Northwest HUD Lines
July 2018

HUD e-Briefs from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington

Leland Jones, Editor, (206) 220-5356 or Leland.jones@hud.gov

www.hud.gov/alaska	www.hud.gov/idaho
www.hud.gov/oregon	www.hud.gov/washington
http://twitter.com/hudnorthwest

HAPPY 242nd!

WELL DESERVED!
Spokane leads the way
A hearty congratulations to Mayor David Condon & the City of Spokane, the Spokane Area Workforce Development Council, the Spokane Housing Authority& hundreds of civic-minded individuals & organizations whose teamwork has led the City's section as one of the first 17 communities in the United States to open a HUD EnVision Center. One of Secretary Carson's signature initiatives - "housing assistance should be more than just putting a roof over someone's head," he observes - EnVision Centers will offer HUD-assisted families access to support services that can help them achieve self-sufficiency, thereby making scarce federal resources more readily available to a greater number of households currently waiting to receive HUD assistance. Spokane expects to open its Center in September. Other communities selected for the first EnVision Centers include Washington, D.C., Detroit, Ft. Worth, Philadelphia, San Diego, Grand Forks, Youngstown, Chicago, Kansas City, Bowling Green, Inkster, Hartford & the Chickasaw Indian Nation.

ENVISION VISION
What is an EnVision Center?
"Today we are announcing our first round of EnVision Center designations in 17 communities around the country. These Centers will offer a more holistic housing approach by connecting HUD-assisted families with the tools they need to become self-sufficient and to flourish. It's our way for bringing hope and opportunity to thousands of families. Our Centers will encourage our assisted residents to take the first steps up the ladder of opportunity. These Centers will be unique in several ways - from partners to programs to bi-partisanship. Never before have federal agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, the faith-based community, and non-profits groups come together, at this level of coordination, to advance economic opportunity and self-sufficiency. We are taking a targeted approach - with each EnVision Center acting as a centralized hub to support, what we call, the "four pillars of self-sufficiency": Educational Advancement, Economic Empowerment, Health and Wellness, and Character and Leadership Development...Overall, the despair of any of our families in public housing is OUR business as well as OUR problem to help solve. The creation of the EnVision Centers is one more solution to helping solve this immense challenge -- of helping families move out of poverty and federal assistance and into a more rewarding life, full of opportunity and hope. The road to self-sufficiency is not an easy path. But we all must come together and try. Our values and principles tell us it is the responsibility of all to lend a helping hand. Our nation's vulnerable families deserve nothing less. I'm sure this is something we can all agree on. George Washington Carver once said, "where there is no vision, there is no hope." If we ever hope to succeed in helping families, we need to envision a new path forward-one that focuses on the whole family and not just the roof over their heads." - HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Detroit, Michigan, June 7, 2018

BRIEF BRIEFS
President Trump issues Declaration of Major Disaster authorizing public assistance to assist Alaska's Kenai Peninsula from damage done by severe December storms...58 percent of respondents to an annual City of Boise, Idaho resident survey say they would vote for two-year property tax increase with revenues devoted to affordable housing says Idaho Statesman...Seattle, Washington Mayor Jenny Durkan unveils plan to increase city's shelter capacity by 25 percent over next 90 days to move additional 522 people "off the streets and into safer, more stable places where they can more easily access the services they need"...San Juan County, Washington Council votes to place ballot measure before voters this fall on whether to establish excise tax on real estate transactions to fund affordable housing, reports Island Sounder...Oregon Governor Kate Brown says Oregon Housing & Community Services has awarded $53.9 million in LIFT - Local Innovation & Fast Track - funds from Legislature to work "hand-in-hand" w/ Lincoln, Umatilla, Multnomah, Marion, Polk & Washington counties to build 837 new rural & urban units of affordable housing...$40 million, 166-unit - 20 percent of them affordable - Hailey Apartments now under construction on surplus city property in downtown Tacoma, Washington, reports Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, is first housing project in the U.S. developed by a Vietnamese company, HQC, a subsidiary of Housing Quan Group...Some 166 member organizations strong & more than 45,000 affordable housing units at 2,800 locations across 38 communities, Housing Development Consortium of Seattle & King County turns a happy 30 this month (and, yes, you can still trust 'em)...On July 1st, says Olympian, City of Olympia's sales tax will rise .1 percent to 8.9 percent thanks to voter approval earlier this year of increase to provide $2 million a year to support affordable housing...Cle Elum, Washington City Council votes to allow Housing Authority of Kittitas County to operate within city limits & enable it to buy currently-affordable housing complex that otherwise may shift to market-rate housing & put current tenants at risk says Daily Record...Advanced construction class at Sitka, Alaska High finishes school year, says Capital City Weekly, by finishing Tongass Tiny House "not only named for largest remaining temperate rainforest on earth, but also built" from new growth timber harvested there...Metro Council serving Portland & Multnomah & Clackamas counties, Oregon sends proposed $652 million affordable housing bond that is expected to provide housing for 12,000 people & raise property taxes 24 cents per $1,000 of valuation to be considered by voters this November says Oregonian...With some of its certified & non-certified staff living 50 to 80 miles from the schools where they work in the high-cost Ketchum-Sun Valley area of Idaho, says Idaho Business Review, Blaine County School District is making plans to build housing for its teachers...With $3.7 million from Washington Department of Commerce, the Yakima, Washington Housing Authority is near-to-completing a 96-bed housing facility in Granger that will help address the "great need for seasonal" workers during the growing & harvest seasons one of the nation's richest agricultural areas, but also serve to shelter the homeless during the winter months, says KIMA-TV...Coastal Village Region Fund 2017 of adults in 20 western Alaska Native Villages gets "nearly 35 percent" response rate with 34 percent of "nearly 2,000 respondents" reporting that "making money" & 28 percent "housing" are the "biggest challenges" facing their communities," says Delta Discovery.

GOT FRIENDS?
(of course you do!)
Well, if you work in housing & community development in Alaska & the Northwest, of course you do. And here's an opportunity for you to shout out to them. In advance of the annual Housing Washington Affordable Housing Conference to be hosted from October 2nd through October 4th in Tacoma, Washington by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission & the Washington Department of Commerce, they're now accepting - until July 13th - nominations for their annual Friend of Housing Awards. And that's where you come in, nominating individuals, projects, or organizations you know, you've worked with & you admire that "have made exceptional contributions to creating or supporting affordable housing" as a 2018 Friend of Housing. They won't win a million dollars, get their own TV show or take an all-expenses round-the-world cruise, but they will get at least a little bit of the recognition their good, hard work deserves. And think of how happy & proud you'll be at Housing Washington when they're up on stage, taking a bow, basking in a standing ovation. So, take a few minutes and nominate someone TODAY!

GOT COMMENTS?
Fair housing's future
HUD has set an August 20th deadline for the public to submit comments in response to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on possible amendments to HUD's 2013 final rule implementing the Fair Housing Act's disparate impact standard, as well as the 2016 supplement to HUD's responses to certain insurance industry comments made during the rulemaking. HUD currently is reviewing the final rule &supplement to determine what changes, if any, are appropriate following the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Texas Department of Housing &Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., which held that disparate impact claims were cognizable under the Fair Housing Act and discussed standards for, & the constitutional limitations on, such claims. As part of its review, HUD it is soliciting public comment on the disparate impact standard set forth in the final rule and supplement, the burden-shifting approach, the relevant definitions, the causation standard, and whether changes to these or other provisions of the rule would be appropriate. It also is issuing this advance notice in response to public comments submitted on its May 15, 2017, Federal Register document seeking input on ineffective regulations & an October 26, 2017, recommendation from the Department of the Treasury

GOT THOUGHTS?
Charting the course
The Council on Environmental Quality is considering a revision - the first in 40 years - of the implementing regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act. It is currently soliciting input on "potential revisions to update the regulations and ensure a more efficient, timely, and effective NEPA process consistent with the national environmental policy stated in NEPA." Public comments are due July 20th.

GOT GRIPES?
Make your case
On June 4th HUD opened the Federal fiscal year 2017 Continuum of Care Competition Appeal Process through which Continuums not funded or that did not receive as much as requested have 45 days. They may be submitted until July 18th.

BRIEF BRIEFS TOO
On first day of National Healthy Homes Month, HUD Secretary Ben Carson launches Protect Our Kids, a Department-wide & nationwide enforcement campaign to "get landlords and sellers of older homes to fulfill their responsibilities to disclose lead-based paint hazards in their properties" & insure "that all federally assisted homes are lead-safe."...Port Angeles, Washington City Council votes 6-0, says Peninsula Daily News, to form task force to address "lack of affordable housing, vacant properties, storm water regulations and other housing issues"...As of June, existing manufactured homes in Oregon may be purchased using USDA Rural Development's Single Family Housing Section 503 direct & guaranteed loan programs as long as they were built on or after January 1, 2006 & have no alterations...Washington Governor Jay Inslee announces 2018 Governor's Smart Communities awards to town of Twisp, cities of Kent, Ellensburg, Kennewick, Kent, Renton, Spokane, the Quinault Indian Tribe & Skagit County for "outstanding local collaborations" that "demonstrate why Washington is such a special place to live, work and play."...Mayor Greg Wheeler asks Bremerton, Washington City Council, reports Kitsap Sun, for "moratorium on the 8-year property tax exemption developers can apply for within many areas of the city, while still favoring a longer 12-year exemption that requires developers to keep rents lower on a fifth of their constructed units"...Yamhill County, Oregon Housing Authority names Massey Casper, currently with the Providence, Rhode Island authority, as new executive director of Yamhill authority effective July 9th & succeeding Elise Hui who, after nearly 18 years with Yamhill authority has moved to Florida...City of Portland & Multnomah County, Oregon Joint Office of Homeless Services, says Oregonian, to launch one-year pilot in collaboration with Catholic Charities & the Portland Leadership Foundation, to enlist faith organizations, with the approval of their congregations, to "to allow homeless families to park vehicles on church property overnight"...King County, Washington Executive Dow Constantine proposes bonding against expected revenues from hotel-motel tax to create $100 million affordable housing fund says Kent Reporter...Catholic Charities director Tim Meliah tells KEPB-TV that the Loft, the first shelter for homeless young people in Walla Walla, Washington area, should be open by summer's end...With $3.5 million grant from Oregon Housing & Community Services, Catholic Community Services & Fostering Hope Initiative break ground on donated parcel for Esperanza Village, The Sentinel reports,16 units of new affordable housing for families in Woodburn, Oregon...Volunteers of America for eastern Washington & northern Idaho, says Spokane Journal of Business, unveils plans for 60 units of u of affordable housing & a homeless shelter on the site of Linnie's Thai site in downtown Spokane, Washington...Community Council of Idaho tells Magicvalley.com it wants to "completely revamp" 40-acre El Milagro Housing Project for farmworkers in Twin Falls, replacing "worn-out & decades old" housing complete & create business park...Sisters, Oregon may be next on growing list of state's cities exercising option under 2016 state law to enact excised tax on residential & commercial property transactions to support affordable housing says Bend Bulletin...Saying it's "pretty apparent to all of us that we need to step up our game in terms of repair and maintenance spending to maintain quality of housing and our assets," City of Boise, Idaho okays 2 percent rent increase - the first in 8 years on some 45 residential units it owns that house some 300 non-assisted residents at 80 percent or less of area median income & who, says the Mayor, "would be homeless" if the City did not serve as "landlord of last resort," reports Idaho Press Tribune

NOFA-TUNITY
Homeless help
HUD has set a September 18th deadline to non-profits & state, local & county governments to apply for a total of $2.1 billion in Federal fiscal year 2018 Continuum of Care funds. HUD's Continuum of Care program is intended to promote community-wide approaches to the challenge of ending homelessness, by funding innovative, evidence-based projects from local governments & non-profits that "quickly re-house homeless individuals, families, persons fleeing domestic violence, and youth while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused by homelessness; to promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless; and to optimize self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness." Projects are a recommended for HUD funding by local Continuums. In the competition for fiscal year 2017 funds, the 18 Continuums in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington recommended - and HUD approved - awards of over $103 million to some 350 projects across the Region.

NOFA-TWO-NITY
Healthy homes = healthy families
HUD has set a July 18th deadline for Tribal & Alaska Native governments & Native American organizations to apply for a total of $12 million in Healthy Homes Production Grant Program for Tribal Housing funding. Up to 12 grants of between $500,000 & $1 million are expected to be competitively-awarded to develop comprehensive programs "to identify and remediate housing issues that contribute to health and safety issues in urban and tribal communities" with a particular focus on "addressing multiple childhood diseases and injuries in the home" rather than on "a single hazard at a time." This is the first time since 2012 that funding has been made available under this program. Half of the nation's Federally-recognized Tribes & Alaska villages are located in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington.

NOFA-TRES-NITY
Get the lead out!
HUD has set an August 2nd deadline for state, local & Tribal governments to apply for a total of $212 million in HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction grants to help them "implement comprehensive programs to identify and remediate lead-based paint hazards in privately owned rental or owner-occupied housing." Some 50 grants of between $1 million & $4.1 million are expected to be competitively-awarded this year. "While lead poisoning is entirely preventable, we continue to see far too many children being exposed to lead hazards in their own homes," HUD Secretary Carson said last month in kicking-off National Health Homes Month. "All of us have a responsibility to protect kids, and that includes those who rent or sell older homes that may contain potentially harmful lead."

NO-FOUR-TUNITY
Opportunity knocking
HUD has set a July 30th deadline for public housing agencies, Tribes & resident associations to apply for a total of $35 million under its Resident Opportunity & Self Sufficiency program which assists residents of public & Indian housing to progress "towards economic self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency is an individual's ability to support their household by maintaining financial, housing, & personal/family stability." HUD expects to competitively award up to 110 new & renewed grants of up to $685,125 each. Grantees are required to provide a cost share in matching or leveraged funds equal to 25 percent of the funds requested from HUD.

NO-FIVE-TUNITY
Boosting the stock
The Washington State Department of Commerce's Housing Trust Fund has set a September 26th deadline to submit Stage 2 applications for some $23 million in capital budget funds from the 2017-2019 capital budget approved by the Washington State Legislature, the, HOME Investment Partnership Funds, the National Housing Trust Fund & the state's Disaster Displacement Fund through the Washington Housing Trust Fund it administers. The funding, the Department says, "is primarily intended for applicants seeking to create new affordable housing units, or to otherwise undertake activities which would result in an increase of the affordable housing stock in Washington State" with construction expected to begin in 2019. The funding will be awarded only for production of multifamily rental housing except for the Disaster Displacement Funds that will provide housing to people displaced by Governor-declared natural disasters. Multifamily rental projects should seek assistance through the Department's Housing Preservation Fund.

NO-SIX-TUNITY
Incentivizing independence
HUD has set an August 14th for public housing authorities to apply for up to five Jobs Plus Initiative grants of between $1 million & $3.7 million each to develop "locally-based, job-driven approaches that increase earnings and advance employment outcomes through work readiness, employer linkages, job placement, educational advancement, technology skills & financial literacy for residents of public housing." The program incentivizes & enables the employment of residents by making use of earned income disregards & offering other services, including employer linkages, job placement and counseling, educational advancement, financial counseling.

NO-FIVE-TUNITY
Community building
The Washington State Department of Commerce sets August 9th deadline for Washington Tribes & nonprofits to apply for Building Communities Fund grants to cover up to 25 percent of the capital costs of acquiring, constructing or rehabilitating nonresidential community & social service centers. The Department is hosting a workshop on the opportunity on July 2nd at Clark Colleges Columbia Technical Center in Vancouver, Washington.  

BRIEF BRIEFS THREE
Oregon Governor Kate Brown announces Oregon Housing & Community Services' award $53.9 million in LIFT - Local Innovation & Fast Track - funds to work "hand-in-hand" with Lincoln, Umatilla, Multnomah, Marion, Polk & Washington counties to build 837 new rural & urban units of affordable housing...Sitting as Board of Health, Thurston County, Washington's three County Commissioners declare homelessness & opioids to be "public health crises," reports The Olympian, after recently opening an office of housing & homeless prevention to coordinate county's response...Gregory Stuckey returns to HUD from USDA to serve as director of its Alaska Office of Native American Programs in Anchorage...Street Roots visits the Oregon coast to see what the Tillamook Creamery Association is doing to address its worker shortage by addressing area's housing shortage...City of Kelso, Washington appropriates $68,000 in CDBG funds, says The Daily News, to Kelso Housing Authority for construction of 50 new units of affordable housing for the elderly...Thanks to commitments from City of Vancouver, Washington & Hillsboro, Oregon to provide down payment assistance to eligible homebuyers, Proud Ground says expands its community land trust permanently-affordable homeownership program - i.e., buyer owns house, Proud Ground owns underlying parcel - to those two cities...Kulshan Community Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity of Whatcom County & Whatcom Community Foundation tell Herald that construction is expected to begin in July on 54 units in Bellingham, Washington of housing affordable to low- & moderate-income families, their largest collaboration to date says Herald...Oregonian reports that Portland Housing Bureau City Council approval to use $14.1m in proceeds from voter-approved affordable housing tax levy to buy new 51-unit apartment building in east Portland to house up to 167 low-income residents...Catholic Charities of Spokane, Washington tells Journal of Commerce it hopes to break ground this fall on 4th & 5th buildings in Father Bach complex for low-income & homeless, add , providing another 102 units of affordable housing for low-income & homeless...Housing advocates in high-cost San Juan County Washington, says Island Sounder, seek input on proposal HomeShare project where people with extra room or guest house in their homes provide housing to people in need of affordable housing for which, in return, they in some cases help "with household chores, yard work, or running errands"...Saying "it's only a matter of time" before it becomes Puget Sound's next "boom town," says Kitsap Sun, private developer unveils plans for 22-story, 264-unit apartment building in downtown Bremerton, Washington.

FACT-ASTIC
Housing First at work
"Data" collected as part of a 3-year study by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks of the Housing First housing complex recently opened in Juneau, Alaska "show a drastic decrease in the number of police calls, fire department calls, usage of the Rainforest Recovery Center, and times going to the Bartlett Regional Hospital emergency room for tenants in the supportive housing facility, compared to six months ago before they moved in," says Juneau Empire. "Visits to the ER dropped from 360 to 126, contact with Juneau Police Department for any reason went down from 604 to 168 & transport by Capital City Fire/Rescue fell from 137 to 63. "It is great for the community," project director Dacia Davis said. "We are housing people while also allowing more resources to not be used the way they were previously. We are saving police officers' time, which is invaluable."

NOT-SO-FAC-TASTIC
Disturbing numbers
"One in every two arrests made by the Portland Police Bureau last year was of a homeless person, an analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive has found. The number of arrests is dramatically disproportionate to Portland's homeless population. People experiencing homelessness represent a tiny fraction of the city's overall population -- well below 3 percent even using the biggest estimates. Yet in 2017, they accounted for 52 percent of arrests...Most often, police arrested homeless people on property, drug or low-level crimes. The vast majority of the arrests, 86 percent, were for non-violent crimes, the analysis found. And more than 1,200 arrests were solely for offenses that are typically procedural -- missing court or violating probation or parole." -- Portland homeless accounted for majority of police arrests in 2017, analysis finds, The Oregonian, June 27, 2018.

NOTABLE & QUOTABLE
Making affordable housing affordable
"U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, a Democrat from western Washington, is part of a New Democrat Coalition Housing Task Force, which released a report earlier this month titled "Missing Millions of Homes." In summary, the report finds that zoning and land-use regulations are slowing and restricting the building of housing. That's something we must look at closely at every level of government. In response to that report's finding, Heck said, "We have far too few homes. As a result, prices are being bid up, housing consumes an ever-increasing part of family budgets, and those without means are being forced into homelessness. We must recognize this as a crisis and find a way to change public policy to dramatically increase construction and build millions more homes."...If we think our more modest economy makes us immune to the serious challenges the Puget Sound market faces, we're being naïve. Taking action ahead of the curve is our only hope of mitigating the path we are on." - The Journal's View: Obtainable homeownership must become greater focus, Spokane Journal of Business, June 24th, 2018.

QUOTE TO NOTE
Stepping-up in Boise
"These strong numbers show what we've always known -- that Boiseans love their city and are excited about its success and its future. Boise is changing. Understanding how all of our residents feel about that is essential so that we can continue to manage our growth in ways that protect those things that make our city so special." - Mayor David Bieter of Boise, Idaho, commenting on results of on-line survey of residents which found that 92 percent of 504 respondents agreed that the overall quality of life in Boise while 85 percent agreed that the overall quality of city service "exceeds or greatly exceeds their expectations," May 30, 2018

QUOTEWORTHY
Inside a homebuilder's head
"My mom and dad got divorced when I was in third grade. When I was in high school, mom decided to build a house herself, without any knowledge. Of course, who would be better workers than my younger brother and I, supplying cheap labor. She's an extremely fearless woman. We helped out how we could, even though we didn't know what we were doing. I learned a little bit. Later, I worked for a little company delivering windows to the new houses, so I was around them. I went down to Riverside, California, to race motorcycles for a year. I worked on some commercial buildings dealing with glass. In my free time, I was attracted to the homes, and I went around looking at them. I read a few books. I couldn't afford the racing and I struggled over what I was going to do to make money to support myself. My mom decided to build another house in 1990. Since I had helped her on the first one, I decided to help on this one, too. I caught on to it really easily, so I went to work for a friend and built a couple of houses with him, framing...I borrowed my mom's tools and got a friend to help me and started a framing company and just started saving money. I was probably 20, 22. I built my first one on my own in 1992. It's still standing near Fairview and Five Mile. We worked sunup to sundown six-and-a-half days a week until we didn't have a job and kept saving." -- Corey Barton, president of CBH Homes of Boise, Idaho, in a conversation with John Sowell of The Idaho Statesman about how he became a homebuilder & is now Idaho's largest homebuilder & the 47th largest homebuilder in the United States last year, The Idaho Statesman, May 10, 2018.

WORTH A READ
Inside a builder's headaches
These days virtually every city of any size in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington has a shortage of affordable housing. And every city seems to have come to the same solution - build more affordable housing. Simple, right. Not so says The Bulletin's Janet Stevens who gives us her take on Pacific Crest Affordable Housing's efforts to build Coyner Hollow, 26 owner-occupied affordable homes available for purchase on the east side of Bend, Oregon.

WORTH A LISTEN
The cottage industry
The City of Juneau, Alaska provides $6,000 grants to help property owners build accessory dwelling units. The City of Kodiak, facing pressures on its housing stock created by an expanding U.S. Coast Guard base, created special zoning districts where the minimum lot size for such a unit is half the citywide minimum, reports KTOO-FM. And now the Anchorage Assembly has "significantly opened up the city's regulatory framework" governing backyard cottages & ADU's, including allowing them in areas zone single-family. Mayor Ethan Berkowitz supports the change, but the opposition is fierce. Hear why.

WORTH A WONDER
A case study?
The Portland Tribune's Jim Redden looks at whether - and why - the cost of building affordable housing in Portland, Oregon has become unaffordable is becoming less affordable & what, if anything, can be done about it.

JUST PUBLISHED
U.S. Treasury completes designation of Opportunity Zones under the f Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 for all states & territories...HUD economists publish regional report on housing, jobs & economic conditions in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington during first quarter of calendar 2018...FHA issues Mortgagee Letter 2018-14 concerning Annual Revisions to Base City High Cost Percentage, High Cost Area and Per Unit Substantial Rehabilitation Threshold for 2018, effective January 1, National Low Income Housing Coalition issues 2018 Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing report which estimates the "Housing Wage-the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home without spending more than 30 percent of his or her income on housing costs-for every state, county, metropolitan area, and metro area ZIP codes in the country...Urban Institute issues final report evaluating King County Housing Authority's Student and Family Stability Initiative launched in 2013 to promote housing stability & economic & educational opportunity of homeless or housing unstable families...Spokane, Washington Mayor David Condon takes a "mayoral minute" to explain how the City's CDGB-funded homebuyer program, Inland Empire Residential Services & aspiring "builders-to-be" transform dilapidate house into one family's piece of the American Dream...The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University publishes State of the Nations' Housing 2018 showing "some improvement in the nation's housing market but much that has worsened"...Terner Housing Center at University of California at Berkeley study reports that housing stability provided by Low Income Housing Tax Credit-assisted housing allows "residents to improve their work prospects & invest in their own& their children's education" Washington State Housing Finance Commission issues May issue of Kim Herman's My View newsletter focusing on "Affordable Homeownership in Washington State: Is It Still Within Reach?"...U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness publishes Strengthening Systems for Ending Rural Homelessness: Promising practices & Considerations...USDA launches 4-part WealthWorks video series on its community-driven approach to economic development...HUD's Office of Public & Indian Housing issues Notice PIH 2018-10, Procedural Guidance for Tribal HUD-VA Supportive Housing Renewal Grant Applications

NOTES TO NOTE
HHS's Substance Abuse & Mental Health Administration sets July 16th deadline for community health centers to apply for a total of $350 million for investments i "in personnel & one-time infrastructure enhancements to enable health centers to address immediate barriers they have faced to implementing or expanding SUD(Substance Use Disorder) & mental health services"...HUD sets July 18th deadline for Tribal & Native Alaskan governments & Native American organizations to apply for a total of $12 million in Healthy Homes Production Grants for Tribal Housing funds...USDA sets July 20th deadline for qualified non-profits to apply for Household Water Well Grants to establish loan funds to assist low & moderate individuals with loans to cover the costs associated with household wells the own or will own...Council on Environmental Quality sets July 20th deadline to submit suggested revisions to the implementing regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act...HUD sets July 24th deadline for public housing authorities to apply for $30 million in Family Unification Housing Choice Vouchers...HUD sets July 30th deadline for public housing agencies, Tribes & resident associations to apply for $35 million in Resident Opportunity & Self Sufficiency funds...HHS Substance Abuse & Mental Health Administrations sets July 30th deadline to apply for $15 million in Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Planning Grants of $75,000 each to the highest-risk rural communities to "develop plans to implement opioid use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery interventions designed to reduce opioid overdoses"...EPA extends deadline to July 31st to apply for Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act...HUD sets August 2nd for state, local & Tribal governments to apply for a total of $212 million in Lead Paint Hazard Reduction grants...National Endowment for the Arts sets August 9th deadline to apply for Our Town creative placemaking grants...Washington State Department of Commerce sets August 9th deadline for Tribes & non-profits to apply for Building Communities Fund grants to cover up to 25 percent of capital costs of acquiring, constructing or rehabilitating nonresidential community & social service centers...HUD sets August 15th deadline for 26 Tribes currently receiving Tribal VASH - Veterans Affairs Support Housing - vouchers to seek renewal funds...Washington State Department of Commerce sets August 15th deadline for early childhood education providers, local governments, Tribes, community developers others to apply for $15.5 million in Early Learning Facilities grants to "expand, remodel, purchase, or construct early learning facilities and classrooms necessary to support state-funded early learning opportunities for low-income children"...HUD sets August 20th deadline to submit comments on its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on possible amendments to HUD's 2013 final rule implementing the Fair Housing Act's disparate impact standard...HUD sets September 13th deadline to apply for $2.1 billion in funding to assist community-wide efforts by Continuums of Care to prevent & end homelessness...HUD sets September 17th deadline to appl for up to 5 Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants...Department of Labor sets September 18th deadline to apply for some 85 YouthBuild grants of between $700,000 & $1.1 million...Alaska Housing Finance Corporation sets October 5th deadline to apply for Special Purpose GOAL funds.

COMING UP

RurALCAP hosts 35th annual Rural Providers Conference, July 9th to 13th, Tanacross, Alaska. Visit

Washington State Housing Finance Commission hosts Tax Credit Fundamentals Workshop, July 10th, Seattle, Washington. Visit

Idaho Department of Commerce & Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority host Northwest Community Development Institute, July 9th to 13th, Boise, Idaho. Visit

Washington State Housing Finance Commission hosts Advanced Tax Credits Workshop, July 11th, Seattle, Washington. Visit

HUD's Office of Housing Counseling hosts Webinar on the relationship between HUD-certified housing counselors & public housing agencies & their residents, July 12th, on-line. Visit

HUD hosts Prevailing Wage Compliance Workshop for government contract administrators, July 18th, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Visit

Oregon Affordable Housing Management Association hosts Annual Rural Development Workshop, July 18th, Salem, Oregon. Visit

Oregon Business & Rural Community Assistance Corporation host Water & Wastewater System Infrastructure Financing Workshop, July 19th, Winston, Oregon. Visit

Meyer Memorial Trust hosts Webinar presentation of its One Million Months of Affordability request-for-proposals, July 24th, on-line. Visit

CASA of Oregon & Office of Rural Farmworker Housing hosts 2018 Farmworker Housing Conference, July 25th to 27th, Hood River, Oregon. Visit

Oregon Affordable Housing Management Association hosts Fair Housing Trends & Hot Topics Workshop, July 25th, La Grande, Oregon. Visit

Meyer Memorial Trust hosts Webinar presentation of its One Million Months of Affordability request-for-proposals, July 30th, on-line. Visit

Washington Affordable Housing Management Association hosts Webinar on Develping a Top-Performing Team, July 31st, on-line. Visit

Idaho Affordable Housing Management Association hosts Key People Skills for Property Management Staff, July 31st, on-line. Visit

HUD Idaho hosts Prevailing Wage Compliance Workshop for Contracting Agencies, August 8th, Boise, Idaho. Visit

Tribal Planner & Western Planner Conference, August 5th to 8th, Ft. Hall, Idaho. Visit

HUD Idaho hosts Prevailing Wage Compliance Workshop for Contractors, August 9th, Boise, Idaho. Visit

Rural Community Assistance Corporation hosts Outreach & Well Assessment Workshop, August 9th, Caldwell, Idaho. Visit

Oregon Affordable Housing Management Association hosts Conquering Compliance with Multiple Housing Programs Workshop, August 14th, Salem, Oregon. Visit

Washington Affordable Housing Management Association hosts Webinar on Waiting List Management, August 15th, on-line. Visit

Oregon Affordable Housing Management Association hosts Conquering Compliance with Multiple Housing Programs Workshop, August 16th, Lincoln City, Oregon. Visit

Oregon Affordable Housing Management Association hosts HOME Investment Partnership Workshop, August 22nd, Grants Pass, Oregon. Visit

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