February 2011 Region III News

Dear Friends and Partners:

As the new Regional Administrator for the Mid-Atlantic States, you will be hearing from me regularly through this newsletter, about what we’re doing at HUD that makes a difference in the communities you live in, work and/or serve. This publication will offer regular updates on the work and the issues in which HUD is involved, both in our region and nationwide.

For those I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, let me share that I’ve committed much of my life’s work to housing and community development in both the public and private sectors. I’m committed to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan’s Strategic Plan goals which include: 

• strengthening the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers;
• meeting the need for quality affordable rental homes;
• utilizing housing as a platform for improving the quality of live with a place based approach;
• building inclusive, sustainable communities free from discrimination; and
• transforming the way HUD does business.

In order to meet those goals, I want to help build a sense of community among our partners here in the region. We need to work strategically, and together, towards building inclusive sustainable communities. Taking that a step further, I’m sitting down with mayors, and other elected officials from counties, rural townships and suburban boroughs to find ways to resolve the barriers they face to build safe, decent and affordable communities that are sustainable over the long term. I want to engage our faith-based and community partners to help identify those who are in need of housing. Some of our veterans who are homeless are fed and sheltered through these groups. Our nonprofit organizations fill the gap providing housing counseling and other services to advise those who seek help renting, buying a home or trying to avoid foreclosure. And I know all too well coming from the Delaware Community Foundation that our philanthropic partners find donors and provide funding for projects sometimes when no one else can.

Now that I’ve shared a little information about myself and my goals as Regional Administrator, I want to follow up on my commitment to keep you informed about what’s happening at HUD. Secretary Shaun Donovan will provide an overview of the President’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal on Monday, February 14th at 1:45 p.m. I’d like to
extend an invitation to you to join the 2012 HUD budget briefing via webcast on Monday, February 14, 2011, starting at 1:45 p.m. Access the webcast. We hope you will join us.

While the budget process moves forward, Secretary Donovan has asked us to embrace a place-based approach in serving our communities. Instead of just providing funding for housing, he believes our job is to provide tools to help communities to identify their specific needs and challenges. Once those have been identified we can provide
technical assistance to help address them. It is important that we keep the lines of communication open to share ways we can work together to build a sustainable community with a holistic approach. With today’s declining resources, we must work together to find solutions and to be creative and innovative in pooling our resources to provide a better quality of life for communities across this region and the nation. Feel free to contact me or others here in Region III if you need assistance or want to share a best practice from your community that can serve as a model for others. Here are the numbers and addresses for our field offices across the region. 

• Pennsylvania
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• Virginia
• West Virginia

If tweeting or blogging is your means of communication, we welcome your input via the Mid-Atlantic twitter account and our HUDdle blog. In the meantime, I’d like to share some information about steps we’re taking to help end homelessness, bolster the economy, create jobs and stabilize our neighborhoods.  

Helping the Homeless

The snow storms across the Mid-Atlantic region the last week in January served as the backdrop for the point in time count of the homeless population in municipalities across our region. Thousands of volunteers conduct this one-night count to document trends in homelessness that are needed for local planners to prevent and end homelessness in their areas. The frigid cold and the blanket of white forced many of those living on the street to seek shelter, food and assistance for homeless providers. Read my “Homeless Count Reveals Compelling Stories” blog.

Just a week before the point in time count, HUD issued grants to help keep families, children, and individuals off the streets. The Mid-Atlantic Region got a total of $154 million in homeless funding to help 463 programs. Find information on your state funding and the local programs that will benefit from those monies on HUD's website.

Stand Down for Homeless Veterans

Recipient of HUD’s boot donation

Across the Region, HUD offices participated in Stand Downs to help service homeless veterans from their respective jurisdictions. In Washington, HUD representatives from the D.C. Field Office were on hand at the 17th Annual Winter Haven/Stand Down at the D.C. Veterans Administration Medical Center at 50 Irving Street NW. Over 500 homeless veterans from the greater metropolitan area showed up for the special event. Many were seeking housing, employment, clothing and other supportive services as well as Veterans Affairs claims and benefits information. Field Office employees had collected new
boots and shoes for the veterans which were distributed at the event. 

The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki, Veterans Affairs Secretary, and HUD’s Community Planning and Development Office Director Frances Bush provided assistance with housing referrals and new boots and shoes, for female and male veterans, collected by employees at the HUD D.C. Field Office.

Meanwhile, in Richmond, a Homeless Veterans Summit was held on Thursday, February 4, 2011 to follow up on the commitment of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and the “Opening Doors” Federal Plan for ending Homelessness. The summit’s goals were to begin to build the service and support infrastructure that will end homelessness among veterans by the end of 2014. There was agreement for cross-agency and cross-discipline collaboration, both within and outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to effectively accomplish the goal.

HUD Recovery Act Dollars Making an Impact

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding is creating jobs and will reduce energy costs at an 86 unit apartment complex in Baltimore, MD. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and state and local elected officials highlighted the Assisted Housing Green Retrofit Program $1.5 million funding for the Poppleton Phase II apartments
and the impact it will have on the community at large.

Secretary Shaun Donovan, Chris Foster (lf), President, Hampstead Partners, Inc.; Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, 7th District of Maryland, discuss the Westside redevelopment of Poppleton Cooperative with Michael Bodaken (R), President, National Housing Trust.

In Hagerstown, MD, the housing authority is using $9.8 million in ARRA funding to build a 60 unit elderly affordable housing center on 45 West Baltimore Street. The facility, named the C. Williams Brooks Building, is on track for completion by June 2011.

Stabilizing the Neighborhood One Home at a Time

HUD and the Habitat for Humanity of Delaware County, PA are partnering to build three new housing units in Chester, PA. The vacant property between 8th and 9th Streets is being transformed with the help of $468,000 in HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program 1 monies.

Chester Mayor Wendell Butler, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Power Windows & Siding Executives cut the ribbon on the new company headquarters.

New homes are going up in Chester and business is expanding for the oldest city in the Commonwealth. Power Windows & Siding opened its new corporate headquarters at the historic Wharf at Riverton. The fourth largest home remodeling company cut the ribbon in January on its new company headquarters and is ushering in hundreds of new green, housing-related jobs both locally in Chester and the surrounding area and nationally. Northeast Building Products is Power’s sole window manufacturer and long-time partner. The Philadelphia family business was highlighted in the President’s State of the Union address last year for expanding its employee rolls after HUD Recovery Act
funding stimulated their business. The success of Power Window and Siding is attributed in large part to the Administration’s energy tax credit for homeowners coupled with the stimulus funding Northeast Products received and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Discretionary Fund Grant. The company is currently adding hundreds of jobs with a focus on green products and energy efficient, environmentally friendly home solutions for a more sustainable future. Power has doubled its workforce since 2007 with 600 full-time employees and is projected to more than double again with in the next three years. A newly revitalized Chester is now home to Power’s innovative, mixed-use office and retail project located against a 90-acre waterfront site on the Delaware River. 

In the News

HUD Reports 20 Percent Jump in "Worst Case Needs" from 2007 to 2009

Obama Administration Releases January Housing Scorecard

FHA Extends “Anti-Flipping Waiver” To Help Stabilize Housing Market

A Fair Look at Public Housing

New One-Stop Website For Economic And Housing Data

HUD's Innovation Lab Will Bring Together Resources, Tools And Techniques

Application Deadlines

Applying for Sustainable Communities Building Block Program? Deadline is February 23, 2011

Applying for the 2011 HUD Student Temporary Summer Employment Program Announcement (May - September)? Deadline is February 28, 2011.

Save the Date

The Starting and Strengthening Health Centers Conference in San Antonio, Texas from March 17-18, 2011 is intended to bridge the gap between housing and health, to bring together Housing Authorities and health centers for a shared dialogue and learning experience designed to build the capacity in communities across the nation to meet the needs
of public housing residents. This event, strongly supported by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will feature Ronald T. Ashford, HUD's Director of Public Housing Supportive Services, as well as nationally recognized experts in housing and health, who can work with you to develop strategies to better link your residents with the
care they need to live healthy, productive lives. Contact Alex Lehr O'Connell, the event organizer, with any questions at alex@chpfs.org, or at (215) 731-7141.

Did you know?

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You can interact with us on the HUDdle blog (http://blog.hud.gov/). We want to hear your thoughts and ideas.

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