The Latest News
February 2019
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Dear PNRC Members and Colleagues,
As some of you know, I chair NAHRO’s International Research and Global Exchange Committee during this 2017-2019 term. I have been with IRGE for a few years and find their work fascinating and useful in my daily work of running housing programs and finding workable solutions here in the United States. I attended two United Nations Office of Habitat conferences in Ecuador and Columbia, and went to two conferences in Canada representing NAHRO. We hosted international guests here in partnership with other local housing authorities and learned from their practices. I am excited to tell you about the upcoming Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA)
annual conference
in Victoria, BC held April 2-4, 2019. They put on a fantastic event every year that includes housing and homelessness training by practitioners like yourselves. They also include academia and bring professionals sharing their research in housing and related topics.
I am encouraging you to consider going to this conference. PNRC leadership discussed my idea of sharing this information with you and felt it was not going to impact attendance at our own conference coming up in Portland on April 29-30. In addition, NAHRO has an MOU with CHRA where they will provide a 30% discount for three NAHRO registrants. So, if you are interested in going to the CHRA event, let me know and I will reserve one of those spots for you (first come first serve).
Enjoy the rest of this winter and think good thoughts about events in Washington DC.
Respectfully yours,
Saeed Hajarizadeh
PNRC President
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Mark Your Calendars for the
2019 PNRC-NAHRO
Annual Conference
April 28-30, 2019
Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront
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oin us for two days of professional development and networking including general sessions, 7 tracks/professional interest areas with over 30 breakout sessions to choose from, an exhibit hall filled with industry related vendors and more!
Keynote Speakers:
- Social Entrepreneur, Speaker, Author and Coach - Lou Radja
- Director and Program Manager of Behavioral Health Services for Seattle Public Schools - David Lewis
Post Conference Seminars
- Commissioners Fundamentals Training
- HUD Financial Management Training
- NAHRO RAD PBV and PBRA Training
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New Affordable Apartments
for Homeless UW Tacoma Students
Tacoma Housing Authority, Kōz Development, the University of Washington at Tacoma, and the Associated Students of UW Tacoma are excited to announce 52 new and affordable apartments in downtown Tacoma for homeless and low-income UW Tacoma students. The apartments are in the newly built Kōz on Market, across the street from UW Tacoma and the Tacoma YMCA. These apartments will help meet a dire need. A 2014 survey done by school faculty found that 14% of their students were housing insecure. This partnership offers these students affordable housing a stone’s throw from campus. Also, UW Tacoma has funds to help students pay for their security deposit and screening fees.
All 52 apartments at Kōz on Market are reserved for extremely low or low-income persons. Kōz will fill up to 26 apartments with homeless UW Tacoma students. These students should inquire right away. Otherwise, these apartments will become available to other households in the following order of priority:
- UW Tacoma students experiencing housing insecurity;
- UW Tacoma students transferring from Tacoma Community College and who were enrolled there in THA’s College Housing Assistance Program (CHAP);
- other UW Tacoma students;
- other low-income households.
See entire press release
here
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MTW Resources
Participating in MTW can be a smart move for your agency and your community. But like anything new and innovative, it can also be challenging. HAI Group is here to help – our newly updated
MTW Resources
page has the latest information you need to navigate the program. We’ve updated the MTW Guide, added an expert Q&A about the Cohort 1 application process, posted an interview with two long-time MTW participants, highlighted relevant research, and more.
You will learn:
- The benefits and challenges of the MTW program
- How to plan, build support for, and develop your MTW application
- MTW activities your agency can implement
- What early participants wish they’d known when they were starting out
- Why baseline data collection is so important—and why it’s such a challenge
- What you’ll need to do if you’re selected to receive an MTW designation
- More!
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Questions? Contact Keely Stater, PhD, Director of Research and Industry Intelligence, at 800.873.0242 x 222 or
kstater@housingcenter.com
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SHA Preserving and Expanding Affordable Housing in Seattle
More than 2,000 units for low-income residents
The Seattle Housing Authority Board of Commissioners recently voted to approve an acquisition and preservation plan that will allow SHA to purchase up to 500 units that will be added to SHA’s housing program for people with low incomes. Half will be for households considered extremely low-income at 30 percent or less of area median income and half will be for moderately low-income residents making 60 to 80 percent of AMI.
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Using a combination of low-income housing financing and operating subsidy programs, SHA plans to move forward in the near term with the purchase of four existing apartment complexes, two in north Seattle and two in the southeast area, totaling 331 units in 20 separate buildings. One complex is the Spring Lake Apartments on 35th Ave NE in Lake City. The other locations will be announced as purchases are finalized and residents are notified. Current residents will not be displaced or experience a rent increase as a result of SHA’s purchase, and some residents may potentially experience a decrease as rents are adjusted to subsidy eligibility based on household income.
The Board’s resolution authorizes SHA to purchase an additional 169 units as other viable acquisition opportunities are identified.
“At a time when Seattle is losing affordable housing at an alarmingly rapid rate, SHA leadership asked how we could help stem that tide,” said Debbie Thiele, Chair of the SHA Board of Commissioners. “We are pleased that through creative partnerships and funding mechanisms, hundreds of low-income people will be able to stay in their homes, which will be preserved as affordable housing in Seattle into the future.”
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2019 NAHRO Merit College Scholarship
In 2017, The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) established the NAHRO Merit College Scholarship Program. Eight scholarships are awarded nationwide to candidates, one from each NAHRO region, who are pursuing a post-secondary degree. The scholarships will be judged by the NAHRO Scholarship Committee, which is comprised of Housing America Task Force members who accept and review the scholarship applications.
The eight regional scholarship winners will each receive a $1,000 scholarship. From the eight regional recipients, a first- and a second-place winner chosen by the NAHRO Scholarship Committee will receive an additional $5,000 and $2,000 award, respectively. Each region will submit an application of their choice from their own scholarship program.
Applications and photos must be sent to Kristen Damazio, Regional Service Officer at
kdamazio@nahro.org
by June 7th.
The PNRC Scholarship Committee will judge the applications and select a winner to advance to the national level. The regional winner will also receive $1,000 from PNRC.
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2019 NAHRO Biennial Elections
The NAHRO leadership changes hands biennially with the election of a President and Senior Vice President by the NAHRO membership.
Campaigning for biennial elections begins at national conferences in even-numbered years and concludes with the election in the fall in odd-numbered years. NAHRO Associates and Allied Individual members are eligible to seek the office of NAHRO President or Senior Vice President.
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Candidate for President:
Sunny Shaw, CME
Executive Director,
Housing Alliance and Community Partnerships
Pocatello, ID
208-233-6276
Twitter: @sunnyshaw7
Candidate for Senior Vice President:
Patricia S. Wells. CME
Deputy Executive Director,
Oakland Housing Authority
Oakland, CA
(510) 874-1516
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"What Home Means to Me" Poster Contest
As part of NAHRO's Housing America campaign, a poster contest is held each year for children residing in affordable housing and community developments owned or administered by NAHRO member agencies. Posters reflect the national theme of “What Home Means to Me.” The contest is a collaborative effort of NAHRO’s chapter/state, regional, and national organizations. National honorees are selected from chapter/state-level winning entries.
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2/13/2019
2/14/2019
2/20/2019 - 2/21/2019
2/26/2019
2/27/2019
2/27/2019 - 2/28/2019
SEMAP
e-Learning; Online0.50 CEU
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Tacoma Housing Authority (Tacoma, WA)
Housing Authority of Yamhill County (McMinnville, OR)
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
For a list of all of the job openings in the region, please visit our
website.
If you have position you would like included in the newsletter and on the website, please email Regional Service Officer, Kristen Damazio at
kdamazio@nahro.org
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