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NeighborWorks Katrina Grants Reach $1 Million; More Than 600 Familes Housed
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Just weeks after the devastating hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast, the NeighborWorks network is setting up technical centers, partnerships, and providing a diversity of housing options in order to get people out of shelters and into permanent housing.
To date, NeighborWorks America has made grants totaling just under
$1 million to 18 local organizations to support their emergency relief work. Three mobile RV offices have been donated for the hardest hit organizations in New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi.
NeighborWorks organizations have housed more than 600 families and dozens of individuals. Over 1,100 families have received counseling and case management services, in addition to food, clothing and medical referrals and/or allotments. Currently, NeighborWorks organizations are working diligently to create housing solutions for thousands more. In addition:
- NeighborWorks America, Enterprise Corporation of the Delta and other partners have created a revolving loan fund to provide victims with emergency personal loans.
- Building on past collaborations with NeighborWorks, Sears is delivering $85,000 worth of appliances to NeighborWorks organizations in Louisiana and Mississippi.
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| Fed Katrina Resources: www.nw.org/katrina |
| For information on how federal agencies are responding, including IRS, FEMA, and Treasury, visit www.nw.org/katrina. This page, which includes many useful links, is updated frequently. For example, Tips for Hurricane Katrina/Rita Victims Seeking Assistance [PDF]. |
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| Urban Planners Convene for Gulf Coast Rebuilding |
| Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour invited urban planners from around the country to spend six days in Biloxi working with local leaders to create a plan to rebuild and improve the region’s coastal towns. The work of the forum’s 200 participants can be seen on the Mississippi Renewal Forum’s Web site. Additionally, the conference was covered by the Washington Post and other news media. |
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| Community
Strategies represents the shared experience of NeighborWorks
America and its member organizations in various topics
of community development and affordable housing. |
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| The
NeighborWorks Training
Institute is dedicated to providing the highest quality training
for community development practitioners. Learn about the latest
classes and symposia on leading-edge topics. |
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| NeighborWorks America produces a wide variety of publications. Most
are free and others cost a nominal fee to order. For a complete
listing and order forms, go to NeighborWorks Publications. |
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| Houston NeighborWorks Organization Converts Old Hospital into Affordable Rentals |
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Avenue Community Development Corporation, a NeighborWorks organization in Houston, recently completed a $6.2 million makeover of an abandoned charity hospital for affordable rental housing. Some of the 34 units for low-income residents are housing Katrina evacuees from New Orleans.
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| New $50 Million LIHTC Fund Aims to Increase Rental Homes for Native Americans |
| A new $50 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund seeks to increase the supply of affordable rental homes on Native American reservations, reported multi-housingnews.com. The fund was launched by Raymond James Tax Credit Funds Inc., Wells Fargo Community Development Corporation, and Citibank Community Development. View article on KnowledgePlex. |
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| San Jose NHS Helps Homeowners Prepare for Possible Earthquakes |
| Neighborhood Housing Services of the Silicon Valley, a California NeighborWorks organization, has partnered with San Jose’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative and San Jose State University engineering students to help homeowners prepare for a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The program, called Emergentes, offers homeowner education on emergency preparedness, housing maintenance, and strengthening neighborhood connections and involvement. In addition, engineering students provide free home inspections of foundations, walls, and water heaters.
The idea for the program, according to the Mercury News, came from residents who attended a NeighborWorks Community Leadership Institute. “They wanted to come up with a program for their community that they felt would improve their neighborhoods,” according to Cecilia Rios, NHS’s community outreach specialist.
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| New Hampshire Speech: Turning the Bear Inside Out, and Other Small Miracles in Rural Community Economic Development |
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David Dangler, manager of the NeighborWorks Rural Initiative, spoke recently at Southern New Hampshire University, where NeighborWorks partners with the university's Community Economic Development program. He talked about changing what he called a "commonly held perception that a given rural community is not a good place to invest." He suggested that while outside agents can definitely play a role, and leadership is always key, the fundamental perception must come from within and be held by the community. View Dangler speech.
To help practitioners "see more clearly through the rural lens," Dangler said NeighborWorks has designed a dozen new rural courses for the NeighborWorks Training Institutes and will offer a national symposium called The New Rural America: Partners and Progress, December 7, in San Francisco.
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| NeighborWorks America Receives Close to $2 Million in HUD Grants for Housing Counseling Services, Voucher Programs and Anti-Predatory Lending Efforts |
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NeighborWorks America has received almost $2 million in HUD grants to provide counseling and voucher services.
The grants, totaling $1,970,440, will go to three areas: comprehensive counseling for prospective homeowners and renters; voucher programs to allow low-income individuals to use Section 8 rental vouchers to purchase homes; and consumer education on how to avoid predatory lending practices. In addition to funding provided directly to NeighborWorks America, $799,874 in grants was allocated to 18 affiliated NeighborWorks organizations around the country.
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| Living Cities: Sign-on Letter to Congress and Administration Ten Points to Guide the Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast
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Living Cities: The National Community Development Initiative has endorsed support of a set of principles to guide the efforts of both Congress and the Administration with regard to rebuilding the Gulf Coast, and is urging community development practitioners to join them in a sign-on letter. The following link contains Ten Points to Guide the Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast Region [Word file] and a list of the community development organizations that have joined so far.
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| AARP Foundation Offers Grants for Hurricane Relief, Including Housing |
| The AARP Foundation will make grants of up to $100,000 to nonprofit and governmental organizations assisting older victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes with health, long-term care, housing, employment, transportation, legal, or other services. Application information |
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| 'Building Community Amidst Diversity' Small Grant Program, October 31 |
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The Association for the Study and Development of Community has
a small grants and capacity-building program, funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, to help understand and promote the value of diversity in neighborhoods or other communities. Cooperative agreements of up to $20,000 are available to community and neighborhood groups, nonprofit organizations, local governments, and local foundations. Application information.
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| HUD Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), November 7 |
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SHOP is for activities such as land acquisition and infrastructure improvements for self-help housing. Grants average $15,000 in assistance per dwelling with up to 20 percent for administrative costs. For more information, contact Dorthera_Yorkshire@hud.gov.
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| NeighborWorks Training Institute, December 5-9, San Francisco |
| Widely recognized as the premier source for community development training, the NeighborWorks Training Institute offers a comprehensive range of courses and an unequaled opportunity to learn from experts and peers.
Save $50 when you register for the training institute in San Francisco by the early-bird registration deadline, October 24. After October 24, regular registration fees apply.
This institute features 24 new courses, including two focused on rural development and four “green” courses promoting environmentally-friendly and healthier communities. Register.
Join us on Wednesday, December 7 for The New Rural America: Partners and Progress. This symposium will explore cutting-edge development work happening in rural communities across the United States. Check out symposium details.
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| 2005 Enterprise Network Conference, November 9-11, Washington, D.C. |
| "Changing Communities in a Changing Landscape" is the theme of this year's Enterprise Foundation conference. Featured speakers include Denis Hayes, president of The Bullitt Foundation and organizer of the first Earth Day; Elsie Meeks, executive director of First Nations Oweesta Corporation, and Jim Wallis, author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. The conference also features more than 45 workshops for community developers, site visits, affordable green workshops and policy briefings. To register visit www.enterprisemeetings.org. |
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| Save the Date for the NeighborWorks Training Institute, February 20-24, Atlanta |
Of Special Note: The Wednesday symposium, Youth Matters: New Voices Energizing Community Development. Read more. [PDF]
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| Call for Presentation Abstracts for CDS Annual Conference Due October 31 |
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The Community Development Society is calling for presentation abstracts for its annual conference, June 25 – June 28, 2006, in St. Louis. Learn more.
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Affordable Housing in High Cost Areas, November 29-December 1,
Honolulu, Hawaii
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| This conference, sponsored by Rural Community Assistance Corporation, will focus on strategies to overcome barriers to affordable housing in high-cost areas. For more information, visit www.rcac.org. |
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| Socially Responsible Investors and Community Investing, November 3-4 |
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is sponsoring a conference focusing on socially responsible investment. It will feature an exchange between socially responsible investors looking for investment opportunities and CDFIs seeking capital. Learn more.
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| Housing Rehabilitation Section Built on NeighborWorks Web Site |
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A new Housing Rehabilitation section on the NeighborWorks Web site, www.nw.org, contains articles and best practices on this important neighborhood revitalization strategy. Rehab work includes renovating community eyesores, carrying out a broad-scale program of home improvements, and introducing 'green' technologies that save energy and reduce a resident's utility bills. Today, there are at least 150 rehab strategies used in the NeighborWorks network. Articles in the Web site section range from stories of successful rehab efforts to advice from technical experts.
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| New Report: Improving
Insurability
Through Rehab —
How Insurers Benefit from the
Housing Rehabilitation Efforts of
NeighborWorks Organizations |
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Insurance companies have a vested interest in communities and homes that are safe and secure. Through their successful but underutilized housing rehabilitation expertise,
NeighborWorks organizations seek to improve the quality of older, unsafe and/or vacant and abandoned properties in the communities
they serve. VIEW [PDF, 2.39 MB]
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| Report Focuses on Post-Katrina Poverty Strategies in New Orleans and Elsewhere |
Two new reports from The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program suggest ways the federal government can best invest in the recovery of the New Orleans region and address pockets of poverty found in other cities around the country.
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| NeighborWorks Winning Strategy: Manufactured Housing Initiative in Tennessee |
Affordable Housing Resources of Nashville, Tennessee, has begun using manufactured housing development as a means of providing affordable housing for lower-income families in rural Tennessee. View Winning Strategy from our large database of best practices.
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