HUD Attends Wabanaki Housing Circle

The Penobscot Nation Housing Department hosted the Wabanaki Housing Circle at their offices on Indian Island and welcomed the new HUD Eastern Woodlands Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) Administrator, Mark Butterfied, to the group. Circle members include the Directors of the five Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHE) of Maine, along with HUD, USDA Rural Development and other housing partners. Four Directions Development Corporation, a Native American Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), regularly brings the group together to share information from the tribal, federal, state and private sectors as it relates to housing and economic development on tribal lands. TDHE Directors take turns hosting the meetings, which generally include a tour of tribal housing and current projects under construction.

At the last meeting, local HUD staff shared information on the FY 2015 Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Coordinators Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and broadcast; the National Housing Trust Fund (https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/htf/); Policy Development and Research's (PD&R) publication Evidence Matters issue entitled "Housing in Indian Country (www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/em/spring15/highlight1.html)"; HUD Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), and Promise Zones designation. After the meeting, the group toured the tribe's Elder Housing facility, located across the road from their elementary school.

Caption (lst row, l to r) Johanna Anderson, Housing Programs Manager, Four Directions Development Corp; Grant Spencer, Housing Programs Director, USDA RD Maine State Office; Laurie Warzinski, Multifamily Housing Specialist, USDA Regional Director; Erin St. Peter, Four Directions Development Corp. and Christine Roberts, Senior Management Analyst, HUD (2nd row, l to r) Sue Hammond, Executive Director, Four Directions Development Corp.; Rebecca Halloran, Senior Advisor, EWONAP HUD; Mark Butterfield, Administrator, EWONAP HUD; Mike Bush, Director, Penobscot Nation Housing Dept.; Craig Sanborn, Director, Aroostook Band of Micmacs Housing Department; Sally Joe Rice, Compliance Officer, Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point Housing Department and Bill Floyd, Executive Director, Genesis Community Loan Fund

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