The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) was awarded a perfect score in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP). The 100 percent rating makes the FCRHA a “high performer” under the SEMAP system for FY 2012. The FCRHA has earned high performer status for many years running. Click here to read the full article.
Mosi Harrington, the founder and former executive director of the Housing Initiative Partnership, retired recently after 24 years as an advocate and a leader in the field of affordable housing for low income families. Under her leadership, the focus of the organization she helped create evolved to meet the ever-evolving housing issues of the people she served. The Housing Initiative Partnership was one of the first counseling organizations to recognize – and respond to – the foreclosure crisis.
The CityLIFT program is a collaborative effort between Wells Fargo, local nonprofits and NeighborWorks America. It includes down-payment assistance grants, and home-buyer program support in 2012, along with a five-year home mortgage purchase lending goal focused on supporting efforts to stabilize housing markets with neighborhoods that have been deeply affected by foreclosures. CityLift held an event for the metro area on October 5 and October 6 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The event was very successful, and provided hundreds of residents on the path to sustainable homeownership in Washington, D.C. and Prince George’s County. Key highlights of the event included 1354 appointments filled, where home ownership opportunities were explored and $7 million provided in down payment assistance in Washington, DC/Prince George’s County with $20,000 in individual grants.
Above Photo: Left to Right: Ron Carlee, 2012 APAH Honoree, ICMA; Rita Bamberger, APAH Chair, The Holladay Corp.; John Shooshan, 2012 APAH Honoree, The Shooshan Company; and, Nina Janopaul, President/CEO, APAH.
Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) honored Affordable Housing Award Recipients Ron Carlee, former Arlington County Manager and COO of the International City/County Managers Association (ICMA) and John Shooshan, President and CEO, The Shooshan Company for their contributions to end homelessness and increase affordable housing in Arlington at the APAH Annual Fundraiser on October 2, 2012.
The City of Alexandria approved $250,000 in pre-development funds to move forward with AHC to build a 77-unit affordable apartment complex at the intersection of East Reed Avenue and Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1). The building will include one, two and three-bedroom apartments and serve families earning 60% or less of the area median income (AMI). A final plan will be submitted to the City at the end of 2012.
On September 24th, the Washington, DC Local Initiatives Support Corporation (DC LISC) released a new book entitled Becoming What We Can Be: Stories of Community Development in Washington, DC. The new book, Becoming What We Can Be, marks DC LISC’s 30th Anniversary and features nine trailblazers who have had a significant, lasting impact in community development, along with 16 chapters on the transformation of Washington, DC neighborhoods. Infused in the chapters are the voices of 60 oral histories from elected officials, staff of nonprofits, bankers, philanthropists, developers and others. The book is available in hard copy and online through Kindle, Nook and iPad.
The Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force 2012 will hold host a Public Forum on November 14, 2012 from 6-9 PM. The purpose of the Public Forum is to hear from the public regarding affordable and market rate housing in the District. The goal of the Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force is to help city leaders ensure the creation of more affordable housing for residents of the District of Columbia. For more information visit www.taskforce2012.org. Those who wish to testify should contact Allison Ladd at (202) 777-1634 or aladd@dchfa.org, and provide your name, organizational affiliation, and title of organization by 5:00 PM on Thursday, October 18, 2012. If you should need sign language interpretation or language interpretation, please note this when signing up to testify.
A unique partnership between Arlington County and the Arlington Community Foundation, in collaboration with Arlington nonprofits, will provide housing and services to some of the county’s most vulnerable homeless persons. This is a key strategy for implementation of the Arlington County 100 Homes Campaign. This campaign is part of a larger, statewide initiative 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Homeless Virginians, led by the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. With the Department of Human Services and Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, 83 individuals have been identified in greatest need and efforts are underway to provide housing and supportive services. Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) announced their participation in this initiative by providing 10 apartments at very low rents. The partnership will provide $1 million to underwrite rents of $556 per month for households earning no more than 30% of area median income. The units will remain affordable at this level for the next 30 years. Additional funds will create a Rental Reserve to further reduce rents for persons coming out of homelessness.
