Monarch Housing’s Blog!

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness’ mission is to advocate on a federal level for adequate funding for permanent affordable and supportive housing for homeless individuals and families.

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness is a statewide organization that coordinated its First Annual Congressional Reception on July 11, 2007. New Jersey was well represented by more than one hundred (100) New Jersey constituents including the formerly homeless, passionate advocates and housing providers from across the state. People traveled by train, bus and car to get there to be part of this unique opportunity to meet with our legislators to let them hear firsthand issues of importance to our communities. The Second Annual Congressional Reception will be held on July 30, 2008.

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness has two forms of membership.

The Steering Committee of the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness is comprised of statewide or national organizations. These organizations have committed to sharing the cost of the Second Annual Congressional Reception which will be held on July 30, 2008.

Members of the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness are local organizations involved in efforts to end homelessness. These organizations are not required to share the costs of the Congressional Reception. They will be invited to attend the meetings of the Steering Committee and will be involved in implementing advocacy events on a local level.

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness encourages new members. For more information on how to join please contact Richard W. Brown [Email address: rbrown #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ] via email or phone 908-272-5363.

To view a list of the membership of the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness click here. To view the list of members of the Steering Committee of the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness click here.

Over the last month we have posted several articles about the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 (HR 5772). This is a program worth saving and the proposed legislation will ensure its continued success. We are pleased to share the current issue of Opening Doors that provides information on this important issue. Click here to read our previous posts. Click here to read Opening Doors in PDF or here to read it online.

In addition to reading this blog, to ensure that you receive regular Action Alerts on this important legislation, please contact the following individuals: Andrew Sperling [Email address: andrew #AT# nami.org - replace #AT# with @ ], National Alliance on Mental Illness or Liz Savage [Email address: savage #AT# thearc.org - replace #AT# with @ ], The ARC of the United States.

The following is the first few paragraphs of this important issue of Opening Doors.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force (CCD Housing Task Force) and the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. (TAC) are pleased to announce that on April 10, 2008, Representatives Christopher Murphy (D-CT) and Judy Biggert (R-IL) jointly introduced groundbreaking permanent supportive housing legislation - the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 (HR 5772) - in the U.S. House of Representatives. This critically important legislation will help address the enormous and unrelenting housing crisis faced by millions of extremely low-income people with disabilities and will spur the creation of thousands more new 811 units every year by:

Authorizing a new Section 811 Demonstration Program that fulfills the promise of true community integration as envisioned in the Americans with Disabilities Act; and

Enacting long overdue reforms and improvements to the existing Section 811 production program essential for the program’s long-term viability.

Historically, the Section 811 program has been one of the most successful programs available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create new supportive housing units. However, the future of Section 811 is being jeopardized by an outdated statute and program models, excessive HUD bureaucracy, and rapidly declining production levels.

For the fourth year in a row, HUD has proposed drastic budget cuts for the Section 811 Read the rest of this entry »

On May 6, 2008, the Council on Affordable Housing also proposed amendments to the recently adopted revised third round rules (N.J.A.C. 5:96 and N.J.A.C. 5:97) and the procedural rules for municipalities certified before January 25, 2007 (N.J.A.C. 5:95). The proposed rules are scheduled to be published in the NJ Register on June 16, 2008. Upon publication, written comments can be submitted [Email address: COAHmail #AT# dca.state.nj.us - replace #AT# with @ ] until August 15, 2008.

Full text of the proposed rules are available by clicking here.

To read the proposed growth share rules click here.

On May 7, 2008, Housing and Urban Development released the FY 2008 SuperNOFA for all programs except the Continuum of Care (CoC). The CoC will be released no earlier than July 1, 2008.

Section 811 applications are due on July 16, 2008

The number of units available for the New Jersey is twenty (20) for a total of $2,875,370. The Webcast Date is May 20, 2008 12:30 - 3:00 PM. Click here to read the NOFA. For more information available on Grants.gov click here.

Section 202 application are due on July 10, 2008.

The number of units available in New Jersey is one hundred eleven (111) for a total capital advance of $16,759,723 The Webcast Date: May 20, 2008 12:30 - 1:30 PM. Click here to read the NOFA. For more information available on Grants.gov click here.

To view all of the SuperNOFA opportunities click here.

We were very pleased to hear today from our friend Bob Guarasci,the President of the New Jersey Community Development Corporation that the Birch Street Apartments is up and running. Bob told us “We are very happy that our Birch Street Supportive Housing is up and running and serving formerly homeless individuals who are enormously grateful and can’t believe their good fortune. We’ll work hard to engage our residents to help them overcome obstacles and reach their fullest potential.” The site provides fifteen (15) permanent, affordable and supportive units for very low income individuals who are homeless with a mental illness. Every unit will have it’s own living area, as well as a kitchen and bathroom.

This is a photo of Bob and some of the new tenants of the Birch Street Apartments.

To read our previous post on this project click here. To see photos from the construction click here.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has issued a side by side comparison of the current Section 811 program and the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 which will reform HUD’s Section 811 program. This is an important legislative initiative. According to CCD “by enacting the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008, Congress can ensure that a reinvigorated Section 811 program is ready to create thousands of new permanent supportive housing units every year without needing to double or triple appropriation levels.” The side by side comparison provides an excellent overview of the benefits of the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008.

To read the full legislation click here.
Read the rest of this entry »

Construction on the long awaited Lily Mae project in Wildwood, New Jersey in now complete. The project Sponsor, Cape Counseling Services, Inc., will be holding a grand opening/ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, May 22, 2008, beginning at 1:00pm at the property.

The Lily Mae is a two-story building in Wildwood, New Jersey that has undergone substantial renovations over the past year. The project will provide supportive housing for twelve homeless individuals with chronic disabilities. The building was originally operated as a motel and most recently as a boarding home for low-income persons with disabilities until Cape Counseling Services acquired it in 2004.

These are some of the latest photos of the construction.

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.

The building now contains twelve (12) efficiency apartments for homeless individuals and one (1) one-bedroom resident manager’s apartment. The building design incorporates sustainable features that promote energy efficiency and overall building performance through innovative sustainable design. Every unit has its own kitchen and bathroom. Four fully handicapped units are located on the first floor and eight units Read the rest of this entry »

It is always a pleasure to have New Jersey’s successful initiatives highlighted in a national magazine. Thus it was with real pleasure to read “Foster Kids No More
The youth housing revolution takes off” in the May 2008 issue of Affordable Housing Finance. The article mentions the first two permanent housing for aging out youth projects in new Jersey - Life Link Homes developed by Robins’ Nest and Camden DREAMS by the Center for Family Services.

The article notes “From coast to coast, dozens of new communities like Life Link are being built to provide supportive housing to kids aging out of foster care, usually when they turn 18. A few years ago, these communities were rare, but now several states have put funds behind the developments. At the same time, the oldest projects have been operating long enough to show developers planning new ones how it’s done and what to watch out for.” According to the Government Accountability Office “Between 25 percent and 40 percent of the young people who leave foster care become homeless within a year”.

To read the full article click here.

The following is the opening of the article.

Foster Kids No More: The youth housing revolution takes off

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE - May 2008

BY BENDIX ANDERSON

GRASSBORO, N.J. — Fire trucks have been called to the Life Link Homes here seven times since construction finished last October. No one has been hurt, and the fires caused no damage to Life Link’s 30 apartments, which provide permanent housing with services to young people just out of foster care. The tenants are old enough to sign apartment leases, but for the most part, they have little cooking experience. So they regularly set off smoke detectors with minor accidental fires, which automatically summon the firefighters.

“Serving aging-out youth can be challenging,” said Ruth London, chief operating officer of Robins’ Nest, Inc., a nonprofit developer and service provider that helps more than 4,500 children and young adults a year in New Jersey’s foster care system. “It can also be tremendously rewarding.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Aging-Out-Youth, Camden DREAMS, Ending Homelessness, Robins-Nest, Supportive Housing

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has issued an important fact sheet on the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 which will reform HUD’s Section 811 program. This is an important legislative initiative that “by enacting the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008, Congress can ensure that a reinvigorated Section 811 program is ready to create thousands of new permanent supportive housing units every year without needing to double or triple appropriation levels.” The fact sheet provides an excellent overview of the benefits of the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008.

To read the full legislation click here. To read the full fact sheet click here.

To read our previous post on the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 click here.

This is a summary from the CCD Fact Sheet.

H.R. 5772 will “fast-track” and sustain the creation of thousands of new permanent supportive housing units every year by:

Authorizing a new and innovative Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) Demonstration program to create thousands of new Section 811 units each year without substantially increasing Section 811 appropriations levels by leveraging new set-asides of supportive housing units in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties and HOME-funded projects. The PRAC Demonstration program will provide the essential rental subsidy to reduce rents to affordable levels for people receiving SSI in a small but significant percentage of the hundreds of thousands of units that are routinely created every year through the LIHTC and HOME programs administered by states and local jurisdictions.

Reforming the existing Section 811 production program to better leverage other capital funding and reduce barriers to “mixed-finance” Section 811 projects. These reforms will also increase the number of units created each year through the current 811 production program;

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Advocacy, Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act, permanent supportive housing, Section-811, Supportive Housing