On April 30, United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya visited NAYA Family Center as a part of his twelve-day mission to the US as an independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council to report on the rights of indigenous peoples.

Youth, elders and community members, met with Mr. Anaya to share their concerns as Portland’s Native community and the unique challenges indigenous peoples face in the urban setting.

At the end of his mission, Mr. Anaya will hold a press conference in Washington, D.C., at the United Nations Information Centre and present the visit’s findings in a forthcoming session of the Human Rights Council.

For more information on Mr. Anaya’s US consultations, click here.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the Veterans Administration, has awarded Home Forward another 60 special vouchers to help veterans who are experiencing homelessness.  The VASH vouchers are paired with services with a goal of supporting veterans in their efforts to reestablish stable lives.

The award brings the total VASH vouchers Home Forward has received since 2008 to 305.  “We are pleased to have a strong partnership with the Veterans Administration on behalf of our vets who have done so much to help our country,” said Jill Riddle, director of Rent Assistance for Home Forward.  Riddle said the agency’s success in putting VASH vouchers to use is a result of the partnership, program support from many community partners who work with veterans, and Home Forward’s decision at the urging of those partners to tap Moving to Work deregulation authority to help participating veterans pay security deposits.

Learn more about the voucher award>

Two modifications help renters in a tight market

The Portland metro area’s hot rental market means rising rents, fewer vacancies, and more competition for a place to live.  Home Forward has made two changes to make it easier for participants in its Housing Choice Voucher program to find a home with their Section 8 voucher.  The first provides more flexibility with a landlord who prefers shorter leases: the agency now will accept six-month initial leases in addition to 12-month initial leases, which offer greater stability.

The second change involves increasing payment standards – the maximum subsidy a voucher can provide – for one and two bedroom units in areas that have become much less affordable.  The new payment standards make a wider range of rental choices available to Section 8 participants who wish to live in inner central Northeast, inner central Southeast, Northwest, and downtown Portland.  They will not be available in census tracks within those areas that have poverty rates above 20%, to encourage housing choices in areas with lower poverty.

Learn more about the program changes>

“New court connects homeless, services,” Portland Tribune, 4/22/12

[Ed. note: this story is unique because of its innovation, but also interesting because of the implications for reducing people's barriers to gaining affordable housing]

On May 4, Multnomah County makes community court history when it opens the first courtroom in a homeless facility.

Every Friday afternoon, the Bud Clark Commons in Old Town — which features a temporary shelter, a day center and 130 permanent apartments for the chronically homeless — will also host community court Judge Alicia Fuchs presiding over a docket of cases featuring homeless men and women arrested for street crimes.

Officials hope bringing the court to a place familiar to many of the defendants will lower the “failure to appear” rate. For the people who provide services at Bud Clark Commons, the Friday courtroom is just one more in a series of novel efforts aimed at attacking homelessness.

Click here to read more.

Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation celebrated the grand opening of the 13-unit, $2.9 million Cascade Meadows Senior Apartments, “the first and only senior housing development in Cascade Locks.”

Below is a story on its development from Housing Development Center:

Cascade Meadows: A short-term infusion of cash keeps a senior housing development on track, on time.

Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation (CCHC) provides affordable housing to communities in Oregon and Washington’s mid-Columbia region, a five-county area stretching across 7,200 square miles. One of these communities is Cascade Locks, a 1,100-person city located 30 miles east of Portland, known as a gateway for river traffic as well as for visitors driving to and from the scenic Columbia River Gorge.

In 2010, CCHC partnered with the City of Cascade Locks and a group of local residents to plan and develop the community’s first housing project designed for low-income seniors. Composed of three four-plex structures, along with a fourth building occupied by a manager’s unit and community room, Cascade Meadows will provide 14 affordable apartments for elderly households earning 50% or less of area median income. Located near downtown Cascade Locks, the project offers residents the opportunity to live independently with easy access to shopping, health services, and other amenities.

By early 2011 Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation had procured more than $3 million in loans and grants to fund land acquisition and construction of Cascade Meadows. But two major federal awards, a Community Development Block Grant and a HUD 202 grant, were being held up. To close these grants, worth $1.89 million, and to qualify for ongoing rent subsidies associated with them, CCHC needed to complete due diligence work. This would require a short-term infusion of cash to cover architectural services, an archeological survey, a soils analysis, and other expenses.

The HDC Community Fund came to CCHC’s aid with a $131,552 loan. The six-month low-interest loan paid for CCHC’s remaining due diligence expenses, triggering the release of the two federal grants and enabling construction of Cascade Meadows to commence. CCHC repaid the loan on time, allowing the HDC Community Fund to recirculate the capital to other nonprofit borrowers. But the best result of all is still to come: In spring of 2012, 12 low-income senior households will have a safe, affordable place to call home.

Did you know that there are enough children experiencing homelessness in Clackamas County to fill 44 school buses every day?

Northwest Housing Alternatives, Inc.’s Annie Ross House is the only family shelter in Clackamas County. Watch this great video to learn about how they helped one mom and her children and disabled mother escape homelessness, gain affordable housing, and change their lives.

Northwest Housing Alternatives, Inc. has a gorgeous new donated website – check it out!

from Neighborhood Partnerships enewsletter, 4/25/12

On Wednesday, April 11, Governor Kitzhaber signed into law SB 1552, which provides homeowners facing foreclosure with new tools. This monumental legislation will address the overwhelming tide of foreclosures and financial insecurity which has been threatening to permanently undermine the foundations of our state.

The legislation is just the first step – now it’s time to implement the law and help to create a system which will make all these pieces work together for the benefit of homeowners and Oregon communities.

While the task is large, Neighborhood Partnerships, the Housing Alliance, and advocates are confident we can do it and that we can make it work well for homeowners. This important legislation gives homeowners facing foreclosure the right to mediation, access to better information and protection from “dual track” processing. The new foreclosure law has the potential to positively impact thousands of homeowners across Oregon, and help stop the negative effects of foreclosure on our communities, our economy, and our state.

Together, we can create a system that fully utilizes the policy changes and dollars from the national Attorneys General settlement to benefit homeowners in need of assistance. You can read more about the details of this law and the system here.

Lake Oswego City Council Foothills Meeting Summary; Thanks to Three Non Profits Who Submitted Comments, Tom Cusack, Oregon Housing Blog, 24 Apr 2012 10:17 PM PDT

Three Non Profits Submitted Pre Meeting Comments to the City Council on Need for Affordable Housing

Before the meeting several non profits provided comments to the City Council on the need for affordable housing as part of the Foothills development plan.

A BIG thank you to the three non profits who I am aware of who took the time to submit comments (HERE) prior to the meeting:

1. Enterprise Community Partners.
2. REACH Community Development, Inc.
3. Housing Land Advocates.

At the Meeting 

I will provide a link to the Council meeting video at a later time but below are my quick observations from the meeting.

Observations from the meeting:

1. By 4-3 members agreed to proceed with Option B.
2. There was significant discussion about affordable housing at the meeting. Members discussed whether social equity concerns/affordable housing provisions would increase the likelihood of receiving transportation funding; the need to assess costs of affordable housing in financial feasibility assessments moving forward, and the need to move forward on long delayed policy on requiring affordable housing in urban renewal districts.[There was no assertion at the meeting that statewide inclusionary zoning prevented adoption of affordable housing requirements in urban renewal districts].
3. Next steps include finalization of a pre development agreement and framework plan by mid June and (by end of year) approval of urban development district; approval of code amendments; and approval of development agreement.

Not mentioned at meeting: 

In looking at ECONorthwest financial feasibility analysis (p.2) posted late on Monday it appears to me that there is a significance difference in  the count of total housing units (2,614 units) vs what appears in table 2.2.2 of the April 19, 2012 Foothills Revision Process memo (1,594 total housing units).

The upshot may be that my projected need of 458 affordable rental units affordable <60% MFI may be understated. I will be exploring reconciliation of the two different total unit counts with city staff in the future; 35% of total rental units affordable <60% MFI remains my goal for Foothills.

For the fifth consecutive year, JOIN has received a 4 Star Rating from Charity Navigator for sound fiscal management.  That puts us into the top 4% of charities rated!

LEARN MORE >>

Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), held its 3rd annual Early College Academy Luncheon this past Thursday, to a sold out audience of community supporters and friends. We are happy to announce that this was our most successful luncheon to date—raising over $63,000 for our school and students.

The event included the generous establishment of a $7,000 scholarship fund from Portland Community College and a $1,800 Emergency Student Fund raised at our very first student art auction.

The NAYA Early College Academy provides our students with a culturally relevant education and the resources and supports necessary to succeed. The Academy boasts an impressive retention rate with over 90% of our students returning each year while also maintaining the highest graduation rate for Native youth in the city with 88% of our students obtaining their high school diploma.

We are grateful for the unyielding support of our community sponsors and generous donors. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our youth!

Many Habitat For Humanity supporters who give financial gifts and spend countless hours swinging hammers wish they could give even more, but feel that there is just no more room in the family budget. With Planned Giving, Habitat supporters are able to make larger gifts than they ever thought possible.

And on a Spring morning in March, Barbara Casey arrived at the Rivergate Commons dedication ceremony in Portland to share a story about her best friend, Armanda Pinto, who left a Planned Giving gift to Habitat.

“Social Justice was not just a word for Armanda, it was a call  to action,” said Barbara. “She always took the side of people working for rights and dignity. To her, all work was valuable and there is no greater work than to provide a home for your family.”

Armanda cherished her home more than anything, remodeling it all by herself. Her home was where she enjoyed her art and projects and it was where her best memories were made. When Armanda passed away she provided a gift to Habitat in her will as a meaningful way to create a memorial that would help other families also feel the joy of owning a safe, stable home.

Barbara will never forget the joy in the six families eyes as they were handed keys to their homes, thanks in part to the generosity of her best friend, Armanda.

“I will never forget Armanda and now there is a wonderful part of north Portland that will be surrounded by homes that she helped to build,” said Barbara. “She would be humble and yet she would be proud that Rivergate Commons is part of her legacy.”

If you would like to learn more about Planned Giving opportunities, please contact Erika Read at via email or call 503-287-9529 x16.

Home Forward has called on the talents of Michael Buonocore to fill the number two staff position left open by Anita Yap’s resignation earlier this year.  Michael most recently directed resident services activities.  During the years he led policy and planning efforts agency-wide, he spearheaded the development of the agency’s strategic directions and was the architect of its groundbreaking Rent Reform program, successfully launched this month.  In addition to his Home Forward experience, he was associate director at Sisters Of The Road, a Portland non-profit serving people who are homeless.

Home Forward resident Benita Legarza will be able to put her passion for social justice to work on the agency’s Board of Commissioners.  A single mother of four, Benita worked to put herself through college and will earn a bachelor’s degree in Administration of Justice from Portland State University this year.  She is a member of Home Forward’s Resident Advisory Committee and the National Low Income Housing Coalition and volunteers for the National Law Project.

Learn more about Benita’s appointment>

[Ed. note: Ok, is there a new rule that all new Home Forward appointments must be fabulous, or what?]

The Plan is published! http://nwhousing.org/about-us/images/NHA%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf

from St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, Inc. enews, April 25 2012

The kids are grown, Leo has passed, and Marie Bishop has left the ranch and moved to St. Vinnie’s Aurora Building where her outlook is fabulous and the neighbors bowl her over on a regular basis.

Read more.

Enter the Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) Raffle! Refer and Register New Members  April 30 through June 15, 2012, and Enter to WIN!

1st Prize is an $80 Toshio Acupuncture gift certificate
2nd Prize is an $80 Massage gift certificate from Lyn Hughey, LMT
3rd Prize is a $50 Fred Meyers gift certificate

Why enter the Raffle?

CAT is the only grassroots organization led by and for tenants in Oregon. We strive to ensure all renters have stable homes. Because we are a tenant-led member organization, tenants direct, sustain and support CAT in all of our work.

By referring new members and/or renewing your membership, you strengthen the collective voice of tenants in Oregon to demand just housing practices.

 How do I PLAY? It’s really easy!

1. Share information with friends, family, and neighbors about CAT’s important work.

2. Register NEW members online at www.oregoncat.orgor call Justin at 503-460-9702 ext. 2 if you would like to sign up by phone or by mail.

3. Your full name needs to be provided on the form at “Referred by”. If new members sign up online, your name must be added to the “Designate” contribution box. Without knowing who to thank, your information can not be entered into the RAFFLE.

4. Once the form and dues/donation are received either by mail or online, CAT will then process the information and referrals for the Raffle drawing.

5. The more new members you refer, the more chances to WIN!

Winners will be called or emailed by mid-July, 2012 and
Announced in the July CAT email newsletter, website and Facebook page.

GOT Questions? CALL Justin Buri at 503-460-9702 ext 2

Community Vision was awarded $52,000 by CASA of Oregon to continue their Individual Development Account (IDA) program in 2012-2013.  Organizations across the state were notified of their allotment in April.

Community Vision remains one of the (if not only) organizations offering IDA’s exclusively for people with developmental disabilities.  The organization uses strengths-based, person-centered, individualized supports that empower people to live and work independently.

Community Vision will now be able to offer IDA accounts for home rehab and repair.

“This is a natural extension of our programs and we are thrilled to offer this opportunity to our community, said Development Director & Homeownership Coordinator of Community Vision, Rebecca Miller.

Participants with disabilities or who have a household member with a disability may use the funds to improve access, remove barriers or make accommodations that create access for the person with a disability.  They can also be used to eliminate health and safety hazards, correct code violations, replace or upgrade major housing system and provide other repairs as necessary for weatherization.  The allotment allows for 6-10 new savers this year.

In addition to home rehab/repair, CVI will continue to offer IDAs for homeownership, microenterprise, and adaptive technology.

[Thank you for this wonderful success story from Families Forward/Housing Works!]

by Kelly Fisher, Home Ownership Manager

When Jessica applied for housing assistance, she had a nine month old baby and another one on the way.  She was in a rocky marriage and could barely scrape up enough money to pay her rent.  Housing became her life support.  Because of the rental assistance, Jessica was able to get out of a bad marriage and start working toward becoming independent.

When Jessica joined the Family Self-Sufficiency program she was excited about everything it had to offer but she didn’t think she would ever be able to purchase her own home.  Jessica lined out a plan of action to pay off debt, strengthen her credit score and find full-time employment.  During her participation on the FSS program, Jessica did all of these things and then realized that she could buy her own home.  She completed home buyer education, got approved for a mortgage loan and is now the proud owner of her own home.  Through her hard work and dedication, Jessica accumulated over $10,000 in her escrow savings account and has released her housing assistance.  She plans to use the money for improvements to her new home and for an emergency savings account.

Congratulations Jessica!

If, as a housing and community development professional, you need to keep abreast of all things creepy and crawly, then this is the enewsletter for you.

The first-ever installment of Pioneer Pest Management‘s enewsletter has useful articles on bed-bug sniffing dogs, how to identify the most destructive ants, and what the mild winter will mean for the Cascadia bioregion’s rodent quota. (In fact, I found it fascinating reading just from a tenant perspective, but then I really hate free-loading critters in my house, so I like to know what the enemy is getting up to!) It also has coupons and other offers.

To receive the emails, contact Katie at Pioneer Pest Management.

In honor of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, staff will remind bar-goers of their rights

In recognition of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Catholic Charities Project UNICA visited area nightclubs hosted “Nights of Consent” April 19 and 20.

Project UNICA staff greeted patrons at club entry points and use a stamp reading, “Consent is Sexy” to promote and engage them in prevention of sexual assault.

“It’s important for people to know that without consent for sexual contact, it is rape.  We are all responsible for keeping night clubs safe environments where women don’t have to guard their drink or feel threatened,” said Project UNICA Program Manager Karen Janes. “Between 1 and 3 and 1 and 5 women have been sexually assaulted in their life time and alcohol is the number one rape drug.”

Project UNICA staff hosted “Nights of Consent” at the following locations:

• Thursday, April 19 at Andrea’s Cha Cha Club, located at 832 S.E. Grand Ave. in Portland, from 10 p.m. to close
• Friday April 20 at Casa Colima, located at 6319 S.W. Capitol Hwy. in Portland, from 10 p.m. to close

Catholic Charities El Programa Hispano Project UNICA (a New Beginning to End Abuse) assists Spanish-speaking individuals and families affected by domestic violence and/or sexual assault through a variety of advocacy services, support groups and a 24-hour bilingual crisis line. Survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence may call 503-232-4448 or 888-232-4448 for help anytime

Cassiel Thom created a poster for April’s Fair Housing Month that was judged the best in Oregon in 2011. And then she did it again in 2012, with a poster that was chosen by judges out of 335 entries.

Whether you’re doing business in the county courthouse in Hood River or the post office in Prineville, Cassiel’s winning artwork will likely be there as a reminder of what neighborhoods look like when fair housing practices are in place. And what better person to interpret the concept than Cassiel, who lives with her mother and grandmother in a duplex run by the nonprofit organization, REACH Community Development, Inc. REACH serves a diverse community of low-income residents in Portland. Some are disabled. Some are elderly. Some are children. And they come from a rich variety of racial and ethnic heritages.

Every April for the past 14 years, as one way of honoring Fair Housing Month, the Fair Housing Council of Oregon runs a statewide poster art contest, open to students in grades one through eight. The challenge given to these students is to draw an interpretation of what fair housing means to them, after learning a little bit about the laws and beliefs behind the idea. This year the poster topic was “Fair Housing Welcomes Everyone Home.”

The judges were eight volunteers from the government and nonprofit sectors, as well as local artists. They must have been amazed to discover that Cassiel’s poster was the winning one two years in a row.

United Nations family

I had a chance to talk with Cassiel, a student at Portland’s Metropolitan Learning Center, after City Commissioner Nick Fish signed the Fair Housing Proclamation at City Hall last week. It didn’t take me long to realize that Cassiel’s ability to symbolize fair housing in words was as astute as it was on paper. One of her metaphors stuck with me. It was about eating. “If you’re a picky eater and you only eat tomatoes,” she said, “you are really limiting yourself.” “If you can eat and digest all foods, you’re open to all things in the world.” Her grandmother, also present, wasn’t surprised at Cassiel’s comment. “We’re a United Nations kind of family,” Margie Thom said.

History lesson

During our conversation, Diane Hess, outreach and education director for the council, brought up a fact that is hard to fathom in 2012 but true. Before 1998, landlords were free to say, “We don’t want kids living in this community .” About 70 percent of landlords actually said this openly to potential renters. Fortunately, such discrimination is illegal now, as is any type of discrimination related to renting or purchasing housing based on “protected class status.”

Even so, people in the housing business still dodge the law, and FCHO exists to protect the public against exclusionary housing practices. The council receives 3,000 to 4,000 calls a year about possible civil rights violations of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. About 10 percent of those calls are lodged as formal complaints and are taken to the next level. Some result in fines or court judgments against the offenders or as settlements to the victims.

Find out about the other artistic students whose poster art was recognized this April by FHCO.

Roseburg resident Cynthia Swinford, a service manager at Wells Fargo in Roseburg, was the company’s top volunteer in Oregon and southwest Washington in 2011. Swinford volunteered more than 1,500 hours last year, mostly for the nonprofit Battered Persons Advocacy (BPA) group in Roseburg.

Wells Fargo held an appreciation luncheon in Portland on Tuesday, April 10, to honor its top volunteers from last year.  Regional President Don Pearson hosted the event, attended by about 80 of the 124 Wells Fargo employees who volunteered at least 125 hours in 2011.

Pearson presented basketballs autographed by Portland Trail Blazers to the top 20 volunteers, including Swinford. She has volunteered for BPA since 1998. She helps staff the agency’s crisis line seven days a month.

“They helped me and I felt strongly connected with them,” she said. “I believe that if you have a skill or compassion to pay it forward and help somebody, it helps the community and it helps the person. I do as much good as I can.”

Swinford also volunteers for the American Cancer Society and the Greater Douglas County United Way. She has worked at Wells Fargo for almost four years. She said the appreciation luncheon on Tuesday “was awesome.”

“I got to meet a lot of great people and I felt really proud to represent Southern Oregon,” she said. “Working at Wells Fargo is more than just coming to the branch. It’s good that Wells Fargo gives us time to volunteer. I’m really grateful to be here.”

Part of the Culture

Volunteerism and community support are part of Wells Fargo’s culture, said Pearson. Wells Fargo’s employees volunteered 73,518 hours for hundreds of schools and nonprofit agencies in Oregon and southwest Washington in 2011. Based on the value of a volunteer’s time (estimated by Independent Sector), those hours are equivalent to a $1.57 million donation.

Wells Fargo employees across the nation volunteered 1.5 million hours to 25,000 nonprofits and schools last year.

“We realize we will only ever be successful as the communities where we operate,” Pearson said. “We expect all of our team members to be community leaders. They help us determine how we should respond to community needs.”