conducted a membership survey to get a better understanding of the wants and needs of membership. We ended up collecting a total of 60 surveys. 27 of those surveys wree collected online through a membership broadcast and 33 were collected at the ND/SD NAHRO Annual Meeting that were manually entered.
Click here to access the results.
NAHRO: America Needs a Comprehensive Housing Strategy
Washington Update:
NAHRO Responds to the State of the Union Address Yesterday, following the President's State of the Union Address, NAHRO issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON, January 28--These are challenging times for housing in America. Recognizing this, we are pleased that the Administration is working to address the current housing foreclosure crisis in a timely manner, and that the President addressed this issue in his State of the Union remarks.
However, we believe that the nation’s housing needs extend far beyond the parameters of this crisis. Providing new affordable rental housing, preserving our existing inventory of affordable housing, addressing the needs of the nation’s homeless, and ensuring that families live in safe and vibrant communities are but a few of the issues we had hoped the President would address. We regret that the President’s remarks this evening did not go far enough to offer a comprehensive housing strategy for America.
The nation’s housing concerns have been well documented over many years and are critical to many working families, seniors and the disabled. In a recent poll conducted by Zogby International for the Housing America 2007 campaign, nine out of ten Americans cited affordable housing as a high priority; one-third of respondents cited it as their number one priority.
To begin to address the wider array of housing concerns we face, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) has put forth recommendations with respect to the development of an economic stimulus package. We believe these recommendations would provide a powerful and immediate economic stimulus locally; help to preserve the physical integrity of the existing affordable housing stock; and sustain the infrastructure of communities. NAHRO believes that the stimulus package now under consideration should include direct funding to ensure the long-term viability and continuing availability of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families.
We respectfully offer the following recommendations:
- Up to $800 million in supplemental public housing operating subsidy;
- Up to $500 million in public housing capital funding to be expended within 12 months of receipt; and
- Up to $1 billion for the CDBG program conditioned upon expenditure within 12 months of receipt, with encouragement to local governments to expend significant portions of this funding for housing counseling and other programs to help ameliorate the present home mortgage crisis.
“Our nation’s affordable housing inventory is a vital part of the nation’s infrastructure,” said NAHRO President Renee Rooker. “Acting on these recommendations would fulfill a vital and necessary public policy objective, create jobs and ensure safe, decent housing in viable communities for Americans. NAHRO looks forward to working with the Administration and Congress to achieve these vital goals.”