Monarch Housing’s Blog!

Trenton Times published letter about Congressional Reception

Expressed regrets Congressman Saxton did not attend.

More than 200 New Jersey residents, many of them his constituents, including me, traveled down to Washington, D.C., to participate in this event.

A second letter to the editor was published by the Trenton Times today. This letter by Joyce Campbell expressed regret that neither Congressman Jim Saxton or any of his staff attended the July 20th Congressional Reception. We are pleased to republish the letter from our friend Joyce Campbell. We encourage others who attended the Congressional Reception to submit letters to their local newspapers.

Affordable housing serious issue in N.J.

I want to express my disappointment with Rep. Jim Saxton, R-Mount Holly, for his failure to attend the Second Annual Congressional Reception on Homelessness in New Jersey July 30. More than 200 New Jersey residents, many of them his constituents, including me, traveled down to Washington, D.C., to participate in this event.

I thank U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, both of whom spent time Read the rest of this entry »

Richard W. Brown and Senator Menendez

Having a home is a quintessential American right!

Every citizen deserves a right to a place to call home!

Senator Robert Menendez, the host of the 2nd Annual Congressional Reception, spoke with passion about the importance of ending homelessness. He reiterated his support of the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento. He spoke about his successful efforts to secure funding in the housing bill that will allocate $30 million dollars to help prevent homelessness for families with children whose homes are foreclosed. Senator Menendez challenged the participants at the Congressional Reception to continue to advocate to end homelessness.

Senator Menendez’s comments can be heard by using the audio link below.

Read the rest of this entry »

6,970 additional families could be served!

HUD publishes proposed fair market rents for FY 2009!

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has posted data on voucher utilization rates from 2004-2007 at every public housing agency in the country, and estimates of the number of vouchers agencies have funds to use in 2008. Click here for an updated list of voucher data for New Jersey. CBPP states that “The data could be very useful to advocates — and boards of commissioners — to start a conversation about whether the agency has the funds to serve more families, raise payment standards, or otherwise make the voucher program operate more effectively.”

Housing Voucher Data for New Jersey

Of New Jersey’s 67,029 authorized vouchers, only 90 percent were used by families last year.

This was an improvement over 2006, when the voucher program was underfunded and changes in funding policy undermined the effectiveness of the program. Nevertheless, 2,055 fewer families in New Jersey received assistance in 2007 than in 2004.

This year, housing agencies in New Jersey have sufficient funds, including reserves, to assist 6,970 additional families, thereby using up to 100 percent of their authorized vouchers. To encourage agencies to make efficient use of these resources, agencies must be reassured that voucher renewal funding policy will be both stable and take into account the additional vouchers used by these families. Congress should enact the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (H.R. 1851 and S. 2684) to provide confidence that renewal funding needs will be met in future years, thereby encouraging agencies to put as many of their vouchers to use as possible.

H.R. 1851 is co-sponsored by Rep. Donald Payne. All members of the New Jersey delegation voted in favor except for Congressman Garrett. The full House approved the bill on June 12, 2008, by a vote of 333-83. S. 2684 is cosponsored by Senator Menendez. The bill has not yet been voted on in the Senate.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on June 12 published for public comment in the Federal Register HUD’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2009 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for the (Section 8) Housing Choice Voucher Program and the Moderate Read the rest of this entry »

All 16 speeches are online!

The 2nd Annual Congressional Reception was held on July 30, 2008! We are pleased to share audio clips from this historic event. If you attended or missed this event, the audio clips provide a full overview of the Congressional Reception. Please share this with colleagues, co-workers and friends.

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. Once started, the program will automatically go from one clip to the next. Use the scroll bar to view all of the audio clips.

To view information about the Congressional Reception in one location click here.

Pictured on the right is Senator Frank Lautenberg and Richard Brown of the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness at the 2nd Annual Congressional Reception. Senator Lautenberg was the first among many who spoke at the Congressional Reception. More than two hundred formerly homeless people, passionate advocates and housing providers from across the state attended the July 30th event. In addition to Senator Lautenberg the event was attended by Senator Menendez who hosted the event.

Congress members Holt, Pascrell, Ferguson also attended.

Over the next few days we will be publishing photos, audio and video from the event including all of the speakers.

Senator Lautenberg’s comments can be heard by using the audio link below.

With two days left to the 2nd Annual Congressional Reception, more than two hundred formerly homeless people, passionate advocates and housing providers from across the state have registered to attend the July 30th event. The Second Annual Congressional Reception has been scheduled for July 30, 2008 starting at 1:30 PM and ending at 3:30 PM. Please plan to arrive by 1 PM. This year’s reception will build on the success of last year’s Reception and seek to have an even larger impact on federal policy issues that impact homeless individuals and families.

July 30, 2008
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Russell Senate Office Building
Room SR 385
Constitution Avenue and First Street, NE
Washington DC

Please note that the address is Constitution Street, NE. Click here for a map indicating the location and its proximity to Union Station and other transportation routes in Washington.

Congress members Holt, Sires, Rothman and Payne plan to attend this event along with Senators Lautenberg and Menendez. Outreach is continuing to other members of the House.

The top three policy issues will be:

Adequate funding for housing and supportive services;

McKinney-Vento Reauthorization; and

Read the rest of this entry »

On Friday July 25, 2008, the Hudson Reporter published an article by Ricardo Kaulessar [Email address: rkaulessar #AT# hudsonreporter.com - replace #AT# with @ ] entitled “Doing more for the homeless: Legislators, activists talk in D.C. about laws for N.J.’s population“. The article referenced the Congressional Reception by noting “this coming Wednesday, July 30, legislators and activists from around New Jersey will attend a Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. about how to help the homeless population in New Jersey. The briefing, in its second year, was organized by homeless advocacy organizations from across the state.”

The article noted the significant strides that the Hudson County Alliance to End Homelessness has taken to both develop and implement a ten year plan to end homelessness.

In the article Congressman Albio Sires is quoted as saying “By allowing more to be spent on preventing homelessness, Hudson County will be better off and have far fewer homeless persons than today.” Jacob DeLemos of the Hudson County Division of Housing and Community Development is quoted as saying “I think it will help to meet with our congressional members to get legislation passed affecting the homeless population in Hudson County and New Jersey.”

To read the full article click here.

The following is the first few paragraphs from the article.

A one-day count of homeless people in Hudson County, done back on Jan. 29 in order to seek funding for federal programs, found 904 homeless people that day.

Read the rest of this entry »