2000 Best Practice Awards

Best Practice: Homeownership Services

A Vacant Soon to be Demolished School Became the Shelter for the Boys and Girls Club of Pasco

Pasco. The city of Pasco has for a number of years provided a facility for use by the Boys and Girls Club to support a wide range of activities for young people in the area. These facilities are old and in need of constant repairs and, as a result, are not efficiently serving the needs of the children’s after school, evening and weekend activities. The number of children from low-to moderate-income families have greatly increased in the city of Pasco in recent years. The city and the Boys and Girls Club Committee have directed their attention to addressing the concerns of how to meet the growing demand to use the facilities. To address the problem, Pasco leaders took advantage of a vacant soon to be demolished school. They leveraged resources to convert the facility to a needed and heavily-used Boys and Girls Club facility.

Contact: Kellee Magnuson, Phone: (509) 543-9980
Tracking Number: 1841
Winning Category: Geographical

Best Practice: Burke Gilman Apartments

HUD Renovates Burke Gilman Apartments

Seattle. The Burke Gilman Apartment project is the first to use Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) Bond financing with State Tax Credit Program in combination with HUD’s FHA 223f mortgage insurance—a refinance of an existing HUD insured mortgage. In April 2000, HUD announced the closing of the Burke Gilman Apartments, a 113-unit apartment near the University of Washington in Seattle. The new owner, A.F. Evans Co., will make 62 units available to those with incomes at or below 60 percent of the area median when the remodeling and renovation of the complex is complete. The project will allow the owner to benefit as well as potential residents. The refinancing package helped preserve and rehabilitate a low-income building and expands the number of affordable units in the Seattle area. The remodeling and renovation will include repair work such as replacing roofs, upgrading site lighting, replacing handicap ramps, repairing sidewalks, and repairing cabinetry and window coverings.

Contact: Gloria Garcia, Phone: (206) 220-5228 Ext. 3174
Tracking Number: 1937
Winning Category: Geographical

Best Practice: Community Building Strategy-Seattle Housing Authority’s NewHolly Neighborhood

Cross-Sector Communities Strengthen Neighborhoods through Block Clubs

Seattle. NewHolly Community Building Strategy uses the development of Block Clubs and Activity Clubs to pull this redeveloped HOPE VI community together as a neighborhood. With the broad diversity in income and ethnicities within the new neighborhood, building relationships across class and race lines is critical in creating a healthy neighborhood. The Community Building Strategy at NewHolly is designed to develop a caring community that promotes positive relationships, self-sufficiency, and a sense of pride and ownership of the neighborhood. The Block Clubs and Activity Clubs are designed as a space for people to meet neighbors they might not otherwise speak with and to identify common interests or concerns. Three Block Clubs have been formed to help neighbors meet and interact with people on their immediate blocks. Seven Activity Clubs have been formed including parks and gardens; adults for youth and teens; crime prevention/blockwatch; transportation; seniors and disabled; management questions and no speeding team. Over 100 people are involved in these clubs organizing community events, addressing community problems and making recommendations for resolution. Through these clubs, neighbors are forming cross-cultural relationships and expanding their social support system as well as bringing a sense of community and empowerment to the residents.

Contact: Harry Thomas, Phone: (206) 615-3300
Tracking Number: 2678
Winning Category: Geographical

Best Practice: Harbor View Manor Leverages Community Resources for Needed Renovations and Neighborhood Network Center

Community Resources Renovate a Residential Property and Installs a Computer Learning Center

Seattle. On February 15, 2000, Harbor View Manor hosted a "30 Year Celebration Afternoon Tea" to honor the agencies and foundations for their financial assistance in the renovations of Harbor View Manor. A few years ago, Harbor View Manor, an aging property located in downtown Tacoma, was denied flexible subsidy funds from HUD. Determined to complete the needed renovation, the owners and managers applied to various community funding sources. With great persistence, they were extremely successful in securing over $443,000 in outside funding. Funding was used for upgrading the units, roof replacement, and community room upgrades. As part of the community room renovations, Harbor View Manor created a Neighborhood Networks Computer Learning Center for their residents. Since the rehabilitation was completed, the property’s vacancy rate has dropped from 20 percent to 12 percent. Harbor View Manor is truly an example of owners, management agents, and residents exploring and securing means to preserve affordable housing. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of partnering and leveraging resources for the residents and community at large.

Contact: Mary Ellen Casarez, Phone: (206) 220-5228 Ext. 3214
Tracking Number: 1911
Winning Category: Program (Multifamily Housing)

Best Practice: Housing Discrimination Study

Fair Housing Discrimination Test Conducted in Seattle

Seattle. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) and the Fair Housing Center of South Puget Sound conducted a testing audit in the City of Seattle to determine the presence of race and family status discrimination. Thirty paired tests were performed separately for race and family status discrimination. The results were published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and a public announcement was made in a press conference held by Mayor Schell. SOCR views the goal of the study as preventative rather than punitive. The results of the study will serve as an educational tool, which will provide guidance to the public, property managers and landlords in fair housing practices. There are plans for further testing.

Contact: Germaine Covington, Phone: (206) 684-4500
Tracking number: 901
Winning Category: Geographical and Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)

Best Practice: Moving-to-Work Policy Development: Rent Policy

Policy Development Shapes a Housing Authority Program

Seattle. Under the Seattle Housing Authority’s Moving-to-Work agreement with HUD, the Housing Authority is able to develop local policies and programs. Given the importance of a rent policy to the financial health of the agency and public housing residents, the Housing Authority created and implemented a thorough policy analysis and development process to ensure that a new rent policy would address the needs and concerns of stakeholders. The policy development process and the new policy are products that demonstrate the Housing Authority’s ability to build trust among its customers and community stakeholders while developing innovative solutions to real problems. Performance measures looking at policy changes and a revenue forecast model providing a 10-year forecast are two results of the program.

Contact: Harry Thomas, Phone: (206) 615-3300
Tracking number: 2931
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)

Best Practice: Seattle Office of Civil Right’s Bus Campaign

Fair Housing Rights Campaign Successfully Advertising on Buses in Seattle

Seattle. The Seattle Office of Civil Rights (SOCR) used an effective medium to reach citizens of Seattle to inform them of their right to fair housing and their right to file a complaint in the incidence of housing discrimination. The SOCR gathered information from fair housing cases and determined where discrimination seemed to be occurring most often. Exterior bus placards went up on 60 buses that ran throughout Seattle in these areas. Colorful interior placards reading "We All Belong!" ads were installed in 275 Metro buses. Each held sheets that could be torn off and taken with a brief description of the services SOCR provides and information about how to reach SOCR. The exterior ads read "Discrimination is still illegal. Report it. We All Belong!" and the interior placards added to the message with "Don't Tolerate Discrimination. STOP IT. CALL US." To help publicize the campaign, Seattle newspapers and radio stations conducted interviews and announcements. The placards brought many new people into the SOCR offices with an average of 17 new customers per month.

Contact: Germaine Covington, Phone: (206) 684-4500
Tracking number: 1624
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)

Best Practice: Snohomish County Community Housing and Resources Board Outreach

Fair Housing Seminars Decrease Housing Discrimination

Snohomish County. The Snohomish County Community Housing and Resources Board (CHRB) each year holds a series of Landlord-Tenant and Fair Housing Law Seminars at libraries and other public sites throughout the county. Because the CHRB has partnered with the Dispute Resolution Center, it is particularly effective in educating landlords on the requirements of the Fair Housing Act. The CHRB was started in 1989 to implement the Fair Housing Act and has operated since as a volunteer consortium of city, county and private concerns to provide education and outreach throughout Snohomish County. The CHRB has never received funding under the Fair Housing Initiatives Program but has continued to operate through volunteers, city Community Development Building Grant funds, private donations of time, and advertising funds from the Association of Realtors. Presently the CHRB meets three times per year and holds five Landlord-Tenant and Fair Housing Law Seminars per year for the public. The CHRB is a grassroots committee representing a consortium of public agencies, advocates, and private enterprise. A number of HUD staff has interacted over the years to help the CHRB with its education and outreach program. Many discrimination complaints and potentially expensive litigation were avoided through education of landlords.

Contact: Tim Koss, Phone: (425) 388-3311 Ext.2210
Tracking number: 961
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)

Best Practice: Northwest Regional Facilitators Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity (SHOP) Program

Self-Help Homeownership Program Uses Sweat Equity to Purchase Homes for Families in the Northwest

Spokane. The first phase of this model urban self-help new construction homeownership program began in 1994 as HomeStarts, a Northwest Regional Facilitators (NRF) pilot program with the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and Seafirst Bank as financial partners. In the second phase of the program, NRF developed a revolving loan fund and a second source of deferred second mortgages both funded by the Washington State Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development Housing Trust Fund Unit. Since its inception, enough money has been gathered to finance 34 completed homes. As a result of the success of this program, NRF applied for Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity (SHOP) program funds to support assistance to other nonprofits wanting to develop similar programs in their areas. Like HomeStarts, SHOP programs target families who cannot attain homeownership through conventional means and who are willing to contribute substantial amounts of sweat equity by assisting in the construction of the home. This sweat equity is then used in lieu of cash downpayment and closing costs. HomeStarts uses the mutual self-help model of construction whereby the homebuyers join a group of six to eight other households to build homes for all as a team.

Contact: Linda Hugo, Phone: (509) 484-6733
Tracking Number: 1692
Winning Category: Program (Single Family Housing)

Best Practice: REACH (Regional Assisted Collaborative Housing)

Housing Program Reaches out to HIV Positive Community in Spokane

Spokane. Regional Assisted Collaborative Housing, or REACH, is a comprehensive and collaborative effort aimed at expanding on a previous Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS award. The purpose of the grant is to assist with long-term housing and related supportive services, and assist rural communities, especially Hispanic migrant and seasonal farm workers. Each participant is expected to donate funds and/or services in support of the program. The REACH program officially began on July 1, 1999, and has served 57 persons with AIDS. The project assists HIV- positive individuals with locating long-term affordable housing. This program allows consumers to focus on long-term issues rather than daily survival and fosters less personal and family stress. Eight agencies, including Spokane Regional Health District, Spokane Housing Authority, Coalition of Responsible Disabled, Spokane Neighborhood Action Program, Volunteers of America, Yakima Homeless Coalition, Housing Authority of Chelan and County, city of Wenatchee and Wall Walla Housing Authority sponsor the program. Although they had never worked together before, collaboration became necessary to yield a successful program.

Contact: Michael Davis, Phone: (509) 324-1539
Tracking number: 123
Winning Category: Program (Community Planning and Development)

Best Practice: Spokane Association of Realtors - Fair Housing Committee

Fair Housing Compliance Campaign Conducts Outreach on All Fronts

Spokane. Throughout the year 2000, emphasis is directed toward the importance of fair and equal housing. In observance of the 32nd anniversary of the Federal Fair Housing Act, special effort was expended during "Fair Housing Month" in April. The city and county of Spokane joined with the Spokane Association of Realtors (SAR) in promoting the recognition of the law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, family status and disability and encourages fair housing opportunities for all citizens. Throughout the month, several hundred radio and television 30-second spots were aired, a number of buses carried fair housing signs, and members of the SAR Fair Housing Committee made visits to open houses to insure compliance with HUD’s rules for realtors. Other events during the month included an annual third-grade poster and essay contest "What My Home Means To Me" and the 3rd Community Congress on Race Relations, which was held Friday, April 28, at the Gonzaga University Center.

Contact: Don Walker, Phone: (509) 326-9222
Tracking number: 243
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)

Best Practice: Kids Turning FUN into FUNDS for One Neighborhood Networks Center

High School Student Coordinating Partnerships for Network Neighborhood Center

Tacoma. Christian Powers, a student at Curtis High School located near Tacoma, helped turn a night of fun into a night of fundraising for the Tacoma Neighborhood Networks Center. When one of his teachers gave an assignment to develop and carry out a community service project, Christian chose to do something that would impact the lives of the needy. With the involvement of his friends and church, Christian organized a benefit concert that would include several of the area’s local bands in support of two local organizations that are serving the needs of low-income individuals. Christian, with the help of a representative of his church, approached and met together with both the Tacoma Neighborhood Networks Center and Hilltop Health Ministries. While the benefit concert raised more than $1000, the money it brought in was not its greatest success. Indeed, the partnerships that were formed as well as the awareness raised when Christian was empowered to make a contribution made a difference in the lives of the needy.

Contact: Michael Corsini, Phone: (253) 272-4878
Tracking Number: 1935
Winning Category: Program (Multifamily Housing)

Best Practice: Housing at Sand Point

Former Naval Station to Provide Transitional Housing for the Homeless

Sand Point. In the mid-1990s, the U.S. Navy decommissioned the 151-acre Sand Point Naval Station. Following a three-year re-use planning process involving neighborhood groups, civic organizations, and homeless service providers, the property was transferred to the city of Seattle to provide housing, supportive services and employment opportunities for the homeless. The Sand Point Community Housing Association, under a master lease with the city, has overseen the redevelopment of the former Naval Station that will result in 200 units of transitional housing for the homeless. In early 2000, Phase I was completed. Phase I consists of 26 units for families with children; 6 units for young mothers and their children, 8 units for youth ages 16-18, 8 units for youth ages 18-21; and 41 units for single men and women.

Contact: Tom Byers, Phone: (206) 684-8105
Tracking Number: 2794
Winning Category: Geographical

Best Practice: Cultivating Communities

Agricultural Enterprises Springing up in Seattle’s Urban Communities

Seattle. Cultivating Communities, a community-supported agriculture enterprise in Seattle, Washington, operates market gardens at three of Seattle Housing Authority’s large public housing garden communities. The program is an outgrowth of a community garden program, which began in 1995 to fulfill a need identified by public housing residents for clean gardening sites. Many of the Housing Authority’s public housing residents are recent immigrants from Ethiopia, Cambodia, Somalia, Laos, Vietnam and other countries where agriculture is a way of life. These immigrants had little or no preparation for life in urban America. Many of them are learning a new language, obtaining citizenship and finding employment. The Cultivating Communities program bridges the cultural divide, builds upon skills and cultural backgrounds, and provides these new immigrants with the opportunity to learn business and leadership skills. Cultivating Communities’ market gardens generate approximately $30,000 in produce sales, provide fresh organic produce to 40 public housing households and provide each family an average annual supplemental income of $500.

Contact: Martha Goodlett, Phone: (206) 978-6372
Tracking Number: 2973
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)

Best Practice: Northwest Indian Housing Association and Education Initiative

Northwest Indian Housing Association Provides Training for Members

Seattle. The Northwest Indian Housing Association is a nonprofit organization that provides training, support and technical assistance to its members. The association’s membership includes 31 tribes, tribal housing authorities and Tribally Designated Housing Entities such as the Yakama Nation, Umatilla Reservation Housing Authority and the Nez Perce Tribal Housing. To help implement the Native American Housing Assistance Self-Determination Act, the association offers low-cost training every quarter to members. The training assists members in establishing their own housing programs. The association’s work was made possible with $83,000 of funding from HUD and private programs. Some of the program’s partners consist of the Washington Mutual Bank, AMERIND Risk Management and PS Fuqua Homes, Inc. To date, more than 200 association members have participated in the training programs.

Contact: Joseph Diehl, Phone: (206) 526-8630
Tracking Number: 2712
Winning Category: Program (Office of Native American Programs)

Content Archived: April 20, 2011