2000 Best Practice Awards

456 Refugee and Immigrant Forum of Snohomish County
Everett, Washington
Contact: Van Dinh-Kuno (425) 388-9595

The Refugee and Immigrant Forum of Snohomish County provides both written and verbal on site translators/interpreters. It also serves as a strong advocate for refugees and non-English speaking immigrants to obtain community resources. Recently this organization assisted HUD Fair Housing in the investigation of six housing discrimination complaints from Cambodian residents of Parkside Apartments. The service was provided without charge. The Forum also makes available translation and interpretation assistance to immigrants in the following languages: Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Polish, Persian Tagalog(Filipino), Laotian, Romanian, Yugoslavian, Czech, Cambodian, Korean, Bulgarian, Bosnian, Chinese (3 dialects), Russian, Spanish, Lithuanian, Croatian, Thai, Arabic, Farsi. The forum has helped many immigrants successfully find housing and resources in Snohomish County.

739 King County Section 7 Review Process
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Linda Peterson (206) 296-8661

901 Housing Discrimination Study
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Germaine W. Covington (206) 684-4500

The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR), a FHAP agency, paired with the Fair Housing Center of South Puget Sound (FHCSPS), a FHIP agency located outside of the City of Seattle, to conduct an audit in the city to test for the presence of race and family status discrimination. Thirty paired site tests were performed for race discrimination and thirty telephone tests were performed for 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 Paul Schell. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights said that the goal is prevention, not punishment. The results of the study will serve as an educational tool. The goal is to increase compliance with Fair Housing Laws by publicizing the results of the testing program. The information gathered will help provide guidance in fair housing practices to the public and to property managers and landlords. There are plans for further testing in the future.

1176 Bellingham/Whatcom County Continuum of Care/Bellingham

The Bellingham/Whatcom County Continuum of Care is overseen by the Bellingham/Whatcom County Coalition for the Homeless (B/WCCH). The B/WCCH consists of housing and service providers, public agencies, tribes, community advocates, homeless and formerly homeless. Planning is done all year long through monthly meetings of the B/WCCH. Representatives from all homeless sub-populations bring data on new programs and new needs to these meetings, where new linkages can be developed to address system-wide problems. Representatives report back to organizations in their field. The Coalition also acts as an umbrella organization to advocate for homeless needs and provide liaison with other community, state and federal representatives.

1406 Community Housing Improvement Program
Everett, Washington
Contact: Laurene Carlson (425) 257-8731

The City of Everett Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) originated in 1977, upon the recommendation of the Community Development Block Grant Citizen's Advisory Committee. Renovation of low and moderate-income benefit housing was seen as a priority because of cost effectiveness, neighborhood stability, and long lasting improvement in resident quality of life. It remains a City priority now as evidenced in the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) developed by the Citizen's Advisory Committee.

1476 King County Office for Civil Rights Enforcement
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Bailey R. Delongh (206) 296-7652

Bailey DeIongh, Manager of the King County Office for Civil Rights, and members of her staff have made it their practice to organize and chair regular meetings (quarterly & monthly) between the Department’s FHEO, other local and state Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies and the two (2) non-profit Fair Housing Initiative Program agencies who coordinate outreach/education efforts. The assembled group works to co-sponsor Fair Housing Month activities and to share housing discrimination complaint decisions and fair housing articles. The KCOCRE has taken responsibility for keeping the meeting minutes and scheduling the next meeting. Further, the KCOCRE has organized and paid for skill training sessions and invited Department staff, FHAP staff and FHIP staff to attend without charge. Finally, the KCOCRE regularly attends private Apartment Association meetings in order to provide additional training and to answer questions.

1655 Jobs Plus - Seattle Housing Authority
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Bert M. Cooper (206) 465-8188

Jobs Plus is a five year, public housing based, employment demonstration administered by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and HUD. The goal of Jobs Plus is to triple the number of residents claiming employment as a primary source of income at SHA's Rainier Vista Garden Community by saturating the community with employment and community building related services. As part of the Demonstration a local collaborative has conducted a planning process and is implementing a comprehensive set of services in three key area: 1) employment training and supportive services; 2) work incentives; and 3) "Community Supports for Work".

1867 Multifamily Hub develops marketing tools to increase FHA production (Hubwide - Seattle)
Spokane, Washington
Contact: Diane P. Ellingwood (509) 353-0670

During FY 2000, the Northwest/Alaska Multifamily Hub, the Seattle Community Builders Office, and EMAS banded together to create a Marketing Team to enhance and improve marketing, outreach and information to HUD potential customers. As a result of this endeavor, several tools are now available for the Multifamily Hub, local Community Builders, and our customers. These "Tools" are presented in the "Marketing Tool Box" Notebook which is now available for reference in each of the Hub’s field office.

1935 Kids Turning "FUN" into "FUNDS" for One Neighborhood Networks Center
Tacoma, Washington
Contact: Michael Corsini (253) 272-4878

The Tacoma’s Neighborhood Networks Center’s Mission: Helping the low-income and otherwise disadvantage in becoming more self-sufficient". Christian Powers, a student of Curtis High School located near Tacoma, Washington, 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 carryout 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 began developing his idea to put on 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 the low income.

1937 Burke Gilman Apartments
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Gloria M. Garcia (206) 220-5228

In April, 2000, HUD announced the successful closing of the Burke Gilman Apartments. The new owner, A.F. Evans Co. will maintain 62 units available to those with incomes at or below 60% of the area median. The project is the first to use Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) Bond Financing with State Tax Credit Program in combination with HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 223f mortgage insurance - a refinance of an existing HUD insured mortgage. The Burke Gilman Apartments is located near the University of Washington and has 113 units. The 62 subsidized units have project based Section 8 contract that expires 10/30/04. That equates to $471,240 annual HUD subsidy. The refinancing package includes costs for repair work like replacing roofs, upgrading site lighting, replacing handicap ramps, repairing sidewalks, cabinetry and window coverings.

2139 Kid's Korner/Grays Harbor
Aberdeen, Washington
Contact: Harold "Hal" G. Herman (360) 532-0570

The Kid's Korner is a model after-school program that has been developed by a rural housing authority with limited resources in cooperation with local organizations. Kid's Korner provides low-income residents of Emerson Court, a public housing project, with free on site children's services in a safe environment which promotes learning. The housing authority provided space in an administration building for this afternoon program. Two tenants coordinate the programs which are provided through volunteers of community organizations. The building is located close to schools and has a kitchen and outdoor play area. Other family services are provided for the resident families by the staff for the Resident Initiatives and Family Self-Sufficiency programs.

2303 Nez Perce Young Horseman's Club
Lapwai, Idaho
Contact: Samuel Penney (208) 843-3253

"What do you get when you cross horses, computers, and a bunch of kids?" The Nez Perce Young Horseman's Club. These youth come from two predominantly Native American schools on the Nez Perce Reservation, and some have a history of low grades and poor attendance. The goal of the program is to counter that trend. During the year, the students are tutored in math and English'; they solve math problems that involve horses-such as calculating time and distance of a trail ride-and write daily entries in their required journals. They also spend a week at a nearby University of Idaho shadowing professors and learning about college. The program culminates each summer with a one-week encampment at the meadows, where the youth live in tipis, elders tell stories of the old days, and students ride horses on trails once traveled by their great-great-grandfathers.

2397 Youngs Lake Commons Program
Tukwila, Washington
Contact: Stephen J. Norman (206) 244-7750

Created through the rehabilitation of a former military base, Youngs Lake Commons is a pioneering public housing program (27 units) designed to transition low wage working families to economic self-sufficiency and private market housing. Investing in the idea that public housing need not be a way of life and that family income can be increased through training and education, the King County Housing Authority (KCHA) has partnered with the YWCA of Seattle/KingCounty/Snohomish County to create a public housing culture of work and upward mobility. To qualify for the program residents must be employed or attending school. The YWCA provides case management and educational programming to assist residents in the achievement of the goals. The 27 families who live in Youngs Lake Commons commit to moving into private housing within three years and KCHA instituted ceiling rents at the development, allowing Youngs Lake Commons residents to save money as their income rises and to enable this transition to private market housing.

2413 Evergreen Villages Neighborhood Center
Olympia, Washington
Contact: Kenneth Lee Black (360) 753-8554

Evergreen Villages is a 180-unit federally insured apartment complex offering federally subsidized housing for low-income families and others in the City of Olympia. In October, 1998, TOGETHER!, a Thurston County non-profit agency focusing on prevention of youth violence and substance abuse, began operating the Evergreen Villages Neighborhood Center, an on site after-school and summer program for children and youth. This was in conjunction with a Homework Club operated the first year by Garfield Elementary staff and volunteers. During the ensuing year, the Neighborhood Network Center, a result of the collaborative efforts of Conifer III/Conifer Management, Inc., the Washington Education Association, the Olympia School District, and Generation www.Y, was established on site with six computer stations providing much needed access to technology. This partnership between the Evergreen Village Neighborhood Center and Neighborhood Network Center has strengthened and enhanced the opportunities provided to residents of the apartment complex. As a result of this partnership, schools, agencies, and other organizations work together to provide a variety of resources at the Center.

2599 Urban Rest Stop
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Sharon Lee (206) 443-9935

The Urban Rest Stop, located in the storefront of the Julie Apartments, offers toilets, showers and laundry facilities to homeless and low-income people at no cost to patrons. The Urban Rest Stop is open weekdays from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM, and weekends from 8:00 AM to 5:OO PM. These extended hours, including early morning and evening hours, are specifically designed to assist homeless persons who are working or need to get to a job interview. Two Information and Referral display racks contain various informational flyers and brochures, with subject matter relevant to the patrons of the Urban Rest Stop. Information pertaining to emergency, low-income and transitional housing, access to health services, feeding programs, legal services, job training and employment opportunities is made available in both English and other languages.

2610 Yakama Nation Tribal Drug Courts
Toppenish, Washington
Contact: Lonnie Salam ((509) 865-5121

The Yakima Nation is in the process of building a first-of-its-kind drug court system for the reservation. Sixteen other tribes have either juvenile or adult drug courts. The Yakima Nation will be the first tribe to have both. The drug court will be voluntary and open to all nonviolent offenders. Like other drug courts, the Yakima Nation's requires that participants go to treatment programs, take drug tests, and meet regularly with the judge and other court officials. The counseling will incorporate Yakima traditions and culture, such as sweat lodges and talking with elders. By breaking the cycle of drugs and crime, the court will reduce the number of jail inmates and repeat offenders and save money. A three-year federal Justice Department grant will pay initial costs. Also in an effort to curb problems caused by alcohol, the Yakima Nation officials voted to ban any use or sale of liquor on the expansive Central Washington reservation.

2678 NewHolly Community Building Strategy
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Harry Thomas (206) 615-3300

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 incomes 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, to identify common interests or concerns, to share their experiences within this new community, and to form a sense of neighborhood identity. The Clubs present many opportunities for community leadership to evolve and also for the empowerment of the residents of the neighborhood.

2719 Urban Native American/Alaska Native Homebuyer Fair
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Robert Santos (206) 220-5101

Two Northwest/Alaska Community Builders (one on the Secretary Representative's Staff; the other working in the Northwest Office of Native American Programs) coordinated the first American Indian/Alaska Native Housing Information Fair to be held in this area. The October 30 fair was held at an Indian cultural center, Daybreak Star Center, in Seattle, and focused on homeownership issues for urban Native Americans, as well as for those who live in Indian country. Throughout the five-hour period, over 300 adults, children, and elders participated in the day's activities that included 28 exhibitors, a children's Halloween party, and eight informational sessions relating to homeownership.

2794 Housing at Sand Point Naval Station
Seattle, Washington
Contact: Tom Byers (206) 684-8105

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 for the provision of housing, supportive services and employment opportunities for people who are homeless. The Sand Point Community Housing Association, under a master lease with the city, has overseen the redevelopment of the former Naval Station which will result in 200 units of transitional housing for the homeless. In early 2000 Phase I was completed and consists of 26 units for families with children managed by SPCHA; 6 units for young mothers and their children, 8 units for youth ages 16-18, and 8 units for youth ages 18-21 all managed by Friends of Youth and Youthcare; and 41 units for single men and women managed by the Low Income Housing Institute.

Content Archived: April 20, 2011