subscribe to our blog receive updates via email

Categories

Archives

Older stories


powered by wordpress

News

Vermont To Help Displaced Vermonters Through CDBG Funds

Posted February 2, 2012

VPR News interview with Jen Hollar, Deputy Commissioner  of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing, & Community Development

A lot of Vermonters displaced by Irene are hoping their home will be bought out by the FEMA hazard mitigation program, which pays up to 75 percent of the home’s pre-storm fair market value.

Jennifer Hollar, Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development, says the state is committed to helping homeowners who qualify for FEMA mitigation make up that remaining 25 percent gap. Hollar tells VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb, that even for families who don’t qualify for Hazard Mitigation, help could be available in the form of Community Development Block Grants awarded to Vermont from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, in a pool of money totaling more than $21 million.

To listen to the VPR interview

 

 


Vermont Housing & Conservation Coalition Legislative Day

Posted January 23, 2012

SAVE THE DATE: VHCC Legislative Day will be Thursday, February 23, 2012 at the State House in Montpelier.

PLEASE SET ASIDE FEBRUARY 23rd as a day that you and your organization’s key supporters will spend in Montpelier talking and advocating in the Legislature on the importance of Vermont Housing and Conservation Board funding for your organization and the communities it serves.

Governor Shumlin has proposed $14 MILLION FOR VHCB – a $1.2 million increase.  With a $60 million budget deficit, this is a very positive development.

We need members to TURN OUT IN FULL FORCE to support his request and show appreciation.  Already voices in the Legislature have been raised saying that we don’t need to fund conservation when the state needs all available resources to help recover from Irene.  As the Governor has proposed, VHCB will play a key role by providing $2 million over two fiscal years to help homeowners who want buyouts of their destroyed homes, and to towns which seek to convert those parcels to open space and park land.

We need to reaffirm our core message that BOTH conservation and affordable housing are critical economic development investments that must remain a priority as the State meets the challenges of recovery and the fifth consecutive year of budget shortfalls.

Full Information & Tentative Schedule

For further information, contact:

Erhard Mahnke at 233-2902 or erhardm@burlingtontelecom.net

John Shullenberger at 373-2590 or jdsdiann@together.net

Adam Necrason at 223-9988 or necrason@snlawvt.com

 

 


Task force identifies post-Irene legal issues

Posted January 19, 2012

VTDIGGER.ORG

Tropical Storm Irene upended houses, personal property and lives in Vermont. The natural disaster, which destroyed more than 700 homes and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to state and local roads, also led to unprecedented legal questions.

Vermonters, in some cases, not only lost their belongings and homes, but also their land. Should towns redraw property boundaries in situations where a former dooryard has been reduced to river bed?

Other residents faced the sure knowledge that they would never repay hundreds of thousands of dollars on mortgages for properties that no longer exist. In rare instances, victims of the raging floodwaters faced both stark realities. What, if anything, can banks and municipalities do if residents walk away from their mortgage obligations?

Meanwhile, mobile home owners are unable to take on more debt because their housing devalues quickly over time and they don’t have asset capacity.

Though the state’s community banks have been quick to respond, certain out-of-state banks, namely Bank of America, have not been as generous with property owners’ who face foreclosure, according to Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell …

Link to Full Article & Link to Video Content

Link to PDF of Article

 

 


Upcoming: HOME Proposed Rule Webinar

Posted

Upcoming: HOME Proposed Rule Webinar

January 24, 2012 from 1:30 to 3:30 EST

For More Information Please Visit: http://hometa.info

HUD published a significant proposed regulation for the HOME Program in the Federal Register on December 16, 2011.  The proposed changes are intended to enhance performance and accountability, and clarify certain existing provisions.  Public comments on the proposed changes are due by February 14, 2012.

Full Information on Webinar

Section-by-section summary of the proposed changes

HUD encourages HOME Participating Jurisdictions, other program partners and stakeholders to comment on the proposed rule and raise questions for clarification through the comment process. HUD will host a webinar on the HOME Proposed Rule January 24, 2012 from 1:30 to 3:30 EST. CheckHOME’s TA site for the latest information on the webinar.

Here is the HUD webinar access information:

Install Live Meeting: You will need to install Live Meeting on the computer you will be using during the presentation. To install the software and check to ensure your system is compatible with Microsoft Office Live Meeting, go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=90703

Logging onto Live Meeting: At least 20 minutes prior to the webinar start time, log onto the Live Meeting website by copying and pasting the meeting URL into your browser.

Call in for audio: After logging onto Live Meeting, dial into the conference call number below so that you can hear the presentation. You may dial in up to 15 minutes before the session begins.

Troubleshooting & Additional Instructions: If you have any trouble logging in and to review additional guidance on participation (including how to ask questions), please click here.

 

 

 


2012 Annual Housing Policy Conference & Lobby Day

Posted January 18, 2012

 

  • When: March 25-28, 2012
  • Where: Washington D.C.

With budget battles looming and the presidential election already in full swing, 2012 is sure to have monumental implications for housing policy. Join us at NLIHC’s 2012 Housing Policy Conference and Lobby Day and hear from leading Administration, HUD and Congressional officials on what lies ahead for advocates of socially just housing policy. With 40 plenary and workshop sessions, an evening reception and Congressional office visits, you’ll leave this year’s conference prepared to bring about positive change.

To learn more and find out information on how to register

 


New Mobile Home Facts from DHCA

Posted

2011 Mobile Home Park Information:

  • Number of parks is 248
  • Number of total lots is 7,194
  • Number of vacant lots statewide is 310 or 4.3%
  • State median lot rent is $302

More Information on Mobile Home Parks

 


Vermont’s Annual Homeless Memorial Vigil

Posted January 6, 2012

 

Advocates rally for Vermont homeless

Burlington Free Press – Terri Hallenbeck

MONTPELIER — A day when the temperature is 7 degrees out at noon is an appropriate day to highlight homelessness.

On the steps of the Statehouse on Wednesday, Linda Ryan of the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness took her time introducing speakers. The bite of the bitter cold sets in that way and the crowd catches a flavor for how a person without a home might feel, she said.

“We’ve been standing out here on these steps for too many years,” Patrick Flood, deputy secretary of Human Services, said to applause muffled by mittened hands. “In fact, it just seems to get worse every year.”

The death of a homeless man on a Burlington street last month gives the issue renewed urgency, said his boss, Human Services Secretary Doug Racine.

His agency is seeking $1.6 million in the midyear budget adjustment bill that includes money for emergency housing assistance.

Ryan, who is executive director of development at the Samaritan House in St. Albans, said the homeless problem has grown worse. The number of people who have come through her shelter has tripled in the past few years, she said.

Samaritan has four families staying in motels after filling its three apartments, she said. “That’s unheard of in St. Albans,” she said.

Melinda Bussino, executive director of the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center, later told legislators that the overflow, winter-only shelter there has seen a spike in clients from 47 a year ago to 68 this year …

Link to Full Article

Link to PDF of Article

—————————————————–

More News on 2012 Vermont Annual Homeless Memorial Vigil

ABC 22 Video News Story & PDF of Story

 


My Turn: Helping Vermont End Homelessness

Posted

Burlington Free Press – Barbara Fields

We’ve seen that when localities combine housing with supportive services the results are fewer ambulance and police calls, fewer visits to the emergency room and real savings for taxpayers.

During the early 1980s as many families lost their homes and jobs, state and local governments were forced to dramatically cut the assistance they could offer. As a result, we saw a dramatic spike in the number of homeless men, women and families. Today we are emerging from an even more severe recession and once again local governments face hard fiscal times.

But thankfully, as a recent report shows, when it comes to homelessness, history is not repeating itself. Indeed, according to HUD’s annual “Point-in-Time” count, which estimates the scope of homelessness on a given night in America, despite unprecedented economic headwinds, between 2010 and 2011 homelessness has gone down by almost every measure.

It’s declined among both individuals and families, as well as among what we call “chronically” homeless people — those who have been homeless for extended periods of time. And most significantly of all, veterans’ homelessness dropped nearly 12 percent. This decline in homelessness is also being noticed in Burlington and Chittenden County where local planners report a one-year 20 percent drop in the number of persons living in their shelters and on their streets.

And the Obama administration is building on that progress for Burlington area families. That’s why this week HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced nearly $3.6 million in new funding throughout Vermont to fight homelessness, part of nearly $1.5 billion to help more than 7,000 homelessness programs across the country …

Link to Full Article

Link to PDF of Article

 

 


After Irene, Brattleboro Reexamines Housing Plans

Posted January 4, 2012

VPR NEWS - Monday, 12/26/11 7:34am - Susan Keese

(Host) Housing officials say Tropical Storm Irene has placed new pressures on an already tight supply of low income housing. The storm has prompted housing experts to re-evaluate their plans and priorities. That’s especially true in Brattleboro, as VPR’s Susan Keese reports.

(Hart) “So all of this was gone, where you’re standing, was gone…and we had to build it back up…   ”

(Keese) Brattleboro Housing Authority Director Chris Hart leads the way through Melrose Terrace. The neighborhood of federally subsidized, single-story brick buildings was hit hard when the Whetstone Brook tore through it on August 28th.

(Hart) “It went all the way from here all the way to that orange snow fence.”

(Keese) Hart notices a string of Christmas lights in one apartment window.

(Hart) “This is the building we just got back a few weeks ago, and it’s been re-occupied.”

(Keese)  Other Melrose residents are still waiting to return. The project was home to 80 low-income seniors and people with disabilities. All were evacuated before Irene, along with residents of Hayes Court, another public housing project nearby. Both Hayes Court and Melrose are in the Whetstone Brook’s flood plain – a fact that’s gained new meaning since Irene. In this flood, Hayes Court escaped major damage while apartments at Melrose were devastated.

…

Link to Full Radio Commentary

Link to PDF of Radio Commentary

 

 

 


Mobile homes razed; officials laud a first step in resolving post-Irene, low-income housing issues

Posted

December 29, 2011 – Andrew Nemethy – www.vtdigger.org

MONTPELIER – A statewide effort to clean up widespread devastation at Vermont’s mobile home parks after tropical storm Irene was lauded Thursday for its remarkable partnerships, volunteers and accomplishments.

Lt. Gov. Phil Scott said the cleanup effort disposed of 68 badly damaged mobile homes in six parks around the state through a unique partnership of state, private and nonprofit organizations and a host of people who pitched in with time, money and equipment.

“I think that’s what I’m most proud of,” said Scott.

Vermonters from all walks of life just started “solving” the problems, as he put it, that cropped in the effort to remove mobile homes swamped by Irene.

More than $300,000 was raised to assist the project through donations big and small, and in a race against the onset of winter, 68 units were demolished and removed in six weeks at an approximate cost of $2,500 per unit, according to Scott.

Scott spearheaded the cleanup when it became apparent many mobile home owners did not have the $3,500 to $4,500 in funds to dispose of their homes – which meant recovery after the Aug. 28 disaster would be delayed since new units could not replace damaged ones, hard-hit mobile park owners would be left without rental income for their lots, and valuable low-income housing sites would be removed from the state.

Link to Full Article

Link to Article PDF

 

 


Older Posts »