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On June 6, 2008, The Stratford, which will provide permanent supportive housing for special needs and homeless families, held their Grand Opening. In the photo on the right, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark cut the ribbon along with Reverend J. Carr Holland, III and Mike Meyer, the Director of Housing and Real Estate for the City of Newark, and a family that will call The Stratford home. The project will have a total of nine units, three 3 bedroom units and six 2 bedroom units. The Stratford has received project based SRAP funds and the primary funding sources were Low Income Housing Tax Credits, City of Newark Home, HUD Continuum of Care Funding and Federal Home Loan funding. Episcopal Community Development was the developer, for The Apostles’ House, which will “own” and operate the facility.

The comments from Mayor Booker on this historic project underscored the importance that his administration has placed on ending homelessness in Newark. To listen to his comments use the link below or click here.

 The Stratford Opening [3:00m]: Download

These are some of twenty (20) photos from the grand opening.

You can click on any photo to see it full size or click here to view all of the photos. To save a photo right click on the photo.

To view a slide show click here.

All of the photographs were taken by Eucabeth Williams [Email address: ewilliams #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ] and Naemah Sarmad [Email address: nsarmad #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ].

In this Sunday’s edition of the NY Times they had two article of interest. The first one was on the efforts of Mayor Booker of Newark to develop an effective prisoner reentry program. The second was about a former NY Giants linebacker who is now homeless.

The first article entitled “Seeking Employment for Ex-Cons in Newark” appeared on the front page of the metro section. To read the article click here.

The article notes “The situation epitomizes the way Newark’s two leading problems, crime and unemployment, are intertwined with the huge number of ex-convicts in the city. Some 2,300 men and women pour into the city from prison each year, and 65 percent are rearrested within five years. One in six adult residents of the city has a criminal record.”

It also makes a critical point when it states “With Newark’s unemployment rate stubbornly stuck at twice the state average of 4.9 percent — and criminal history and lack of education leaving many chronically unemployable — Mayor Cory A. Booker has tried to make prisoner re-entry a signature issue, aware that his twin promises of safety and economic vitality depend on it. He is part of a growing national movement of local and state politicians trying to tackle the problem; earlier this month, President Bush signed the Second Chance Act, allocating $165 million annually to their efforts. ‘Up until now, the focus has been putting ex-offenders back in jail,’ complained Fred Davie, president of Public/Private Ventures, a nonprofit group based in Philadelphia that has created prisoner rehabilitation programs in 15 cities and advised the Booker administration. ‘We need a national approach to what has become a national crisis.” To read the full article click here.

The second article appeared in the back of the business section. It was entitled “Help for Those Seeking a Job and a Home”. It focused on the efforts of Praxis Housing Initiatives, a nonprofit group Read the rest of this entry �

Monarch Housing Associates, Inc. is the publisher of this blog.

Our Vision: Every person will have quality affordable, permanent housing that fosters freedom, independence and community integration.

Our mission: To expand the supply, accessibility and variety of affordable, permanent supportive housing through development, planning, advocacy and partnerships.

For more information click here.

Monarch Housing’s Blog has posted numerous streaming audio files from conferences and events. This page provides an easy way to access and share these files. To have audio of events or project development activities posted please contact either Taiisa Telesford [Email address: ttelesford #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ] or Asish Patel [Email address: apatel #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ].

These are audio clips of all sixteen speakers at the Congressional Reception held on July 30, 2008. Click on the name of any file or click the start button in the middle of the screen. Use the scroll bar to view all of the audio clips.

 Senator Menendez at March 18, 2008 CoC Summit [22:14m]: Download
 Ten Year Plan Workshop at March CoC Summit [69:50m]: Download
 Mayor Booker's Keynote Address at the 2007 Governor's Conference [31:08m]: Download
 Senator Lautenberg at the 2007 Congressional Reception [10:24m]: Download
 Senator Menendez at the 2007 Congressional Reception [7:01m]: Download
 Congressman Sires at the 2007 Congressional Reception [4:02m]: Download
 Congressman Ferguson at the 2007 Congressional Reception [8:17m]: Download
 Alison Recca-Ryan at the 2007 Congressional Reception [7:56m]: Download
 Joyce Campbell at the 2007 Congressional Reception [4:57m]: Download
 Karl Muether at the 2007 Congressional Reception [4:57m]: Download
 James Moss at the 2007 Congressional Reception [3:29m]: Download
 Congressman Holt at the 2007 Congressional Reception [5:07m]: Download
 Congressman Smith's staff at the 2007 Congressional Reception [1:13m]: Download
 Congressman Rothman's staff at the 2007 Congressional Reception [2:43m]: Download
 Congressman Pascrell's staff at the 2007 Congressional Reception [5:12m]: Download
 Stephanie Baldwin at the 2007 Congressional Reception [6:05m]: Download
 Richard W. Brown at the 2007 Congressional Reception [15:08m]: Download
 Phil Mangano in Gloucester County March 11, 2008 [86:36m]: Download
 Closing Remarks at the 2007 Congressional Reception [4:13m]: Download
 Working with the media [50:05m]: Download
 Ann Oliva update HUD's McKinney-Vento [44:31m]: Download
 Phil Mangano in Bergen County [58:39m]: Download
 HUD-VASH Program [59:53m]: Download
 Lissane Finston Opening Remarks at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [3:58m]: Download
 Freeholder Blanquita Valenti at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [6:43m]: Download
 Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [7:25m]: Download
 Cassaundra Cross at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [4:55m]: Download
 Bishop Bootkoski and John Wooding at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [3:11m]: Download
 April Aaronson at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [10:44m]: Download
 Deb DeSantis at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [4:33m]: Download
 Gloria Aftanski at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [2:53m]: Download
 Elizabeth Hance at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [7:08m]: Download
 Susan at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [7:22m]: Download
 Diane Johnson at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [4:03m]: Download
 Mayor Jim Cahill at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [1:53m]: Download
 Kenneth Lambert at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [3:27m]: Download
 Lissane Finston Closing Remarks at the Middlesex Ten Year Plan Kickoff [4:14m]: Download
 Phil Mangano in Salem on March 11, 2008 [40:23m]: Download

Mayor Cory A. Booker the keynote speaker at the 2007 Governor’s Conference on Housing and Community Development issued a challenge for this generation to have the audacity to believe that they can achieve the impossible. He asked where we are and articulated the need to change the way we do business in order to achieve our dreams and have an impact on our communities.

 Mayor Cory A. Booker Keynote 2007 Governor's Conference on Housing and Community Development [31:08m]: Download

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