Hebrew SeniorLife’s Post

Affordable housing I was pleased to hear Kamala Harris address the national issue of affordable housing in the debate with Trump. We in Maine need to find our own solutions but leadership in DC can be helpful. The areas where people I have been talking to agree are that towns need to be motivated to find there own ways to do things differently. Zoning is an issue where leadership not mandates from the state might be welcomed. People realize that the large elderly population in Maine need more services. We need to find ways to attract more health care professionals from doctors to aids. We also need workers for the hospitality businesses that are so important to our economy. The workers we need for these lower paying jobs need housing. New models for community need to be imagined, developed and implemented. One idea that has sparked my interest is a model for building multi family modular homes. There are two companies in the country that were manufacturing these energy efficient homes. I think this could be an industry that would fit in well in rural Maine. It would use resources that Maine has an abundance of and would be basically a clean industry. It could help to revitalize the rural economy that would draw families with children to our schools, add jobs and a tax base to our communities. We would be challenged to find some new models of community. There would be a lot that would need to be managed but several problems could all be addressed pointing to a brighter future.

Section 8, known as the Housing Choice Voucher Program, is a vital resource that provides rental assistance to low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities in New York City, where housing costs are exponentially high. Program Basics: Administered by local public housing authorities (PHAs) and funded by HUD, Section 8 offers vouchers that help subsidize rent in the private market. Eligibility Criteria: To qualify, applicants generally must earn below 50% of the area median income, be U.S. citizens or eligible immigrants, and pass a background check. Application Steps: Identify your local PHA (like NYCHA in NYC). Submit an application with necessary documentation. Join a waitlist, as demand is often high. If selected, receive a voucher to search for housing. Benefits: Participants typically pay only 30% of their income on rent, enjoy the flexibility to choose their housing location, and gain stability in their living situations. Challenges: The program faces issues like limited funding, reluctance from some landlords to accept vouchers, and difficulties finding available housing in a competitive market. Section 8 housing is essential for many New Yorkers, providing crucial support in a challenging housing environment. Ongoing support and resources are needed to maintain and improve this important program.

Housing vouchers provide critical assistance for many families across the U.S. But do direct payments to households—rather than landlords—lead to different outcomes? Abt’s Jill Khadduri, Hannah Thomas, and Meryl Finkel, Ph.D. suggest Direct Rental Assistance (DRA) offers an alternative approach and could lead to different and better outcomes. In this paper, they explain how DRA could be tested to measure: 1️⃣ Outcomes related to family and child well-being; 2️⃣ How successful families are in using DRA to obtain housing; and 3️⃣ Potential cost savings for public housing agencies and other program administrators. https://lnkd.in/ek9NqaD9

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Options Study and the Moving to Opportunity Demonstration have shown that #StableHousing through Housing Choice Voucher (HCB) program subsidies can yield lasting benefits for families. This white paper from Abt Global evaluates the Direct Rental Assistance (DRA) approach as an alternative method. The objective is to determine the future direction of HUD rental assistance. #HUD #RentalAssistance #AffordableHousing

Another great example of research to action, as well as how the federal government can work with states and localities to improve access to opportunity for all. More than half of all families with housing vouchers are protected by over a hundred state and local laws prohibiting source of income discrimination. Research shows these laws can help local communities better leverage this vital federal housing resource and help voucher holders make moves to low-poverty neighborhoods. With this new tool, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is helping local communities and housing authorities make the most of these protections and informing voucher holders of their rights. Like our state and local partners, we are doing this to help ensure the Housing Choice Voucher program delivers real choice to the low-income families served by it. Martha M. Galvez Daniel Teles Philip Tegeler

As one of the country's largest council landlords, yesterday the London Borough of Hackney attended the Future of Council Housing Summit hosted by the London Borough of Southwark. Together with 15 other councils, the London Borough of Hackney has signed a joint statement to find solutions to the increasing threat to the future of our country’s council housing and agree solutions needed to deliver the new homes and vital upgrades our homes need to be warm, decent and safe. Read the joint statement below “As 16 of the largest council landlords in England, we are gathering this week to discuss the increasing threat to the future of our country’s council housing. An affordable, decent home is a foundation for a good life – essential for good health, stable work and education. Council homes will play a crucial role in solving the national housing crisis. “However, a broken financial model is making our vital work to ensure our residents’ homes are warm, decent and safe increasingly challenging – let alone our ability to build the new homes our communities need. Rising costs and shrinking income have stretched council housing financing to breaking point, putting our plans to build and improve homes at risk. The next government must take urgent action to fix the foundations of our country’s council housing”.

From coast to coast, the foundation of a thriving community is affordable housing. Making sure hardworking families have a safe and reliable place to live is essential to economic growth and to quality of life. Unfortunately, a chronic lack of supply and soaring demand has deepened America’s affordable housing shortage. That is why Congress should enact the bipartisan bill — the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) — proposed by Reps. Darin LaHood (R-ILL.) and Suzan Delbene (D-WASH.). Every community in America is impacted by this crisis and the growing bipartisan support for the AHCIA shows it.

The work done to develop cooperatives is one of the MOST important things a 501c3 can do. Ending Generational cycles of poverty is one of the most prudent and necessary missions to pursue. HUDs HCV program has been here for decades and yet so many public agencies fail to make these homeownership cooperatives possible. We will not stop what we do until many in Public Housing come to the Understanding that they may not be in their position ls for long-term employment, they may have a change of heart, pursue different work life balances, but to not provide a family the ability to become homeowners from a program that allows it and with all of the resources to be available, an administrative gap is not what is stopping you from achieving it, it is will power and the individuals in this link have setsuch good examples of what needs to be accomplished and how it can be. Housing Element plans need to be re-addressed and revised. 😓😓. please see the truth that if your are in public service, you are here for the greater good of our country, please do great things for others and achieve. https://lnkd.in/gmbAA7jJ

This issue will have impacts beyond “housing”, to include education, health and public safety. We all better understand what’s at stake and stop looking at public housing residents as “those folks” / “them”. Residents of public housing are Americans who play a vital role in our economy. The way we address affordable housing will say a lot about the future of our Cities and Country.

🏘️ As one of the country's largest council landlords, yesterday we attended the Future of Council Housing Summit hosted by Southwark Council. ✍️Together with 15 other councils, the Royal Borough of Greenwich has signed a joint statement to find solutions to the increasing threat to the future of our country’s council housing and agree solutions needed to deliver the new homes and vital upgrades our homes need to be warm, decent and safe. Read the joint statement below 👇 “As 16 of the largest council landlords in England, we are gathering this week to discuss the increasing threat to the future of our country’s council housing. An affordable, decent home is a foundation for a good life – essential for good health, stable work and education. Council homes will play a crucial role in solving the national housing crisis. “However, a broken financial model is making our vital work to ensure our residents’ homes are warm, decent and safe increasingly challenging – let alone our ability to build the new homes our communities need. Rising costs and shrinking income have stretched council housing financing to breaking point, putting our plans to build and improve homes at risk. The next government must take urgent action to fix the foundations of our country’s council housing”. The summit was attended by Jeremy Smalley from our Regeneration, Enterprise and Skills Directorate and Claire Harding from the Housing & Safer Communities Directorate. Read the full story 👉 https://lnkd.in/dWhmgA7A