Organization Spotlight: Manna Food Center

Last Wednesday, I volunteered at a wonderful nonprofit organization in Montgomery County. The Manna Food Center strives to eliminate hunger through food distribution, education, and advocacy. On Wednesday, Manna focused its volunteers on preparing Thanksgiving food packages for over 400 families.

The organization's Food for Families program feeds approximately 3,300 Montgomery County families each month. Through Manna's Agency Food Distribution program, the organization also provides food to dozens of agencies including soup kitchens, food pantries, group homes, and emergency shelters. For the past 5 years, the organization has focused on the healthy eating habits of children through its Smart Sacks initiative which partners Manna, businesses, and elementary schools to provide children with backpacks full of kid-friendly foods every Friday so they have food on the weekends when there are no school meals to sustain them.

This is a great nonprofit to volunteer with; the staff is friendly and the work is fun. Moreover, there is a desperate need for volunteers as food distribution centers have become swamped by demand. Food insecurity is on the rise due to the economy, and food distribution centers are seeing a huge increase in those that they serve as a new demographic of society becomes eligible for assistance. Over 50 million Americans are considered to be "food insecure", and a recent survey from the Food Research and Action Center found that almost one in five Americans struggled to afford food for themselves and their families over the past year.

Food Banks Swamped by Demand, Washington Post

GO Zone PIS

If you watched Treme on HBO this summer and were met with complete frustration as Albert Lambreaux protested against the closing of a major public housing project complex known in actuality as “Lafitte”, then this story is for you.

Without going into the complexities of why the “HANO Big 4” (the four large public housing complexes owned and operated by the Housing Authority of New Orleans) were shut down and demolished after Hurricane Katrina, the fact is that two of the HANO Big 4 projects, B.W. Cooper and Lafitte, are still in dire straits and sitting in limbo due to Congressional inaction.

After Hurricane Katrina, Congress approved Gulf Opportunity Zone tax credits (GO Zone) as an incentive for investors to direct funding to the hardest hit areas on the Gulf Coast. In order for the investors to claim their tax credits, their projects have to be placed-in-service (PIS) with a
certificate of occupancy (CO), meaning that tenants are allowed to move in, by December 31, 2010. It is no secret that the market for real estate development and the economy in general have been dismal since 2008; consequently these projects were left on the drawing table and never started due to a lack of interest from investors. Although it may not seem like it, investors are now starting to return to the tax credit market and they want to invest in these projects. However, in reality there is no way to get these developments ready for tenants by the end of the year, thus rendering the GO Zone incentives program useless.

In B.W. Cooper and Lafitte alone, there are 840 units to be lost or gained. In total throughout the Gulf, that number is estimated at 2,080 mixed-income units.

Congress needs to approve a two-year extension of the GO Zone PIS deadline (December 31, 2012) in order for these projects to be invested in and completed. While investors are coming to the table, developers will not start building until the deadline is extended because the finances without the tax credits are unfeasible.

The GO Zone PIS extension is currently being considered as a part of S. 3793 the Job Creation and Tax Cut Act of 2010, also commonly referred to as the “tax extenders” bill. The tax extenders bill has fallen victim to the Senate gridlock that has plagued the Congress throughout the 111th session.

Making sure that these public housing projects are delivered to those affected by Hurricane Katrina over 5 years ago is a bi-partisan issue, and is part of a promise the nation made to the Gulf Coast. Contact your Congressional Representatives.

Times-Picayune Article

The State of New Orleans Five Years Later

On Thursday, August 26, the Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery held a Field Hearing at Chalmette Elementary in Chalmette, Louisiana. This Field Hearing was titled “Five Years Later: Lessons Learned, Progress Made, and Work Remaining from Hurricane Katrina” and Subcommittee Chairman and Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu wrote this opening statement to be read preceding testimony. The statement touches on: the failure of the Federal Government, flood protection, FEMA reform, housing recovery, education reform, city planning, the rise of nonprofits, etc.

Notable guests will testify at the field hearing including Secretary of HUD Shaun Donovan, Former, ED of Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Paul Rainwater, Administrator of FEMA Craig Fugate, and Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu.

Click Below for Tesitmony:

Paul Rainwater

Craig Fugate

Mitch Landreiu

Green Homes and Sustainable Communities

Last week I attended the 5th Annual IPED Conference on Green Homes and Sustainable Communities. This conference brought together over 200 industry leaders in affordable housing and sustainable building to discuss new ways to push the envelope on energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and smart sites. Affordable housing is trending more and more towards being energy efficient and developers are generating significant financial, health, and environmental benefits for their projects and tenants. (Agenda)

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan was the keynote speaker. Secretary Donovan said that developing greener buildings and more sustainable communities is the cornerstone of President Obama’s vision for our country. Over the next several weeks, HUD will be finalizing a comprehensive energy action plan that they hope will build on the momentum of Green Retrofit Program created by the Recovery Act (ARRA). Because of the Green Retrofit Program, “private owners of assisted multi-family housing are on their way to retrofitting more than 20,000 units of HUD-assisted housing through HUD’s first one-stop national energy efficiency green retrofit program targeted at improving the performance, heath, and long-term stability of our aging multifamily portfolio.” (Speech) (His Blog Post Regarding the Event)

Developers presented of-the-minute projects that are on the cutting edge of green and affordable housing. These projects were offered as solutions to the one big question which was raised throughout the entire conference: How do you make developing green affordable multi-family housing financially feasible?

The Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. However, the way the program is written, it does not work well with the purpose (typically building multi-family units) of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (federal subsidy that has been used to build 90% of affordable housing stock). For example, one conference participant stated that through WAP, she was able to get funding for energy efficient windows, however, not for the scaffolding to install them.

The take away: Although their are solutions to financing green affordable housing, DOE and HUD need to come together to cut the red tape on this issue and allow the developers and tenents of affordable multi-family housing to experience the financial and health benefits of energy efficient buildings.

Sunflower Gardens, Improving New Haven Communities

Mattie Stevenson, a West Haven, CT resident, was awarded a $50 “Seeds of Encouragement” grant from Community Gardens as Appleseeds in order to create a sunflower garden. To Mattie, who feels that gardening is a healing experience, the Sunflower Windmill Garden is the first step toward establishing a strong community in the Hill neighborhood.

Neighborhood Housing Services on New Haven employee RJ Mercede, who is seen in the above picture helping Mattie sow her seeds, obtained the grant for her.

Kevin Ewing, who has gotten involved with Sunflower Windmill Garden through the Neighborhoods of Choice program, says that a garden is a great way for the residents in a community to work together to uplift their community without bringing in outside organizations. He says that the Sunflower Windmill Garden is a great starting point for the Hill neighborhood.

Article from the New Haven Register

Event Spotlight, Hope CDA

Today, I want to spotlight the Hope Community Development Agency (Hope CDA) in Biloxi, Mississippi and their event Phenomenal People Celebration of Healing.

This event, which will take place August 21-29^th, is an opportunity to remember the Mississippi Gulf Coast tragedies, showcasing triumphs and focusing upon joint hope for the future. The week-long event culminating on the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, includes a Gala at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, concert by Rob Thomas, the Coastal Torch Relay, Prayer Brunch, and much more.

Hope CDA has done a great job in uniting community leaders, businesses, and individuals from across the Gulf Coast, and I want to recognize them for the wonderful work they do in their community everyday.

Downtown@700-2nd

Downtown@700-2^nd recently had its grand opening in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The development, a 72-unit $13 million green affordable rental community, is home to formerly homeless persons, those with special needs, retirees and low-wage workers, as well as market-rate residents.

Opened in March and now 90 percent full, Downtown@700-2nd provides fully-furnished units to residents, and has a cafe, community garden and on-site space for service providers. The property is pedestrian friendly with links to bike routes, buses and the Rail Runner commuter train. Government offices, public library, restaurants, shops, services and several of Albuquerque's largest employers are within walking distance.

The Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico (SHCNM) is the state-wide non-profit organization that developed and owns Downtown@700-2^nd. SHCNM’s mission is to prevent and reduce homelessness and to increase the quality of life for people with behavioral health issues in New Mexico by creating affordable, supportive housing in partnership with local communities and member agencies.

The City of Albuquerque donated the land for this site and was funded through the Workforce Housing Trust Fund, the Mortgage Finance Authority Board, and Enterprise Community Partners among others.

By partnering with other public and private actors, SHCNM was able to give the city of Albuquerque a great project for its citizens. Downtown@700-2^nd would have been an impossible undertaking for a lone non-profit organization. Having a community-based non-profit organization spearhead this effort, made it possible for the community to rally around an innovative, and somewhat controversial project. Through creative financing and alliance building, SHCNM was able to make their dream a reality.

Press Release