Good afternoon! I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather. Hard to believe that April is just around the corner! It's spring break for many in the Triangle, including Chris, who is out on a well-deserved vacation.
We've been busy here at the Coalition. On Friday, March 16th we hosted our sixth Assets Policy Forum in Charlotte in partnership with the NC Assets Alliance. We had our largest crowd to date, with over 70 folks attending. A special thanks to Carley and our two wonderful interns, Alex and Jessica, for all their hard work. We hope to schedule one more forum in the Triangle area in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned!
As the number of foreclosure starts in NC continue to escalate, Regina is moving forward with her foreclosure prevention work. This year, the NC Housing Coalition will be partnering with local branches of United Way and the NC Institute of Minority Economic Development to co-sponsor community education workshops around the state. Although Legal Aid attorneys plan to continue training housing counselors and housing service providers, it is the Coalition’s goal to reach as many consumers and homeowners as possible in the year 2010. Please see the announcements section below for upcoming events on April 12 in Havelock and on May 4 in Raleigh. If you have a community or professional need for foreclosure prevention education, please contact Regina Green at (919) 827-4494 or rgreen(at)nchousing.org.
Anne is hard at work preparing our 2009 Annual Report. You probably received an email from her yesterday. If you have any good housing and people pictures you think exemplify quality affordable housing and would like to have them featured in our report, please send them to Anne Ehlers at aehlers(at)nchousing.org.
The CHIN staff have trainings scheduled on HPRP and ESG reports. For more information, please visit their website: www.nchomeless.org. Finally, Vickie and Charmaine are busy preparing for our upcoming audit.
I was in Wilmington last Wednesday for a fair housing workshop. We had an attentive group, and I'd like to thank our presenters Lesley Albritton from the Greenville NC Legal Aid office and Ida Baker from the Fayetteville NC Legal Aid office, as well as Wanda Coston and the folks at New Hanover County for helping make it a success. We'll be in Durham tomorrow for another workshop, and will be planning more across the state later this spring and summer.
NC Housing News
Please note the article on the closure or Partners for Homeownership. For the past thirteen years, Jane Milner and the Partners for Homeownership foks have been helping people become homeowners that would not have been otherwise served by the market. Due to the poor economic climate, they have had to close their doors. We thank them for their hard work and dedication, and wish them the best on future endeavors.
National Housing News
Register now for NLIHC’s Housing Policy Conference to be held April 11-14th at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. Registration and hotel details are here.
Carley has included a Legislative and Outreach update below.
Read our Blog and “Friend” Us!
Please continue to check out our blog and Facebook page. Our staff will be using these two pages as a way to get current information out to you on a daily basis. Please visit nchousing.blogspot.com and give us your thoughts. Our Facebook page is located here.
Thanks for all that you do and your continued support.
Sincerely,
John Niffenegger
Membership and Training Coordinator
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
NCHC featured in NLIHC's Memo to Members
The North Carolina Housing Coaltion was featured in this week's Memo to Members, put out by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The NLIHC highlighted our Affordable Housing Primer and Housing Communications Manual as useful tools for education and advocacy.
The article can be found at:
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Staff Meeting
I know, I know. A staff meeting hardly seems worthy of a blog post. But, as many of you know we have several staff members spread out across the state and we only get together once a quarter. It was great to see everyone and get caught up on what everyone is doing. Our CHIN staff has been working tirelessly to integrate HPRP into the system. Carley and Chris are busy preparing for the upcoming legislative session. Regina and John already have a list of trainings scheduled and I've been rolling out grant applications and reports. In addition to business, it's always great to hear what everyone's families are up to and what activities they have planned. One of the best things about staff is that we all genuinely enjoy each others' company. Tomorrow is our annual staff photo. Check back on Friday to see the results.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Check out our Op-ed!
Chris, Carley and Jessica wrote a fantastic op-ed about housing and schools. Check it out!
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/07/372352/housing-is-key-school-equality.html?storylink=misearch
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/07/372352/housing-is-key-school-equality.html?storylink=misearch
Friday, March 5, 2010
Busy Week
It's been a busy week for the Housing Coalition. Of course, the big news here in Wake County is that the school board voted to eliminate the diversity policy. Chris and Carley have authored an op-ed about how this will effect housing patterns. Look for it in this weekend's N&O. A big thanks to Jessica Parker, one of our MSW interns for pulling the op-ed together.
We hosted another Asset Building Forum along with the Assets Alliance in Fayetteville. Next Friday we'll be in Asheville for another forum. Come join us if you can.
We ended the week on a high note at a joint committee meeting of Blueprint. For those of you who don't know, Blueprint is partnership of more than 40 progressive state-level nonprofits. All are committed to improving the common good by pursuing an integrated communications and civic engagement strategy. It was great to feel the support and encouragement from all these organizations with the same goal. Thanks to Stephanie Bass, Tom Burton, Sean Kosofsky and Erin Byrd for the inspiration this afternoon.
Coming Soon: Text Message Fundraising!
Have a great weekend everyone,
Anne
We hosted another Asset Building Forum along with the Assets Alliance in Fayetteville. Next Friday we'll be in Asheville for another forum. Come join us if you can.
We ended the week on a high note at a joint committee meeting of Blueprint. For those of you who don't know, Blueprint is partnership of more than 40 progressive state-level nonprofits. All are committed to improving the common good by pursuing an integrated communications and civic engagement strategy. It was great to feel the support and encouragement from all these organizations with the same goal. Thanks to Stephanie Bass, Tom Burton, Sean Kosofsky and Erin Byrd for the inspiration this afternoon.
Coming Soon: Text Message Fundraising!
Have a great weekend everyone,
Anne
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Housing Matters 3.2.10
Since our last edition of Housing Matters we’ve had another snowfall and have more expected tonight here in the Triangle! It has been quite a real winter, though still nothing like they are experiencing in the Mid Atlantic and New England areas. Still, I know I will be glad when spring finally gets here, as will all of the families struggling with energy bills and poorly insulated housing.
Last week, we held our quarterly Board Meeting and I am excited to announce that we have added two new Board Members and elected new officers for the Coalition. Cindy Weeks, Mountain Housing Opportunities, and Robin Merrell, Pisgah Legal Services (both of Asheville), have joined our Board. Both bring a significant amount of experience in development and advocacy across the spectrum from homelessness to homeownership and we are looking forward to having them on the Board.
Ben Collins who has been serving as Treasurer for the Coalition has been elected Board Chair. Helen McInnis who had served as Chair for four years is stepping down, but will serve as Vice Chair until the fall to help Ben with the transition. Tony Portal, Reznick Group, joined the Board in November has been elected Treasurer. Other members of our Executive Committee include Ned Fowler, director of Northwest Regional Housing in Boone, Stephanie Workman of the Employment Security Commission in Lenoir, Jabrina Robinson of the Banks Law Firm in Durham, and Antoinette Kerr, director of the Lexington CDC in Lexington.
NC Housing News
Last week, we held our third Assets Policy Forum in partnership with the NC Assets Alliance. This event was hosted at the Winston-Salem Urban League and was led by former NCHC Board Member Dan Kornelis of the Forsyth County Housing Department. It was the best Forum yet with more than 40 folks in attendance and great energy and enthusiasm by everyone. Thanks to Dan for his great leadership and to our interns Jessica Parker and Alex Bidot for all of their work in making this such a successful event.
The Housing Coalition has been partnering with the Alliance to use these Forums as a way for us to hear from folks across the state about what is happening in their communities as well as to engage them in our state and federal advocacy efforts. I am proud to announce that I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Assets Alliance and look forward to even more work together in the future.
Our next event is tomorrow in Fayetteville (click here for more info) with another planned for next Friday in Asheville (click here for more information).
Thanks to Cindy Wiggins-Tiede of CICCAR for letting me carpool with her to the Palmetto State Affordable Housing Conference in Columbia. It was great to see so many folks who live in NC attend and to get to spend some time with staff and Board leaders from the SC Affordable Housing Coalition. As we are the largest Housing Coalition in our area, I am hopeful we can work more closely with our counterparts in SC, VA, and GA on housing advocacy. I also got some great ideas for our Annual Housing Conference that we have already started planning for September in Raleigh.
National Housing News
National Low Income Housing Coalition Policy Conference
Register Now for NLIHC’s Housing Policy Conference to be held April 11-14th at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. Registration and hotel details are here.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is confirmed as the keynote speaker. The conference will also feature many additional opportunities to engage with senior HUD officials. In addition, more than 30 plenary sessions and workshops are designed to bring you up-to-date on federal housing policy issues.
Please note that there are special rates available for residents of public and assisted housing, for members of resident groups, and for other people with low incomes. Please email outreach(at)nlihc.org for more information.
Read our Blog and “Friend” Us!
Please continue to check out our blog and Facebook page. Our staff will be using these two pages as a way to get current information out to you on a daily basis. Please visit nchousing.blogspot.com and give us your thoughts. Our Facebook page is located here.
Thanks for all that you do and your continued support.
Sincerely,
Chris Estes
Executive Director
Last week, we held our quarterly Board Meeting and I am excited to announce that we have added two new Board Members and elected new officers for the Coalition. Cindy Weeks, Mountain Housing Opportunities, and Robin Merrell, Pisgah Legal Services (both of Asheville), have joined our Board. Both bring a significant amount of experience in development and advocacy across the spectrum from homelessness to homeownership and we are looking forward to having them on the Board.
Ben Collins who has been serving as Treasurer for the Coalition has been elected Board Chair. Helen McInnis who had served as Chair for four years is stepping down, but will serve as Vice Chair until the fall to help Ben with the transition. Tony Portal, Reznick Group, joined the Board in November has been elected Treasurer. Other members of our Executive Committee include Ned Fowler, director of Northwest Regional Housing in Boone, Stephanie Workman of the Employment Security Commission in Lenoir, Jabrina Robinson of the Banks Law Firm in Durham, and Antoinette Kerr, director of the Lexington CDC in Lexington.
NC Housing News
Last week, we held our third Assets Policy Forum in partnership with the NC Assets Alliance. This event was hosted at the Winston-Salem Urban League and was led by former NCHC Board Member Dan Kornelis of the Forsyth County Housing Department. It was the best Forum yet with more than 40 folks in attendance and great energy and enthusiasm by everyone. Thanks to Dan for his great leadership and to our interns Jessica Parker and Alex Bidot for all of their work in making this such a successful event.
The Housing Coalition has been partnering with the Alliance to use these Forums as a way for us to hear from folks across the state about what is happening in their communities as well as to engage them in our state and federal advocacy efforts. I am proud to announce that I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Assets Alliance and look forward to even more work together in the future.
Our next event is tomorrow in Fayetteville (click here for more info) with another planned for next Friday in Asheville (click here for more information).
Thanks to Cindy Wiggins-Tiede of CICCAR for letting me carpool with her to the Palmetto State Affordable Housing Conference in Columbia. It was great to see so many folks who live in NC attend and to get to spend some time with staff and Board leaders from the SC Affordable Housing Coalition. As we are the largest Housing Coalition in our area, I am hopeful we can work more closely with our counterparts in SC, VA, and GA on housing advocacy. I also got some great ideas for our Annual Housing Conference that we have already started planning for September in Raleigh.
National Housing News
National Low Income Housing Coalition Policy Conference
Register Now for NLIHC’s Housing Policy Conference to be held April 11-14th at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. Registration and hotel details are here.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is confirmed as the keynote speaker. The conference will also feature many additional opportunities to engage with senior HUD officials. In addition, more than 30 plenary sessions and workshops are designed to bring you up-to-date on federal housing policy issues.
Please note that there are special rates available for residents of public and assisted housing, for members of resident groups, and for other people with low incomes. Please email outreach(at)nlihc.org for more information.
Read our Blog and “Friend” Us!
Please continue to check out our blog and Facebook page. Our staff will be using these two pages as a way to get current information out to you on a daily basis. Please visit nchousing.blogspot.com and give us your thoughts. Our Facebook page is located here.
Thanks for all that you do and your continued support.
Sincerely,
Chris Estes
Executive Director
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)