HAC Joins Summit on Addressing the Needs of Aging Veterans

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On Friday, October 20, 2017, the Housing Assistance Council joined The Home Depot Foundation and the National League of Cities to support Purple Heart Homes in their 1st Annual Veterans Aging Summit. Held at the University of North Carolina, the summit convened nonprofit practitioners, Veterans’ service organizations, researchers, educators, public policy makers, community leaders, government representatives, and other interested stakeholders to collaborate on identifying and meeting the needs of aging Veterans and their caregivers.

HAC's Shonterria Charleston, Karen Boyce (The Veteran's Place) and Retha Patton (Eastern Eight CDC) discuss housing rural veteransHAC’s Shonterria Charleston, Karen Boyce (The Veteran’s Place) and Retha Patton (Eastern Eight CDC) discuss housing rural veterans.

HAC coordinated the Aging Veterans and Housing Panel, which featured two of its Home Depot Foundation-funded grantee organizations, The Veteran’s Place (Karen Boyce) and Eastern Eight Community Development Corporation (Retha Patton). Moderated by HAC’s Shonterria Charleston, the panel focused on housing (single and multifamily) and service provisions to aging veterans and provided context to rural challenges, best practices and opportunities for successful projects.

Funding support provided by The Home Depot Foundation

HAC's Joe Belden speaking at the Aging Veterans SummitHAC’s Joe Belden speaking at the Aging Veterans Summit.

Rural Organizations Gather in Thomas, WV to Learn Placemaking Strategies

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Nineteen rural-focused housing and community development-focused practitioners including AmeriCorps volunteers, rural housing developers, West Virginia University faculty, and regional grant makers were among those trekking to Thomas and Davis, West Virginia on October 3 and 4 for a “Creative Placemaking” Peer Exchange sponsored by HAC and bcWORKSHOP. Creative placemaking leverages locally-rooted arts to build community and local economies.

HAC's Stephen Sugg discusses Creative Placemaking with peer exchange attendeesHAC’s Stephen Sugg (right) discussed the pros and cons of infill housing in rural communities with participants.

Woodlands Development Corporation—a long-time HAC partner and a national leader in linking arts and stronger rural communities—hosted the exchange. Local artists/businesspersons, elected officials, and civic leaders were among those sharing their experiences. The communities of Thomas and Davis, West Virginia have become nationally known for a strong arts scene anchored by local galleries and The Purple Fiddle, a a music venue known for showcasing homegrown talent along with high-profile artists. Woodlands helps to ensure that all income levels are part of the communities’ recent growth and uptick in housing prices.

Participants tour a thriving business during a Creative Placemaking peer exchangeLocal artists shared their story of how financing and business coaching from Woodlands Community Builders helped to create a vibrant visual and performance art scene that anchors Thomas’ economy.

The peer exchange was the culmination of a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant that supported HAC and bcWORKSHOP taking on two local pilot Creative Placemaking programs while disseminating lessons learned to HAC’s national network. The buildingcommunityWORKSHOP is a Texas based nonprofit community design center seeking to improve the livability and viability of communities through the practice of thoughtful design and making.

WHAT is CREATIVE PLACEMAKING:

The National Endowment for the Arts calls Creative Placemaking is an evolving field of practice that intentionally leverages the power of the arts, culture and creativity to serve a community’s interest while driving a broader agenda for change, growth and transformation in a way that also builds character and quality of place.

FEMA Requesting Unoccupied Homes for Harvey Victims

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The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is making housing vouchers available to displaced families in Texas impacted by Hurricane Harvey. If your nonprofit or for-profit has vacant REO or inventory properties that might be available on a temporary or permanent basis, and have questions about the FEMA voucher program, please contact either of the FEMA representatives below:

Section 502 Loan Servicers May Offer Relief to Borrowers Affected by Harvey

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This announcement outlines relief measures loan holders and loan servicers should implement to assist USDA Rural Development Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) borrowers affected by Hurricane Harvey. Homeowners impacted by the hurricane may be eligible for temporary relief and the determination of eligibility may require a property inspection. Due to the magnitude and aftermath of the hurricane, loan servicers must inspect properties that secure SFHGLP loans to ascertain the extent of damage and the occupancy status, particularly if contact has not yet been made with the borrower.

Loan servicers seeking to assist SFHGLP borrowers may pursue any of the relief options referenced in the following USDA guidance. Complete details outlining “Assistance in Natural Disasters” is located in Chapter 18, Section 4, 7 CFR 3555.307 of the SFHGLP Handbook. An electronic version of the Handbook can be found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/hb-1-3555.pdf.

  1. FORBEARANCE: USDA Rural Development encourages SFHGLP loan servicers to extend forbearance alternatives to borrowers in distress as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Careful and precise communication with borrowers should help determine whether their difficulties are directly or indirectly related to Hurricane Harvey, or whether they stem from other sources which must be addressed.
  2. FORECLOSURE SUSPENSION: Although the loan servicer is ultimately responsible for determining when to initiate foreclosure, USDA Rural Development requires that holders establish a 90-day suspension from the date the President declared the disaster on foreclosure actions involving properties or the borrower’s place of employment affected by Hurricane Harvey. The properties should also be in Presidentially declared disaster areas designated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as eligible for individual assistance. The foreclosure suspension applies to the initiation of new foreclosure actions and to foreclosure actions already in process.
  3. DOCUMENTATION: Holders and loan servicers should fully document their decisions when loss mitigation servicing actions are provided.

For questions, please contact the USDA Rural Development Customer Service Center by calling (866) 550-5887 or the National Office at (202) 720-1452. Homeowners with 502 guarantee loans should contact their bank.

Veterans grant recipients highlighted in Indian Country Today

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Two recipients of the The Home Depot Foundation’s and HAC’s Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans 2017 grant funding have been profiled on www.indiancountrymedianetwork.com.

Bad River, White Mountain Veterans Housing Get Help with Home Rehabs

More than $250,000 awarded by the Home Depot Foundation and the Housing Assistance Council

by Mark Fogarty

American Indian veterans in Wisconsin and Arizona will benefit from grants to rehabilitate veterans housing in rural areas.

The Home Depot Foundation and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) recently awarded more than $250,000 to build or preserve veteran housing to 10 housing non-profits, including ones serving the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Indians in Wisconsin and the White Mountain Apache tribe in Arizona.

Read the complete article.

HAC quoted in Wisconsin Public Radio story on rural homelessness

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HAC executive Director Moises Loza was interviewed by Wisconsin Public Radio for a story about rural homelessness. Ashland Cares, a nonprofit in Ashland, WI, is purchasing a vacant school building to convert it to a shelter to help serve the homeless population of rural northern Wisconsin.

Moises discussed the difficulties rural communities face when attempting to count local homeless populations because of the lack of shelters, and the challenge of providing services for scattered populations.

Read the complete story and listen to the radio segment.

HUD Releases Worst Case Housing Report

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HUD released the its Worst Case Housing Needs 2017 Report to Congress. The report provides national data and analysis of the critical problems facing very low-income renting families. Households with worst case needs are defined as very low-income renters who do not receive government housing assistance and who paid more than one-half of their income for rent, lived in severely inadequate conditions, or both.

Moises Loza quoted in column about the Administration's budget

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HAC’s Executive Director,  Moises Loza, made a statement about the negative impact the Trump Administration’s proposed budget would have on rural communities. These remarks ahve been used by several columnists to underscore the dangers ofbudget.

 

Webinar: What Will Rural Housing Funding be in 2018?

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Materials Posted

Power Point Presentation | Webinar Recording

The Trump Administration’s budget for fiscal year 2018 will be released on May 23. Join rural housing experts to learn what the budget proposes for USDA and HUD affordable housing programs. Speakers will also explain the next steps in the budget process.

USDA Secretary Answers Questions on Proposed Rural Development Changes, White House Accepts Comments (updated May 18)

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Update, May 18, 2017: A notice in the May 18 Federal Register invites interested parties to submit comments at www.regulations.gov on the proposed reorganization. The deadline is June 14.

Several members of Congress quizzed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue about a proposed reorganization plan that would eliminate the position of Under Secretary for Rural Development (RD). The Secretary appeared before the House Agriculture Committee on May 17 to discuss the state of the rural economy, and the hearing covered the wide spectrum of subjects under USDA’s jurisdiction.

Committee members who expressed concerns about the possible demotion of RD issues noted that they viewed the reorganization proposal in light of the request in the Administration’s preliminary budget to eliminate some water/wastewater and business programs. Perdue assured them repeatedly that RD’s program administrators would have more access to him than if the Under Secretary position remained in place. He said they would report to an Assistant Secretary who would be approved by the Senate (as the Under Secretary is), and they would also have direct “walk-in”; access to the Secretary himself. He asserted that he believes rural development is extremely important and therefore wants to be more directly involved in it.

In one of his answers, Perdue tried to summarize RD’s areas of responsibility, citing business, economic development, and utilities. He did not mention housing.

Some Committee members pointed out that USDA did not request public comment on the proposal until after it had submitted the plan to Congress for a 30-day review period. Perdue said he was not familiar with the notice requirements and could not explain why the actions were taken in this order.

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