# Presentation: 241824

## Community Housing Plans:  An Opportunity for Advocacy

- Presented by:
- Ann V. Denton
- The Enterprise Foundation
- 512.458.3200

## Assessing Need

- Sources of data:
- State of Oregon Survey
- Advocacy organizations
- State Consolidated Plan
- Local Consolidated Plans
- Public Housing Authorities
- Service providers (including homelessness network)

## Assessing Need

- Sources of data:
- Also, you can assess need in your community for a specific purpose.
- Consult allies regarding data they may have, as well.

## Assessing Need

- Personal Stories
- are an excellent way to “bring home” the need
- are one of many ways to include advocacy organizations
- can help you obtain press coverage of the need for housing in your community

## Assessing Need

- Use of fact sheets and press releases:
- After you have assembled data, it is valuable to create fact sheets and press releases.  Having these items on hand can allow you to respond quickly to opportunities to get the word out.

## Assessing Need

- Use of newsletters
- Don’t forget to include your fact sheets and press releases in a wide variety of newsletters.

## Community Planning: Planning Advisory Committees

- The state mental health authority is required to conduct a planning process annually in order to receive Mental Health Block Grant funds.

## Community Planning: Planning Advisory Committees

- The Mental Health Block Grant report and application is overseen by the Planning Advisory Committee.

## Community Planning: Planning Advisory Committees

- The PAC must include consumers and family members.
- This is an opportunity to address the issues of housing and homelessness.

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- The Consolidated Plan is the community’s plan for affordable housing and community development activities.
- The Consolidated Plan is the community’s application for funds in these categories.
- The Consolidated Plan lays out performance measures for the community in these areas.

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- The Consolidated Plan is an application for the following funds:
- Community Development Block Grants
- Emergency Shelter Grants
- HOME Program
- Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- The Consolidated Plan describes need, including an analysis of the housing market, describes the community strategy to meet need, and describes planned resource allocations.

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- The Plan must:
- estimate housing needs (for 3 or 5 years)
- describe “priority” housing needs
- estimate housing need by income category and family type
- distinguish between renters and owners
- describe housing needs of people with disabilities and HIV/AIDS
- describe homelessness and community strategy

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- Sometimes, communities overlook the neediest households.

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- Sometimes, communities target ALL of their resources to people just at or under the HUD definition of low income.
- Or, communities choose to assist people in obtaining home ownership rather than to assist renters.

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- Low Income households are defined by HUD as at or below 80% of median family income.  This varies by community.
- In contrast, people on SSI (disability income) make less than $7,000 per year.  People who are homeless may be making even less.

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- Review the current Consolidated Plan for your community.
- Does the plan include targeted resources for those most in need?
- Does the plan discuss homelessness?  Housing needs of people with disabilities?
- Does the plan share resources between renters and home owners?

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- If you discover that your current Consolidated Plan does not meet the needs of the lowest income households in your community, here are some things you can do:
- provide data on the housing needs of your group
- provide examples of successful housing projects that can be copied

## Community Planning: The Consolidated Plan

- Know what to ask for!  Examples -
- A Fair Share of available resources for people who are most in need.
- Targeted resources to the lowest levels of income
- Tenant based rental assistance.

## Community Planning: The Continuum of Care

- The Continuum of Care is a locally based
- planning process designed to create a
- continuum of services, supports and housing
-  that will enable homeless people in your
- community to exit homelessness.

## Community Planning: The Continuum of Care

- The planning process should be inclusive of
- all stakeholders:
- People who are or have been homeless
- City leaders, other decision makers
- Service providers
- Housing providers

## Community Planning: The Continuum of Care

- Your community must have
-  “**one**, well-coordinated”
- planning process.

## Community Planning: The Continuum of Care

- An effective Continuum of Care Planning
- Process is the basic minimum requirement
- for a competitive application to HUD for
- assistance under the McKinney/Vento Act.

## Community Planning: The Continuum of Care

- What can you apply for?
- Supportive Housing
- Shelter Plus Care
- Single Room Occupancy

## Community Planning: The Continuum of Care

- Each community is encouraged to have a
- Continuum of Care planning process.  HUD
- has an organizational goal of 100% of
- affected communities will participate in this
- planning process.

## Community Planning: The Continuum of Care

- The planning process should be year round,
- with intense activity occurring in preparation
- for the SuperNOFA submission.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- Public Housing Authorities (as of 2000) must submit a five year plan to administer public housing and the Section 8 program.
- Just like the ConPlan, the PHA Plan must be updated annually.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- The plan must include a description of housing needs in the community served by the PHA.
- The description must include the housing needs of people with disabilities, including people with mental illness.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- The PHA Plan will tell you
- 	whether or not the PHA has designated their public housing units “elderly only” or if people with disabilities are eligible for public housing.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- The PHA plan will tell you
- 	if the PHA has designated public housing units as elderly only, the plan must tell you how the PHA plans to obtain additional Section 8 vouchers for people with disabilities.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- The PHA plan will tell you
- 	If people with disabilities are allowed in public housing units, the plan will describe eligibility, tenant selection and admission policies.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- The PHA Plan must be developed with the input of a Resident Advisory Board.
- Membership on the Resident Advisory Board includes residents of public housing units and current Section 8 recipients.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- In addition to the Resident Advisory  Board,
- the PHA plan must also have at least one
- public hearing prior to submission to HUD.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- Opportunities for advocacy include recruiting a sympathetic member of the Resident Advisory Board.
- Remember this can be a current recipient of Section 8.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- Opportunities for advocacy include educating your group about the PHA plan and presenting information at the public hearing about the needs of people with disabilities.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- What to ask for?
- A Fair Share of resources in this plan means a specific number of units or Section 8 vouchers designated for people with disabilities.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- What to ask for?
- A Fair Share in this plan includes PHA participation in the Mainstream Housing resources annual competition.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- What to ask for?
- A Fair Share here includes the planned use of Section 8 resources to help low income families achieve home ownership.

## Community Planning: Public Housing Authorities

- What to ask for?
- A Fair Share includes ensuring that PHA operations explicitly plan for the participation of people with disabilities.

## Community Housing Plans:  An Opportunity for Advocacy

- Find your friends
- Coalition for the Homeless
- Affordable Housing Task Force or similar group
- Consumers Union
- Local housing non-profits
- Friendly agency staff and/or key public officials
- Anti-poverty, anti-hunger organizations
- Service Providers

## Community Housing Plans:  An Opportunity for Advocacy

- Get involved
- Gather the information that will be needed in these processes - make friends with the planners!  Form alliances with other like minded folk.

## Community Housing Plans:  An Opportunity for Advocacy

- Have _accurate_ information on the need for
- affordable housing in your community.
- Good sources of information include:
- www.nlihc.org
- www.tacinc.org
- www.c-c-d.org
- www.hud.gov

## Community Housing Plans:  An Opportunity for Advocacy

- Educate yourself about issues (poverty, disability, homelessness) and learn the housing language
- Attend public hearings, provide written comments, involve your friends.