Sincerely, 

Join CNHED as we fight for the programs that make housing affordable to all District residents.  We call on the City Council to address the pressing need for affordable housing! Stop squeezing already tight housing programs that are leaving many DC residents out in the cold! We need Housing for All!

Bring your friends!
Bring your neighbors!
We need everyone to tell the DC Council: this budget is unacceptable – we demand a budget that addresses our city’s housing needs.
Download the flier.
Invite your friends on facebook.

And don’t just take it from me. Listen to Brenda Jordan, President of the Pleasant Park Co-op in Ward 7. Her co-op received $4.7 million from the Housing Production Trust Fund so the residents could buy their building and keep it affordable.

Since December, we have been actively advocating for Mayor Gray to increase funding for affordable housing as a step towards a full Continuum of Housing. On Friday, March 23, Mayor Gray released his budget. What we got was a loss of funding in nearly every area of the Continuum of Housing.

What does that look like?

This year, the Mayor proposes taking $20 million from the Housing Production Trust Fund to pay for the ongoing cost of the Local Rent Supplement Program. You probably remember that last year the city took $18 million from the Trust Fund to pay for Local Rent Supplement Program. This year they have increased that amount. The Trust Fund is the key program for building and protecting affordable housing. It can be used to:

• Renovate low-cost housing, ensuring safety and quality for those living there
• Keep residents in their homes and in their neighborhoods using the tenant purchase process
• Build new low cost rental and ownership housing

The Mayor has proposed that if there is additional revenue he would like to prioritize restoring the $20 million to the Trust Fund. These funds are not a guarantee, and would only come if the city government takes in more money next year than they currently expect.

The budget for the Home Purchase Assistance Program lost $5 million, a third of its total funding. This loss is a result of a reduction in federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The impact of this cut is fewer low and moderate income families will be able to purchase a home. Homeownership in the District can be more affordable than renting in the open market, and helps improve neighborhood stability.  The foreclosure rate among HPAP home owners  is lower than the rate of foreclosure in the region.

There is a $7 million cut to Homeless Services in the Department of Human Services. This area of the budget includes crisis housing, like shelters, as well as transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing. It is currently unclear what the cuts in this department will mean for residents.

The Local Rent Supplement Program is funded at a level sufficient to cover only the cost of residents and housing providers already in the program.  The majority of the program is currently funded by $20 million from the Housing Production Trust Fund and the remaining costs from the general fund. Mayor Gray allocated $6.2 million from the general fund to pay for the ongoing cost of the Local Rent Supplement Program. Since there is no additional funding for this program, no new residents will be able to be served by this program.

This is a disappointing budget. Over the winter we had a public outcry for more affordable housing at the One City Summit. We saw a huge increase in the need for family shelter and the expansion of DC General. We had over 500 people attend rallies and town hall meetings. Mayor Gray did not respond to our concerns. Now we turn to the members of the DC Council. We call on them to address the pressing need and expand the Continuum of Housing, not squeeze already tight housing programs that are leaving many DC residents out in the cold.

Our final winner for the adult category  fall  writing contest, What Home Means to Me, was Marsha A. Shaw.  Marsha writes about the transitional meaning of home throughout her life, and grabs the third place prize.  Her narrative is entitled : HOME.

Having

Origin

Memories

Everlasting

I never missed it till I lost it…

The aroma of Mama’s cooking I can still smell to this day. Her lovely voice calling

to me and my siblings to come and taste this and that.  All of us pulling and tugging to be first. How patiently Mama made sure each of us got just what we wanted. My ears can’t block the drumming of one of Mama’s favorite records playing in the background, “I’m Coming Up on the Rough Side of the Mountain”

The backyard, rose bushes, the garden, lying in the lounge chair under the willow tree would always put me fast asleep. Oh my…the swing, the portable pool Mom and Dad bought for us, and I can’t forget the smells that stay with me of  freshly cut grass and barbeque. It was just absolutely great!

The lessons I was taught in my home to be a better person has remained in my spirit. Words like: I apologize,  thank you and excuse me. Getting up on Sundays and attending

Marsha third place winner in the adult category for "What Does Home Mean to Me" writing contest.

church was my parent’s way of teaching me to have faith and believe in a power greater than myself. God.  Remembering my parents giving each of us money to buy presents for one another on birthdays and holidays. “It’s about giving”, Mama and Daddy would say. Awesome, describes how I felt when my siblings’ faces would light up upon opening their gifts. As I matured, I understood more about the just of giving.

In my home I felt safe, happy, special, and most importantly, I felt loved. Hearing Daddy’s voice, pleasant although firm, assigning each of us our weekly chores. Although, then, I struggled and fought hard not to do them. Today, I realize my parents were teaching me to take pride in myself and to be responsible.

I never missed it till I lost it…

Somewhere in my journey I disconnected from my child, family, real friends and lost myself to a nightmare. In my disconnect I lost some, although not all, of my teachings of morals, principals and integrity. Today, I take pride in that part of self that held on to some of those teachings. In different intervals of my self-made nightmare I would often reminisce about how I missed having a home germinated with  love, peace, happiness and joy. I’m looking forward and leaving my past behind. I refuse to make excuses and place blame. Today, I take full responsibility for my life. It’s my belief that if I had it once I can have it again and better. Often, I think of having a home similar to the loving and caring one I grew up in. In this home I could have my daughter, grandchildren and a host of friends over and show them just what my parents showed me. Both my parents, are now deceased, but I know their spirits are delighted and rejoicing…I’ve found my way back “home“!

Mayor Gray is expected to release his proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget this Friday, a month after the One City Summit. Gray pledged to use the summit’s results to shape both his administration and the budget. On Friday, we’ll find out just how the budget addresses the summit’s topparticipant-generated concern: the District’s lack of affordable housing.

Photo by CitysideManagement on Flickr.

Mayor Gray has the opportunity in this spring’s budget exercise to recommit the District and his administration to a strong affordable housing policy.

This policy would protect our current affordable housing stock; allow non-profits and mission-driven for-profits to develop safe, quality affordable housing that benefits both the residents and neighbors; encourage homeownership; and stop the expensive and inefficient quick-fix solutions to homelessness the District currently uses.

At the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, we have recommended the District focus on restoration and expansion of key housing programs in this budget, as a first step toward a full “Continuum of Housing” that fully meets DC’s housing needs.

Restore the Housing Production Trust Fund

This budget must restore $18 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) for its intended purpose of housing production and preservation.

The HPTF is the District’s most important tool for producing and preserving affordable housing in DC. Affordable housing providers around the District count on the HPTF to help build new affordable apartments, rehabilitate existing low-cost housing, and help tenants purchase their buildings under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

When tenants are able to purchase, it increases opportunities for homeownership, preserves low-cost housing, and keeps long-time residents in their neighborhoods. In the 10-year history of the Housing Production Trust Fund, 7,000 housing units in more than 100 locations have been completed or are under construction using dollars from the Trust Fund. It has developed and rehabilitated housing in every ward of the District.

Fully fund the Local Rent Supplement Program

The Local Rent Supplement Program (LRSP) must be fully funded from from the General Fund, including $6 million to address a projected shortfall in the DC Housing Authority’s LRSP budget. Failing to fill this gap would jeopardize housing for 514 households.

Utilize the Housing First Fund and LRSP to serve new people

This budget should invest $5 million from the Nationals Stadium Community Benefit Fund for Housing First and $5 million for the LRSP to serve new people.

Both LRSP and Housing First were developed to house the tens of thousands of people on the DC Housing Authority’s waiting list, to address the ongoing homelessness crisis in the District, and to support the production of permanent supportive housing. Without additional funds, these programs are not able to serve any new residents.

Maintain funding for the Home Purchase Assistance Program

If federal funds for the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) are cut, DC should keep the program whole with additional local funds.

HPAP has been a key tool for increasing DC’s homeownership rate. Maintaining constant funding is crucial to helping low- and moderate-income residents move into homeownership and remain in the District. The current funding level allows 500 families to receive assistance to buy their first home.

In the District, homeownership would often be a less expensive housing option than renting, but residents need additional support to move into homeownership. Homeownership maintains neighborhood stability and can also help families use equity in their homes to finance college and build their net worth.

In a recent press conference, Mayor Gray focused on his administration’s appointment of a new team to review the 2006 Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force Report. The new task force will look at concrete ways to make the previous recommendations a reality.

We applaud this approach, but realize that the updated task force report won’t be completed until well into the year, and if the mayor does not act now, 2013 will foster the same stagnation in affordable housing that we see now in 2012.

DC cannot wait another year or more for good affordable housing policy. Mayor Gray must respond to residents’ concerns, made even more apparent in the One City Summit, with an investment in affordable housing that starts now.

This post can also be found at Greater Greater Washington: http://greatergreaterwashington.org

This winter, the need for affordable housing has become a major focus of city officials and the local media.

Residents of all backgrounds and income levels raised concerns about affordable housing at Mayor Gray’s One City Summit. The One City Summit was designed to collect input from District residents about their concerns and priorities.  At the summit, residents identified “Lack of affordable housing/gentrification” as the number one concern raised by participants that would prevent DC from becoming One City. Mayor Gray has committed that the input from the event will shape his administration and this year’s budget.

Another major issue is the expanding crisis of family homelessness the District is facing right now. The city has seen a huge increase in family homelessness this winter and is scrambling to meet these people’s needs. They are doing so by expanding temporary housing solutions – increasing the number of families housed at DC General to 750 and housing about 200 families a week in hotel rooms.

According to a recent article in the Washington City Paper, Department of Human Services Director David Berns “attributes this year’s unforeseen spike in homeless families to economic forces above all of our heads, and the ‘changing face of homelessness’ that has more working families without a place of their own.…“The fact is that they’re still poor, the economy is horrible, they’re doubled up and people want them out,” Berns says. “So I think we need to concentrate more on the fact that it is poverty, a lack of jobs, a lack of housing opportunities.”

These issues point to the same thing: DC needs long-term affordable housing options. 

Given the high numbers of homelessness individuals and families in DC it is crucial that the city maintain funds for shelter and other homeless services year-round.

At the same time, the city needs to invest in permanent affordable housing solutions that take people off the street in the long term and prevent more people from falling into homelessness. Permanent housing solutions for homeless populations are shown to be cheaper for governments. And of course, they are better for the individuals and families as well. Having stable housing allows adults to be better employees and parents, and improves student performance.
DC has valuable programs to develop more affordable housing and move people out of homelessness. The Local Rent Supplement Program and Housing First are designed to provide housing the lowest-income residents. Housing First also provides the services that many people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness need. The Housing Production Trust Fund increases the number of affordable units available all over the city for people at varying income levels.

With enough funding these programs can turn the tide on the rising homeless crisis and make possible the Mayor’s vision of One City. Funding these long-term housing solutions takes the emergency pressure off the shelter system, and gives families the opportunity to build more stable, valuable lives for themselves. It is time for the Mayor and the Council to address the concerns of District residents, and invest in creating a city we can all afford to live in.

The Local Rent Supplement Program was created in 2007 help address the need for affordable rental housing for very low income families who are currently on the Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list. The program is funded locally by the DC government, through the DC Housing Authority,  and is modeled on the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program.

The Local Rent Supplement Program gives individual “tenant-based” vouchers to individuals and families using the same criteria as the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The voucher allows the tenant to pay only 30 percent of their income in rent, with the voucher covering the difference between that amount and the cost of rent on the open market.

The program also creates “project-based” or “sponsor-based” agreements between the Housing Authority and affordable housing providers. The city commits to providing 20 years of subsidy to nonprofit and for-profit housing providers in exchange for providing affordable units on an ongoing basis to qualified individuals and families. This long-term commitment of the Local Rent Supplement Program provide the ongoing revenue providers need to operate these units and make them affordable to extremely low income residents.

The project/sponsor-based program is often essential to producing and maintaining permanent supportive housing for those with special needs, including the chronically homeless.

To date, the Local Rent Supplement Program has provided rent subsidies for nearly 700 families, who previously were on the public housing waiting list, enabling them to rent in the private market. The program is also supporting the production of more than 1,000 additional units of rental housing, all for extremely low income households earning less than 30 percent of area median income. As we mentioned before, there is not a hard line between “Supportive Housing” and “Affordable Rental Housing” in the Continuum of Housing. The Local Rent Supplement Program provides rental assistance to very low income residents, and is often a crucial piece of the funding for supportive housing programs.

The story of funding the Local Rent Supplement Program

The Local Rent Supplement Program was started in response to federal cuts to the Housing Choice Voucher Program, D.C’s largest rental assistance program. Funding for the program started in the FY 2007 Budget at $12 million and increased to $19 million in FY 2008. After that time, it has had a rocky history.  The budget for FY 2009 continued funding for the program with no increase, even for inflation. In FY 2010, the local funding appropriation for the Local Rent Supplement Program was reduced by $5.9 million to $13.1 million, with a directive to DCHA to use some previously unspent  Local Rent Supplement Program funds to offset the cut.  Each year, the city has directed the DC Housing Authority to repeat this practice. This year, we expect that there will be no unspent funds to fill this hole, and the city will need to invest millions to keep the program whole.

The early changes in the  Local Rent Supplement Program funding weakened the new program. As a result of the FY 2010 changes, the funding level for the program was inadequate to cover inflation-based rent increases for units currently subsidized by  Local Rent Supplement Program. This inconsistent and inadequate funding lead lenders and investors view the program as an unreliable source of operating income for nonprofits and for profits that hoped to use the funds. Because the private market found it to be too risky a an investment without stable city support, there has been less private investment through loans or equity financing. This put additional burden on the city to help fund the projects, drawing from programs like the Housing Production Trust Fund to fully fund the cost of developing affordable rental housing. With a stable commitment of city funds, private investors, rather than private dollars could have been used to fund greater portions of these projects.

The FY 2012 budget had the most dramatic change in the Local Rent Supplement Program’s funding. Starting when the FY 2012 budget was implemented October 1, 2011, the Local Rent Supplement Fund is no longer funded like other programs out of the city’s general fund, instead, the program costs now draw from the Housing Production Trust Fund. While this does not impact the Local Rent Supplement Program this year, it took $18 million that had been committed by the city for new production and preservation (in line with the Trust Fund’s mandate), and allocated it for the ongoing cost of the Local Rent Supplement Program. This move also jeopardizes the future of the Housing Production Trust Fund, since in this model, needed expansions in the Local Rent Supplement Program to cover increasing costs of housing, inflation, and serving new residents would further draw down the already-limited Housing Production Trust Fund.