1999 Best Practices
Success Stories

Program Name:	Norman Affordable Housing Partnership
Program Focus:	Empowerment
Geographic Area:	Southwest

State:	Oklahoma
City:	Norman

Executive Summary
The Norman Affordable Housing Partnership (NOAH) developed a plan to address the shortages of low-income housing in their community. Through grassroots efforts, NOAH became the first housing authority in Oklahoma to be certified by HUD and receive federal funding.

Working with a HUD consultant, NOAH formed collaborations with city and local organizations. As a result of these grassroots partnerships, the organization was able to successfully change state law to allow 50-year leases (previously only five years) on state property and to allow the construction of much-needed Section 811 properties.

NOAH improved the collaborative process through which the private sector, the city of Norman, and other nonprofit housing organizations could build over 200 units of affordable housing for the elderly, chronically mentally ill, and other people in need. By building such a large number of units, NOAH also achieved large economies of scale in purchasing materials in bulk and building in large volume.

NOAH took steps to gain acceptance of low-income housing in the community. It emphasized higher-quality facilities by increasing maintenance on the properties and brought the maintenance processes in-house to ensure greater accountability. Both landlords and tenants attended training sessions in order to more fully understand their responsibilities as members of the community.

NOAH’s development plan has fostered a win-win situation for all parties involved. Low-income residents will benefit from the new housing opportunities, the community can look forward to experiencing stable, long-term economic development, and the local government will benefit from an increased property and sales tax base, while real estate professionals can enjoy increasing their business with the new home sales.

The success of the program has resulted in several featured articles by local and state newspapers. Commenting on the success of NOAH’s plan, Kay Absher stated, "the key to our success has been not taking ‘No’ for an answer."

Partners: National Affordable Housing Training Institute, City of Norman, Norman Housing Authority, National Community Reinvestment Council, Legal Aid of Western Oklahoma, Action, Inc., Thunderbird Clubhouse, Habitat for Humanity, Ideal Homes, University of Oklahoma, and United Cerebal Palsy of Oklahoma.

Financing: Various Sources.

Point of Contact: Kay Absher, Phone: (405) 329-0933, E-mail: kaya@norlmanha.org