News
Jennifer Emerling / There Is More Work To Be Done
Jennifer Emerling / There Is More Work To Be Done
HAC has published disaster response guides for those affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. HAC’s Rural Resilience website offers tools for readiness, response, and recovery, including HAC’s detailed guide, Prepare Your Organization to Respond and Recover from Natural and Man-Made Disasters.
A group of growers and others has filed a legal action challenging new regulations that add protections for farmworkers with H-2A visas. In August a similar suit resulted in a preliminary injunction that blocks implementation of the rule in 17 states. While that case proceeds, the new filing asks a different federal court to declare the regulations unconstitutional and says the plaintiffs will ask to expand the preliminary injunction.
HUD’s Office of Fair Housing reminds readers that domestic violence and harassment in housing are prohibited by the Fair Housing Act. Housing discrimination complaints can be filed here.
In 2021-22, 22% of crop workers interviewed for a Department of Labor survey lived in a dwelling defined as crowded. According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, approximately 3.4% of households nationally are crowded. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2021–2022: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United States Crop Workers and HAC tabulations of 2018-2022 American Community Survey data.
SBP, a national nonprofit disaster recovery organization, offers assistance to locally based nonprofits. Its Disaster Recovery AmeriCorps Program assists impacted communities in long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts. November 1 is the deadline to apply for grants from two SBP programs to aid homeowners with low and moderate incomes. National Long Term Recovery Grants are for local long-term disaster recovery nonprofits providing rebuild services for presidentially declared disasters within the past four years. Preparedness and Resilience Micro Grants are for local nonprofits providing resources and support for individuals and community members at high risk for extreme weather or climate events.
Eleven groups that are administering funds from EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program are beginning to offer pass-through subgrants to nonprofits, Tribal governments, local governments, and others in communities affected by environmental or public health issues. A wide variety of project types are eligible, including healthy homes efforts, small land purchases, testing, and surveying. Application processes and deadlines will vary among the 11 regional “Grantmakers,” most of which have not yet issued RFPs. One of them, the Environmental Protection Network, is collecting information about all 11 RFPs here.
To be consistent with the deadlines HUD announced in September, USDA is extending full implementation of Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act regulations. HOTMA requirements will apply to certifications of income for tenants in USDA-financed rental housing effective on or after July 1, 2025.
USDA is extending its manufactured housing pilot in the Section 502 direct and guaranteed programs until May 1, 2025 while it continues to work on a final rule that will make the pilot’s new flexibilities available nationwide. A proposed rule was published in August 2023.
USDA does not require emergency call systems (often called pull cords) in rental units it finances, but where such systems are in place they must be operational. Systems that are not operational must be removed, according to new USDA guidance, which notes that they can give tenants a false sense of security.
FEMA has issued a correction to a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard regulation published in July.
Join CIRD online on October 24 for our 2023-2024 local design workshop showcase, titled CIRD’s Local Design Workshops: The Process Explained. CIRD is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with HAC. With support from a wide range of design, planning, and creative placemaking professionals, CIRD design workshops bring together local residents and local leaders from nonprofits, community organizations, and government to develop actionable solutions to specific design challenges. To learn more about CIRD’s workshop process from the perspective of our workshop communities, our design partners at TBD Studio, and others, register here for the showcase.
The Department of Labor has published its report on the 2021-2022 National Agricultural Workers Survey. While limited, the NAWS provides some insight into the characteristics of farmworkers in the United States. As one of the most impoverished groups in the nation, farmworkers continue to earn low wages with mean and median incomes in the $20,000-$24,999 range and experience working conditions that hinder their ability to access affordable housing.
A recorded webinar titled Advancing Inclusive Development in Rural Towns explores efforts by the Brookings Institution and LISC to expand capacity and development in three rural Indiana towns. Leaders involved in this effort discuss increasing local involvement in policymaking, expanding local capacity, and improving access to local and regional resources to spur rural development.
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and NeighborWorks America released a new report, Nonprofit Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Programs as Affordable Housing Strategies, finding that ADUs fulfill a range of housing needs in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Regulations, zoning, and financing impact the provision of ADUs in some communities.
Funding Rural, a podcast now in its second season, features voices from across rural, remote, and Indigenous spaces who are working to bring change to the areas and communities they serve. The Daily Yonder recently posted an interview with podcast host Erin Borla.
The American Housing Survey, the country’s most comprehensive housing survey, is currently conducted every two years. Starting in May 2025, it will be run as a continuous operation with new data collected every month. Celebrating the AHS’s 50th anniversary this year, Census and HUD note that in 1973, there were about 76 million housing units in the U.S., compared to 145.3 million in 2023. The two agencies also released new housing data from the 2023 AHS.
HAC job listings and application links are available on our website.
HAC’s loan fund provides low interest rate loans to support single- and multifamily affordable housing projects for low-income rural residents throughout the U.S. and territories. Capital is available for all types of affordable and mixed-income housing projects, including preservation, new development, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development, construction/rehabilitation and permanent financing. Contact HAC’s loan fund staff at hacloanfund@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.
Please note: HAC is not able to offer loans to individuals or families. Borrowers must be nonprofit or for-profit organizations or government entities (including Tribes).
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