Inspired by CLI, teens open ‘clothing closet’ to fight bullying

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

Bullying is painfully common on school campuses everywhere – with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that one in four high school students are victimized, and more than two-thirds are witnesses.

Among the frequent victims are children from low-income families who can’t afford to dress in “trendy” clothes. That’s particularly a problem for the immigrant farmworker families served by the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation (CEDC), whose children must attend school alongside wealthier students in California’s Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Patty Suarez (left) talks to a local radio reporter.

“Bullying often starts when someone judges your appearance,” says Patty Suarez, an 18-year-old who lives in one of CEDC’s 22 rental communities. “Like, I saw one girl get harassed because she wore knock-off boots. So the kids in my youth group decided to do something about it.”

Youth engagement is a core focus of CEDC’s community-building program. The organization has nurtured a youth-leadership group at each of its rental properties,  with activities ranging from lobbying the city council for better access to mass transit in their neighborhood to a mural-painting project that brought together different generations within families.

“We ask the youth what they care the most about – what they like doing, what they think needs improvement in their community,” says Juliana Gallardo, a community building manager who first joined CEDC in 2009 through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. “Then we help them focus on an activity they choose.”

In 2013, CEDC’s community-building team worked with youth leaders at the organization’s Villa Cesar Chavez property to start an anti-bullying campaign, including “flashmobs” to raise awareness at local events, after participants began reporting problems at school.

“My parents couldn’t pay for new clothes, because they have to pay for so many other important things, like food,” Vanesa Palomar told a local newspaper, describing how fellow students snickered at her worn garb. “Sometimes one of them would get laid off, or they wouldn’t have work for a few days. They worked really hard, but it wasn’t enough.”

A group of CEDC youth visited another organization
that sponsors an anti-bullying teen clothes closet in a
nearby town.

Suarez’ group at the Fillmore Central Station Apartment property soon joined in. Then, CEDC took the youth on a field trip to an organization in nearby San Luis Obispo that had developed a unique response to the same challenge: a “closet” of donated, fashionable clothes for youth who couldn’t afford them otherwise. They decided to start their own version of the project, which they call PACT (“providing accessible clothing to teens”).

To help the teens develop the organizational skills they would need to initiate and operate the program, CEDC sent the team to NeighborWorks America’s Community Leadership Institute last October.

“It was pretty cool to meet older people who are so interested in helping communities. More people care than I thought,” Suarez recalls. “They were surprised to see kids at the conference. But they were very welcoming.”

The trip to the conference in Sacramento helped give the teens the confidence to launch the project, and they began visiting yard sales as well as soliciting donations via community flyers and social media. “The response was so great that we literally filled up the back of a large truck,” says Gallardo. “And the donations keep coming in.”

The youth sort the clothes; any items that aren’t appropriate are given to a local homeless shelter or other charity. In January, the PACT teen closet opened in the community room of the Fillmore apartments. However, the complex is five blocks away from the school, and the youth want its services to be available to everyone in need under the age of 18 living in Ventura County – not just their building’s residents. So, PACT is re-locating to the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring room at the town high school – complete with an open house on April 12. Open twice a week for two hours each day, PACT is totally run and staffed by the students -- offering an ideal exposure to the skills required for entrepreneurship, with plenty of opportunity for job training.

 “We’re even partnering with a local organization that places students age 16-21 in internships. PACT will be a host site,” says Gallardo.

According to Suarez, PACT has become so popular that it has taken the “sting” out of wearing second-hand clothes. PACT clothes are cool!

Redefining ‘renters vs. owners’ to ‘neighbors’

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

Surveys show wide disparities between perceptions of renters vs. homeowners – some based on reality, and others that are not. Many of the problems could be alleviated, however, if more programs encouraged neighbor-to-neighbor social connections, rather than owners to renters.

That’s the aim of programs like NeighborCircles, sponsored by Lawrence (MA) CommunityWorks. The concept is simple: Residents recruited as “circle hosts” invite five to 10 neighbors – ideally from homes they can see from their own yards – to a series of three dinners over the course of a month, designed to both connect them to each other and unite them in a common project to improve their community.

“In 2008, about 75 percent of the houses in our neighborhoods were at some point in the foreclosure process. A lot of people left the community,” explains Spencer Buchholz, director of network organizing for Lawrence CommunityWorks. “I’d say that today, about 80 percent are renters, mixed in with the original homeowners.”

At one NeighborCircles, participants trace on a
map their families' journey to Lawrence, MA.

The first dinner, led by two facilitators trained by Buchholz’ team, is designed to build common bonds. The facilitators lead the group in an ice-breaker in which each person literally traces on a world map their family’s journey to Lawrence, MA. More than 70 percent of residents come from Latino immigrant families, originally from places as far flung as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. “They tell each other how and why they got to Lawrence and what keeps them here,” explains Buchholz.

In the second and third meetings, circle participants discuss the quality of life in their neighborhood, the improvements they’d like to see and how they could join together in a project to accomplish one of those goals – whether it be a street clean-up, a petition to the city council to repair sidewalks or a meeting with the police department on neighborhood crime prevention.

“Our goal is to build social capital,” says Buchholz, adding that his team coordinates an average of about 12 circles a year – approximately 130 to date. “Now participants know who is across the street, and they can watch each other’s houses when someone is gone. It’s all about connection...finding common interests across the divide.”

The NeighborCircle concept is easy to adapt to other locales and situations, and Buchholz’ team has trained groups in states from Massachusetts to Arizona to implement their own.

Block club members work to improve neighborhood
conditions for children.

Taking a similar approach is Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, which works with community leaders (some of whom serve on the organization’s advisory council) to form block clubs, with leaders specifically trained to engage renters. One recent survey, for instance, found that while 61 percent of homeowners know their neighbors’ names, that’s true for only 39 percent of renters.

“Renters are usually not there permanently, and fixing up the property is the owner’s or manager’s responsibility. And they’re often not really encouraged to feel involved in any case,” explains Janece Simmons, neighborhood director for NHS of Chicago. “It’s the job of local organizations and our block club leaders to take a holistic approach in their outreach; after all, the neighborhood is where renters’ children walk and play too. They need to be included in planning activities like planning block club parties and improvement projects. Plus, for us, outreach is a great way to connect renters to the information and resources that can help prepare them to become homeowners someday.”

NHS of Chicago has been helping organize block clubs since 1975, and there are currently about 100 active groups in the Auburn-Gresham community, says Simmons -- many of which have been active for years. Representatives from each of the clubs meet monthly, giving new members the opportunity to learn from the “veterans,” as well as hear about grant opportunities, etc.

“Through the block clubs, homeowners have come to welcome renters’ involvement,” says Simmons. “And renters soon come to see that their participation makes a difference, for them and the community.”

Absentee owners often the root of ‘the renter problem’

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

It’s a common perception among homeowners that neighborhoods go downhill once too many renters move in. Anecdotes abound of rental properties with peeling paint, dilapidated porches and other problems.

However, says William Rohe, director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “there's a lot of research to show that rental properties are kept up as well as homes, and when they're not, it's usually the landlord, not the renter, who is to blame.”

In the wake of the housing crisis, large numbers of buildings whose owners were facing foreclosure have been bought up by investors – with little incentive to keep them in tip-top shape, given the demand for affordable housing.

“In Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA), there isn’t much incentive to improve property (among absentee owners), because they can still command high rents,” says Matt Huerta, executive director of Neighborhood Housing Services of Silicon Valley, a member of the NeighborWork network. “It’s a huge issue, impacting every neighborhood.”

Huerta echoes the complaints of many nonprofit housing professionals, but what sets his organization apart is that the group decided to help renters – and the neighborhoods – bring owners to the table through a mediation program. The idea blossomed three years ago when NHS sent a team of resident volunteers to NeighborWorks America’s Community Leadership Institute. The team was challenged at the event to identify and develop an action plan to address a pressing local challenge, and they focused in on absentee owners.

The result is the Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI), a program that provides a forum to which residents and neighborhood organizations can take complaints about neglected property and irresponsible tenant/landlord behavior. RLEI staff investigates the charges, then finds and contacts the owner -- inviting the company or individual to collaborate on a solution, or face the consequences.

“Half of the time, the owners plead ignorance,” Huerta says. “Others immediately admit to the problems and are embarrassed – or, at the other extreme, deny there is an issue. We emphasize support and collaboration, but there are options to force action if needed – ranging from small claims court or class-action lawsuits, to the city attorney’s office in the case of serious code violations.”

This is a before-and-after photo, showing the unsightly mess at one rental
home before RLEI intervened, and the cleaner look after.

To date, the RLEI has accepted 21 cases, and for all of them, some degree of success has been achieved, although a few have required more than a year to fully resolve. For example, owners have improved safety by installing surveillance cameras and sensor lights, reduced blight by implementing better trash pick-up procedures and repairing structures, become more responsive to community concerns by replacing property managers and initiating neighborhood-involvement programs. One recent example of an RLEI success story is featured in a video on the NHS website.

A large part of that track record is due to the broad-based involvement in the steering committee that runs the RLEI, including representatives from NHS as well as United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County (a coalition of more than 100 neighborhood groups), the Tri-County Apartment Assn., the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, the city council, the mayor’s office, the police department and the local housing department.

The program has proved to be so popular that when the original funding from a city re-development agency was cut back, the NHS of Silicon Valley self-funded it, supplemented by individual city council members and a NeighborWorks America Impact Grant to assist with training for capacity-building. However, a new infusion of funds is hopefully coming early this year from a major foundation.

“More funding will enable us to build an online toolbox and database, so the program can be a model for others across the country,” says Huerta.

The next blog post will explore innovative ways to bring renters and homeowners together as "just neighbors."

Is there truth to those renter stereotypes?

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

The national “ethos” that values homeownership over renting has a long history. On Dec. 2, 1931, for example, President Herbert Hoover said in an address to the White House Conference on Home Building and Homeownership, “[There is] the high ideal and aspiration that each family may pass their days in the home that they own…There can be no fear for a democracy or self-government or for liberty or freedom from homeowners, no matter how humble they may be.”

A white paper from the National Multi-Housing Council observes that today, its members encounter so much preference for homeowners that, “When an apartment community is proposed… local activists respond with NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) complaints so frequently that some have suggested a better acronym might be BANANA (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone).”

Every renter is different, of course, just as are homeowners. So some renters – whether they live in an apartment building or single-family house -- don’t take care of their living environment or interact with their community as much as is ideal. (The consensus seems to be that a critical determinant is whether the planned stay is temporary or longer term.) As for impact of rental housing on property values, it depends on a lot of factors, such as the number of units, the characteristics of the tenants and the nature of the owners and management. But the facts don’t support broad generalizations.

Most studies in this arena have focused on clusters of rental housing -- such as apartment complexes -- and on lower-income tenants, rather than on scattered, individual rental homes. But the findings offer plenty of caution about buying into negative stereotypes related to either quality of community living or property values.

For example, the Joint Center for Housing Studies found several years ago that apartment residents – who represent the highest-density renters – are almost twice as likely to socialize with their neighbors as homeowners, and are just as likely to belong to structured social groups and to closely identify with the town or city in which they live. (The one area in which apartment residents significantly lagged homeowners in this study was voting in local elections.) It’s true that other studies have produced data suggesting that homeownership is associated with a better social environment, such as a lower crime rate, improved educational achievements among children and greater involvement in neighborhood organizations. However, these studies typically don’t control for confounding factors such as chronic unemployment. The bottom line: The picture is clearly mixed, with data available for arguments on both sides.

As for property values, a Boston study by the MIT Center for Real Estate concluded that, “the introduction of large-scale, high-density mixed-income rental developments in single-family neighborhoods does not affect the value of surrounding homes. The fear of potential asset-value loss among suburban homeowners is misplaced.” A presenter to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies’ Revisiting Rental Housing summit agreed, writing, “The fear that housing density will hurt property values seems to be primarily based on anecdotes. By contrast, most research has come to a different conclusion: In general, neither multifamily rental housing, nor low-income housing, causes neighboring property values to decline.”

Bernadette Orr, director of community building for NeighborWorks America, observes, “Most of our groups that work at the neighborhood level deal with these stereotypes and the resulting challenges in one way or another. That’s why our groups have gone in the direction of helping to support neighborhood associations instead of homeowners associations.”

Of course, anecdotes of the negative consequences of “the renters” abound. Even some of the nonprofit housing professionals interviewed for this series had such stories to tell from their own neighborhoods. Whatever your point of view or experience, however, renters are here to stay. The demand for affordable rental housing – homes or apartments – is growing. According to a December report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, American households are increasingly turned to the rental market for their housing. From 31 percent in 2004, the renter share of all U.S. households climbed to 35 percent in 2012, bringing the total number to 43 million by early 2013.  And they aren’t just young adults just out of college; a third are between the ages of 35 and 54.

So what can be done to bridge the divide between renters and owners? The next two installments of this blog will explore innovative solutions from member organizations. Check back daily to read the rest of the series, or sign up (see box, right) to receive new posts directly in your inbox.

Survey shows chasm between renters, owners

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

Owning your own home is considered by many to be an essential element of “making it.”  In fact, a recent national survey commissioned by NeighborWorks America found that 88 percent of adults say homeownership is at least somewhat important to their definition of achieving the “American dream.”

However, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, more than a third (35 percent) of all adults in the country are currently renters. And the NeighborWorks America survey found that slightly more than half (55 percent) of renters are not intending to change that status – at least not now. I am one of them (both out of choice and necessity), and sometimes, with the strong U.S. cultural bias towards homeownership, it can feel a bit like being a second-class citizen – especially if you aren’t a 20-something fresh out of college, in which case everyone knows it’s just a matter of time.

Perhaps no other story in the media best captured this public ambivalence about renters than an Aug. 28 article in The New York Times, headlined “As Renters Move In, Some Homeowners Fret.” Writing about a neighborhood in which a growing number of single-family homes were being occupied by renters in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, the author wrote: “The decline in homeownership is changing many neighborhoods in profound ways, including reduced home values, lower voter turnout and political influence, less social stability and higher crime.”

The New York Times ran a second such article ("Homebuyers are Scarce, so Renters Take Their Place") on Dec. 5, quoting Atlanta-area residents who were alarmed at the news that a number of houses in their neighborhood were being rented rather than sold: “I can see three or four or five rentals in this neighborhood, but the whole community? I’m worried about my property value,” said one.

In the NeighborWorks America survey, nearly half (47 percent) of homeowners agreed (somewhat or very) that “neighborhoods are hurt when people who rent move in.” However, only 32 percent of renters said the same, and 81 percent described themselves as being as committed to their neighbors and community as they would be if they owned their residence.

So…what explains the gap in perceptions? And, how can we build more of a community between the two groups, so that we’re all neighbors -- not owners vs. renters? The next three blog posts will explore those questions. Check back daily for the rest...or sign up to receive new posts directly in your inbox!

Connecticut group trains renters and landlords to ‘bridge the divide’

Helping residents of its diverse community achieve homeownership is a core mission of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain (CT). In fact, the organization – which celebrated its 35^th anniversary this year – was chosen to participate in NeighborWorks America’s pilot program when it first started training housing counselors in 1982.

But homeownership isn’t feasible or the desired option for some people, and as Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reported this month, there is a growing shortage of affordable rental units. According to the report, the share of renters paying more than a third of their incomes for housing, traditionally considered the minimum threshold of affordability, rose to 50 percent in 2010. Much of the increase was among renters facing severe burdens (paying more than half of their incomes for housing) – a group now representing nearly 27 percent of tenants. 

That reality can be seen in central Connecticut as well. The area, which has a large population of Hispanic and Polish immigrants (giving the neighborhood around the organization’s office the nickname, “Little Poland”), has lost a lot of manufacturing operations over the years and now relies on service businesses for its livelihood. Unemployment is nearly 12 percent.  

The mission of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain is to help fill the gap in the supply of affordable housing – in part, through developing rental units, of which it now manages 25. The goal, says Executive Director Maureen Voghel, is to add 10 plus units annually for the next three years, along with two to four single-family homes. 

However, renting poses unique challenges – for both tenants and landlords. And while counseling is offered by many organizations for new homeowners, such training rarely is provided to people on both sides of the renting “equation.” NHS of New Britain is taking the lead by offering preparation classes for both existing and prospective renters and landlords.

“Sometimes, renters become landlords themselves,” observes Evelyn Branch, supervisor of Homeownership and Foreclosure programs for NHS. “It can make sense, once they are ready to purchase, to buy a multi-family unit – like a duplex – and rent out the extra space for some income. But becoming a landlord isn’t easy.”

Participants in the NHS-NB training class for landlords
hear from a police officer.

In the last year, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority began requiring landlords to receive education on their responsibilities, and with the closest alternative site a less-frequent program in Hartford, the NHS class attracts a regular attendance of about a dozen for each monthly, three-hour session.

The “Landlord 101” workshop, says Branch, covers everything from making the decision to purchase a rental unit and become a landlord, to how to screen tenants, maintain the property, manage their finances and – if necessary – evict residents in accordance with the appropriate protocols. Recently, the curriculum was supplemented to include the importance of green maintenance practices to keep costs low for everyone.

In October, NHS began offering a similar class, but for tenants. In the tenant class, participants discuss how to effectively communicate concerns to their landlords, ways they can bring down energy costs and their rights during eviction. In the future, NHS hopes to forge a partnership with other community-based organizations to provide legal services through pro bono attorneys to both tenants and landlords.

“It’s a two-way street,” explains Branch. “Both have rights, and both have responsibilities. But no one prepares them for that. Our goal is to help them build a good, professional relationship, based on open communication. ”

‘Aging in place’ transformed from dream to reality in Ohio

As with other communities across the country, the Rust Belt town of Springfield, OH, is aging. With high unemployment and the resulting exodus of young people, the population of the small town in southwestern Ohio is increasingly in need of affordable housing tailored to the needs of older individuals who want to stay in their communities, but need a little help to do so.

“Springfield is very segregated in terms of income,” explains Tina Koumoutsos, executive director of Neighborhood Housing Partnership (NHP) of Greater Springfield, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2013. “Most of the new development is on the north side, where the more affluent residents live. People in the southern neighborhoods don’t have as many options.”

NHP-GS is doing its part to change that, however. In 2011, it partnered with the City of Springfield to leverage funds from the second round of HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, created to assist communities whose viability is at risk in the wake of the wave of foreclosures. This funding, says Koumoutsos, was a “blessing. We had no debt to service, and could use the project instead to generate a revenue stream to invest back in our work.”

One year later, NHP offered 12 two-bedroom duplexes for rent, specifically for individuals age 55 or older who are making 50 percent of the area median income or less. In addition to reasonable rents, affordability is assured through green building practices that keep energy costs low.

“We designed these units with ‘smart growth’ in mind,” says Koumoutsos, who was the city’s housing coordinator before she became the founding director of NHP. “That means people and their special needs were our focus, not cars.”

For example, the new development was positioned to be “walkable,” with a YMCA, government offices and a performing arts center within easy reach. The property manager of the complex owns another, larger senior-service project and provides case-manager services to both developments, including recreational activities and transportation when needed.

Front porches (without steps, so people with disabilities
can easily access them) are main features of the new
walkable community for seniors.

In the units themselves, garages are positioned to the back of the homes, shifting the focus to front-yard porches where residents are encouraged to socialize with each other. The University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study, which is following more than 7,000 individuals, concluded that living in a neighborhood where you have strong social ties has as much physical benefit as not smoking.

In addition, the development was built with a goal of “zero steps.” Koumoutsos explains that NHP wanted the residents to be able to safely age in place, as well as to welcome disabled friends and relatives. That means no stairs that could become wheelchair obstacles, as well as special touches such as walk-in showers in the bathrooms and accessible kitchen cabinets. At the same time, however, the NHP team worked hard to make the look inviting, rather than institutional, and the second bedroom in each unit offers plenty of space for visiting children and grandchildren.

“All of the units filled almost immediately, and we have a waiting list of about 100,” says Koumoutsos. “We are in discussions now with the city about building more, since we own the adjacent land.”

“Impact” is what Koumoutsos and her team strive for. A recent study documented that in the last five years, NHP of Greater Springfield has contributed $43 million to the local economy, supported 74 jobs and generated $51 million in first mortgages.

“We used to have to struggle to make the case that providing affordable housing has an overall impact on the community at large,” she says. “Now no one questions it.”

Written by Pam Bailey, communications writer for NeighborWorks America.

Missouri group revitalizes neighborhoods with mixed-income housing and urban orchards

When we hear about declining downtown districts beginning to become trendy again, it’s good news. But there’s usually a downside: As property values shoot up, affordable housing becomes scarce and low-income residents are pushed out.

That’s the challenge faced by Kansas City, MO. And the Westside Housing Organization – a NeighborWorks member celebrating the 40th anniversary of its founding this year – is determined to assure that affordable housing remains central to the downtown community’s identity.

Westside serves a primarily Latino population, a demographic that first began making its way to the city in the 1920s and ‘30s for jobs with the railroad, explains Executive Director Gloria Ortiz Fisher, whose own family emigrated from Mexico. The organization was founded in 1973 to lead residents’ fight against the loss of their homes to two new highways. Although they lost that struggle, Westside (named for the neighborhood on the west side of the city’s downtown district) developed into a strong local advocate for residents, and is today the only community development corporation in Kansas City for which a significant focus is Latinos.

As the railroad declined, so did the town’s economy, with the West Side’s working-class residents finding employment in restaurants, hotels and similar, small, service-based businesses. However, that all changed in 2009 when the Sprint Center – an indoor arena for concerts and other entertainment -- was built downtown, followed by a host of other attractions.

“The West Side is now a desirable place to live again,” says Fisher. “There are new businesses coming in and lots of creative artist types. Our focus is to make sure affordable, multi-family housing remains in the mix.”

Westside is headquartered
in a renovated firehouse,
rehabbed to green
standards.

Westside has long been in the business of developing affordable housing to nurture mixed-income neighborhoods. In the 1980s, Westside Housing began acquiring and rehabbing older apartment buildings in the neighborhood, and now has a portfolio of 165 rental units. The organization also facilitated the development of 120 new, affordable houses. Today, it is accelerating that work and hopes to double its rental units to 300. Meanwhile, Westside is eying an old high school, long since closed as young families left the urban core, which it would like to acquire for housing as well as community space. Energy-efficiency is emphasized during construction, both to keep residents’ utility bills low and continue its leadership role. (In December 2012, Westside was recognized as a NeighborWorks America Green Organization.)

“We operate with an average 98 percent occupancy,” says Fisher. “There is always a waiting list.”

Still, it’s a challenge, and many working-class families from the West Side neighborhood are moving to less-expensive homes to the historic northeast district. So, Westside has expanded to serve them, since an older community development corporation in that neighborhood had closed down.

Two residents of the neighborhood water
one of the orchard's trees.

“You can get a house there for $35,000, but there is a lot of crime, and 25 percent of the buildings are abandoned or vacant,” says Fisher. “It’s a good place for fearful immigrants to stay under the radar.”

To help prevent crime through greater community engagement, Westside is recruiting resident leaders to organize clean-ups, advocating for sidewalk construction, starting community gardens and partnering with the police department to implement a program called “Crime Prevention through Environmental Design,” including window repairs and the trimming of shrubs and trees that can hide illicit activity.

One of its more creative projects is an urban orchard designed to accomplish several goals – increase resident engagement (and thus discourage crime), encourage sustainable living and alleviate the “food desert” the area had become. In partnership with SkillsUSA (a nonprofit that trains students in vital job and leadership skills) and TimberlandPro (a footwear manufacturer), and with the help of neighborhood volunteers, Westside Housing planted a 2.5-acre orchard in an empty grass lot behind a community center. Nearly two years later, the orchard is home to more than 200 fruit trees and berry bushes. The trees and shrubbery help improve the poor urban air quality and mitigate storm water runoff, and Westside offers the fruit free for all residents.

“I don’t see broken windows when I walk through a community,” says Fisher. “I see opportunities.”

If you'd like to see for yourself the good work Westside Housing is doing, attend the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Kansas City, MO! At the Dec. 11 symposium, "Real-World Solutions for Community Transformation," one of the "mobile workshops" will be held at its facility.

Written by Pam Bailey, communications writer for NeighborWorks America. 

Baltimore group serves community through ‘matchmaking’

Match.com and eHarmony could learn a thing or two from the homesharing service offered by St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center in Baltimore: Even the most sophisticated computer algorithms can’t replace good old-fashioned matchmaking, in which professionals get to know clients one-on-one to decide who would make a good “fit.”

It’s a simple concept: There are homeowners who need help paying their mortgage or other expenses, or just want the company. And there are other people who need an affordable place to call home. Why not match them up?

“The idea of homesharing was ‘born’ in the 1970s as a product of the Gray Panthers movement, and St. Ambrose was among the first housing organizations to join, in 1988,” comments Rebecca Burrett Sheppard, director of the program for St. Ambrose and president of the national association for professionals in this arena. “‘The U.S. census had just shown that more than 35,000 widows and widowers were living alone in single-family dwellings in Baltimore, and homesharing was a way of allowing these older individuals to ‘age in place’ – helping them with both chores and income.”  

St. Ambrose, a NeighborWorks organization that is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, has seen its homesharing program grow exponentially since those early years, fueled since the 2008 housing crisis by homeowners of all ages who need extra income and seekers who are desperate for an affordable rental option.  To date, the organization has made 1,651 matches, about 65-80 annually.

Odd couples can make good matches

Increasing diversity in the neighborhoods
is often a side benefit of homesharing

Currently, slightly more than half of the participants are earning just 30 percent or less of the area median income, with 43 percent between the ages of 40 and 60 and 44 percent between 60 and 80. More than a third (37 percent) of the matches are intergenerational (with the provider and seeker more than 15 years apart in age). The largest age difference the program has seen so far is 37 years.

One such match is Austin Jones, 86, who now has a 28-year-old housemate.

“I moved to West Baltimore in 1982,” explains Jones. “I bought into a co-op and shared it with my cousin. When he died, it was ok, because I was working. But then I had to retire five or six years ago and my Social Security payments aren’t enough to pay all of my expenses. I’ve been in the St. Ambrose homesharing program ever since.”

Jones has had about five housemates over the course of the years, including two currently. John Pittman, the 28-year-old, moved in about a month ago when his roommate moved out and he couldn't afford to live on his own. Pittman says Jones offers both the affordable rent and privacy he needs, and plans to stay at least until he can pay off his debts.

“All of my housemates have worked out pretty well,” says Jones, adding that his most important criteria are tidiness, a history clean of serious crime and good health. (“I’m too old to be able to take care of anyone,” he explains.) “I give Annette (his St. Ambrose “matchmaker”) an A+. She always finds me good people.”

St. Ambrose staff personally interview every applicant for the program, conduct home visits, check criminal records, verify income and contact four personal references for each potential participant. After the counselor identifies a match, the homeowner and house-seeker meet and decide whether they have good chemistry. If it’s a go, the “matchmaker” helps the two structure a written agreement, stipulating the rent to be paid, how chores will be divided, the policy on guests, etc. Arrangements are always month-to-month, to allow maximum flexibility, and the staff keeps in touch for the first year to help work out any problems. (That’s another feature dating sites could benefit from – follow-up “troubleshooting”!) Although the average duration is 18-24 months, Sheppard says three St. Ambrose matches have been together since the 1990s. There are others, however, that last only a couple of months by design.

“It’s not a requirement, but we do see a lot of diverse pairings work out quite well,” says Sheppard, recalling a quadriplegic widower who welcomed an under-employed IT professional, and a chronically homeless 30-year-old who moved in with a 50-something social worker. “The possibilities are infinite.”

Lessons learned for others

Sheppard has become something of national expert on homesharing, and often consults with other organizations considering starting their own program. In fact, she recently returned from New Jersey, where another NeighborWorks organization is initiating one to help people still struggling to make ends meet following the devastation of Superstorm Sandy.

If you’re intrigued by the homesharing concept, here are a few tips from Sheppard:

1. Dedicate sufficient staff to the effort. To get the program off the ground properly, she recommends one full-time employee.
2. Learn from others when it comes to policies and procedures. Expertise and thoughtfulness are required to develop a success record.
3. Don’t skimp on marketing and outreach. Remember, Sheppard says, you have to identify and “cultivate” two separate customer segments: homeowners and seekers. St. Ambrose relies on tactics such as Craig’s List, public service announcements on local media and outreach to other organizations.
4. Don’t expect huge success in the first year. “These programs start slow, but grow exponentially,” she cautions. “Cultivating a client base can take a number of years, but if you’re successful, you’ll eventually be self-sustaining – a very good place to be.”

Rhode Island group capitalizes on ethnic diversity to strengthen local economy

It was the late 1970s, and the United States was embroiled in the Vietnam War, bringing an influx of refugees to the country. Providence, Rhode Island, was one of the early magnets for the stream of Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrants, due in part to its central coastal location, relatively affordable cost of living and accessibility of support services.  With the economy slumping and redlining rampant, however, the community struggled to adapt.

“Integrating all of these new arrivals was a challenge at a time when our local economy was in a crisis,” recalls Sharon Conard-Wells, one of a group of volunteers who organized around the need to assure that affordable housing was available to everyone. “The federal government had just begun offering a zero-down payment program for new homeowners, so we mobilized to bring some of those funds to our city.”

Thus, the group that would become West Elmwood Housing Development was born – first just a loose, volunteer effort, then an official nonprofit in 1986 and finally, a charter member of NeighborWorks America in 1998 – making 2013 its 15th anniversary as a member of the network.

“I had seen the value that being a member of NeighborWorks America brought to an organization,” recalls Conard-Wells, who later became the group’s executive director. “Knowing how politics works was enough to get us money, but NeighborWorks America affiliation offered two other benefits money can’t buy – professional development, and a national network that broadens your base. I wanted that for West Elmwood.”

Hub for immigrants

The “West End” community of Providence, which the organization primarily serves, has changed in many ways since those early years – including a slight decline in residents from 14,186 in 2000 to 13,844 in 2010. But what has continued to grow is its cultural diversity. Fifty-seven percent of its residents today are Hispanic, 18 percent are black, 11 percent are Asian and 32 percent are “other” or a combination. What is even more defining about the community is that nearly 40 percent of West End residents were born outside of the United States (compared to just 13 percent across the state and nationwide).  According to the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, the influx of refugees over time has shifted from Southeast Asians and Liberians to (in the last five years) a more diverse mix from Bhutan, Burma, Central Africa (Congo, Central African Republic and Burundi), East Africa (Ethiopia and Eritrea) and Iraq. Two-thirds of the residents speak a language other than English at home.

That reality about the community it serves has led West Elmwood in some innovative directions in its quest to serve its constituents. One of its current initiatives is called the Sankofa Project – named for a word from Ghana that means, literally, “go back (to the past) and get it.” For the West End community, that means capitalizing on residents’ family and cultural backgrounds to solve local problems.  

“For example, residents of the West End community currently have limited access to affordable, fresh, culturally desirable foods,” explains Rachel Newman Greene, director of partnerships and community projects. “In fact, I’d call West End a food desert. There is no full-service supermarket, and while there is a farmer’s market, it’s not affordable and doesn't cater to an ethnically diverse population.”

Food desert to cultural marketplace

The goal of the Sankofa Project is to fill that gap, while also providing a source of local income. The centerpiece of the project is the transformation of 30,000 square feet of land into a mixed-use development featuring: 

• affordable rental housing  (50 one- to three-bedroom units).

• an agricultural space that includes both community gardens and small farms/microbusinesses. 

• a “world market” with booths for selling the agricultural goods as well as crafts, tailored clothing and other locally made products.

• a community building.

Garmei Mawolo (left), originally from Liberia, and another
 gardener sell their produce at one of West Elmwood's farmers’
markets. They are selling (from left to right) sour leaf
 (red sorrel), habanero peppers, Malabar (water) spinach,
squash tendrils and leaf amaranth (m’chicha).

“I don’t know of any other organizations that have a project like this on such a large, contiguous space,” says Angie Bannerman, chair of the committee in charge of the initiative and a West End resident for 36 years. 

Identifying and acquiring that much vacant land is a challenge in the Northeast, and in the beginning of its work, the organization focused on individual lots on which it renovated old buildings for offices or lofts, converted them into community gardens or leased them out for small farmers’ markets. However, the West End community was “blessed” by stretches of formerly industrial properties, now abandoned, and over time it was able to gradually acquire the property for the ambitious Sankofa Project with the help of a state land bank. 

 “We’re designing this to be the main social focus of the community – a gathering place that will feel familiar to immigrants who come from more market-based cultures, while also improving their diets and developing entrepreneurial sources of income by attracting people from throughout the city and state,”  says Greene.  

Phase 1 of the project, a small tree farm, already is funded and complete. Phase 2, now underway, encompasses rented lots for planting, including two greenhouses, and a seasonal farmers’ market designed to begin establishing a customer base. The rest of the agricultural and market development will follow, and the final, fourth stage will be the housing (targeted for completion in the spring of 2015). 

“Of course, we offer a lot of other services, such as financial counseling and programs for youth that use hip hop to encourage self-esteem,” says Conard-Wells. “The constant is our commitment to recognizing and celebrating their diversity, and sticking with them for the long term. So, for instance, when residents complete our homebuyer education programs, we don’t give them a graduation certificate. We give them a ‘friend-for-life’ certificate.”

Early funding is worth its weight in gold

Eileen Fitzgerald,
CEO,
NeighborWorks America

(By Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO, NeighborWorks America) Developing affordable rental housing these days is a lot like putting together a puzzle – when the financing pieces are all in place, a thing of beauty results, but when there’s a piece missing for the puzzle (or in this case, a piece missing from the finance package for rental housing) the project just doesn't work. The result is fewer new affordable rental homes developed and more existing rental homes transitioning into market rate housing or being demolished. The bottom line: Families who need affordable rental housing may have a lot harder time securing the homes that they need.

Getting all of the financing pieces for affordable housing is difficult because nonprofit developers usually have to tap multiple sources of capital, either from one or more private sector banks, or from local or federal government sources such as community development block grants or state housing finance agency money. Essentially, nonprofits have to find all of the pieces to make an affordable rental housing project work.

However, often the private and public sources of financing needed to piece together an affordable rental deal want to see the developer have equity or “skin in the game” before they make the loan or approve the government financing.

That’s tough to do because even large nonprofit owners and developers of rental housing operate at very thin margins on existing projects that leave little room for the accumulation of excess capital to deploy to new projects.

This is why NeighborWorks America has been a long-time proponent of grant makers finding ways to make operating level or flexible funding available. After working with nonprofit rental housing developers for many years, NeighborWorks America knows that a nonprofit developer that has obtained general operating support and flexible money for qualified project on the books or in the planning stages has a leg up on securing other money to get the project done.

Rick Goodemann, chief executive officer of Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership based in Slayton, Minn, and the owner and developer of nearly 900 affordable rental homes explained the value of early capital this way: “Patient, flexible capital, though limited, is available through such sources as foundations, financial institutions and housing finance agencies. Capital of that nature is extremely valuable and absolutely essential in supporting early feasibility analysis, due diligence activities, and securing real property. But it's most valuable when used to leverage debt, attract investors and provide a level of development and operational risk mitigation.”

Providing nonprofit developers with early funding that they could show other financial supporters is a core community development strategy at NeighborWorks America.  Nonprofits that could tap flexible capital from other sources such as national or community foundations, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) or state housing finance agencies enhances the ability of the organization to move quickly and build new or sustain existing affordable rental housing.

For example, in July of this year, the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency provided just this kind of capital. Mark Dinaburg, the director of real estate development for nonprofit owner Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp. said to a local newspaper, “With their help, we have finally been able to refinance and rehabilitate this 80-unit BHP-1 property. Previous to this, we had made multiple efforts to bring together an adequate financing package, while the properties slowly decayed, physically, socially, and financially. Indeed, the entire portfolio was threatened with foreclosure in the dark days of 2009. MassHousing’s willingness to step up with bridge financing, and to participate in a permanent financing package, was key to turning this around.”

Codman Square received more than $200,000 from NeighborWorks America to use as early, flexible capital for its rehab project that helped it secure state HFA funding.

Whether flexible funding helps to hire a development manager, an architect or exists as an early investment that attracts larger supporters, organizations that are able to secure this kind of financing have the best chance of getting a new affordable rental project done or to sustain an existing one.

NeighborWorks America encourages all of the potential sources of early, flexible and first-loss capital to be earlier participants in affordable housing deals. These sources of capital have to be the ones to take the first steps and jump-start affordable rental housing. Without their increased participation, too many deals that could be put together, won’t be completed, leaving some families by themselves to piece together their own affordable housing solutions.

Reposted from Rooflines, the Shelterforce blog.

The Data on Affordable Rental Housing is Mixed at Best

By Eileen Fitzgerald
Chief Executive Officer
NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America underscored its commitment to affordable rental housing this week at the launch of the 2013 State of the Nation’s Housing report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University.

I had the privilege of joining Eric Belsky, the director of the JCHS, and a panel of experts to talk about housing. While homeownership continues to draw the most attention, what is going on in the rental housing market demands attention.

The information on affordable rental housing in America is mixed at best, and for millions of households the data are troubling. According to the report, the number of renter households severely burdened by their monthly rent payment increased by 2.6 million between 2007 and 2011. Between 2001 and 2011, the number grew by 6.7 million. According to the State of the Nation's Housing report, which cites consumer price index data, rent increases have been far outpacing overall inflation.

As a national community development corporation that helps a network of nonprofit affordable rental property owners, we think these numbers are further proof of how important it is to continue supporting the development of affordable rental housing.

The NeighborWorks network owns or manages more than 102,000 rental homes. These locally owned and managed nonprofit corporations are committed to building more affordable rental homes, and to buying more properties that may become market rate after affordability provisions related to their development expire. More than ten percent of affordable rental homes are taken out of the affordable ranks each year.

NeighborWorks America will continue to be there for the NeighborWorks network by providing an average of $15 million in flexible capital to these owners of affordable rental housing. But our funding for affordable rental homes needs to be leveraged with long-term private sector funding. Affordable rental housing can’t be created and sustained by just one source of capital.

I urge everyone who cares about affordable rental housing to download the latest State of the Nation’s Housing report and to watch the recorded webcast (see above) of our discussion of the report on Wednesday, June 26.

30 Years of Affordable Homes in Cambridge

This blog is part of our anniversary celebration series, highlighting NeighborWorks affiliates which are celebrating milestone years marking either their membership in the network or their incorporation as an organization. Last month, Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment & Housing Services (CNAHS) celebrated 30 years since incorporation. 

By Brittany Hutson, NeighborWorks
America Public Relations fellow

Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment & Housing Services (CNAHS) understands how rental and homeownership costs in urban locations can severely strain the finances of low income families.  For 30 years, the organization has been dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In the late 1980s rent control in Cambridge was overturned through a statewide referendum.  CNAHS knew there would be a large number of displaced residents unable to find living space at a similarly affordable rate. To help alleviate this problem, CNAHS chose to focus on acquiring and preserving affordable homes. In particular, they targeted those properties where rent controls were expiring and owners were being permitted to convert them to market rate.

Peter Daly, executive director of CNAHS, says that some of CNAHS’ proudest achievements are their preservation projects and the fact that this work prevents lower income people from being outpriced and displaced.  “When we first encounter a project and the residents are very much aware of the threat of losing their homes, it’s an exhilarating experience to work with them [and] to give them hope that their homes will be restored at an affordable rate,” says Daly.

Putnam Green housing. Landscaping at the property features
drought-tolerant and low-maintenance plants (no grass).

CNAHS has preserved five buildings, totaling more than 515 apartments. “About two years ago, we started participating in a new state law in which the state appoints a designee to acquire and operate buildings that are subject to being sold,” says Daly. So far, the state has approved CNAHS as designee of two projects. This state designation is a recognition of the need for the organization’s work, and of all CNAHS has accomplished.

However, CNAHS is not content with just these successes; the organization has adopted a green approach to housing, development, and operations. “We believe in green because it is good for the environment, good for the residents and neighborhood, and good for the operations of the property,” explain Daly. CHAHS was one of 16 organizations in the NeighborWorks network recognized in December 2012 for its green business practices.  “The strength of being in the NeighborWorks network is having so many different organizations around the county doing similar things [as you],” says Daly. “You really get the feeling that you’re not alone. Whenever I come up with a problem or challenge, I can call another organization and we can share ideas or they can offer a solution.”

For more about CNAHS, visit:http://www.cambridgenahs.org
For more about the NeighborWorks Green Organization program, visit: http://ow.ly/hu3gT  

NeighborWorks Invested More than $1.3 Billion in Rental Housing in FY 2011

The NeighborWorks network invested more than $1.3 billion into rental housing in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2011. In addition, the number of rental homes owned or managed by the NeighborWorks network exceed 90,000 at Sept. 30.

“In one of the toughest markets for securing capital for quality, affordable rental housing, the NeighborWorks network pushed ahead and found the partners they needed to create great housing for families,” said Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorks America.

The total investment represents more than 2,800 new apartments built by NeighborWorks, and more than 5,100 homes purchased or significantly rehabbed.

“The investment by the network in these homes created jobs all around the country and helped to secure the long-term availability of great places to live for working families,” added Fitzgerald.

The overall expectations are that the network’s total portfolio will reach 100,000 rental homes in 2013, through a combination of new member affiliation, purchase and new construction.

Despite the forecast for total NeighborWorks portfolio growth over the next few years, the outlook for the broader affordable rental housing is uncertain.

“Government housing budgets at all levels are under stress and the competition for capital priced at rates that make housing accessible for working families, while improved from a year ago, is still a factor in creating quality affordable rental homes for families with modest incomes. In short, the cost to construct, purchase and refinance homes to ensure tenant affordability remains a challenge,” said Fitzgerald.

Faced with these twin realities – reduced resources from government and higher borrowing costs and tight underwriting standards – NeighborWorks America is increasing its efforts to attract social investor capital to the rental housing market.

Fitzgerald noted that the two capital corporations associated with NeighborWorks builders and owners – Community Housing Capital, Decatur, GA, and NeighborWorks Capital, Silver Spring, MD – are essential to the overall effort to bring more social investor capital to the affordable rental housing sector.

Social investors such as the Calvert Foundation and the S.H Cowell Foundation are just two of the investors who have already recognized the triple-bottom line value of investing in quality, affordable rental homes.