Affordable housing is a hot topic these days and many localities are trying to get a handle on addressing the problem. One major stumbling block is a lack of knowledge and information about what affordable housing means and what specific challenges low income households are facing. This lens is a culmination of online resources found in studying the affordable housing issue in VA.
definitions
- Affordable housing is defined by HUD as a household that pays no more than 30 percent of its annual income on housing. @ www.hud.gov
- AMI (Area median income) is the income earned by the largest number of households in an area. The most common income for an area.
- CDBG (Community Development Block Grand) an entitlement program operated by the Federal Government (HUD).
- FMR (Fair Market Rent), as defined by HUD, for an area is the amount that would be needed to pay the gross rent (shelter rent plus utilities) of privately owned, decent, and safe rental housing of a modest (non-luxury) nature with suitable amenities. @ www.huduser.org
- Housing Choice Voucher Program is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. @ www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/about
- Housing Trust Funds are funds established by city, county or state governments to receive ongoing dedicated sources of public funding to support the preservation and production of affordable housing.
- MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) is a geographic entity defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for use by Federal statistical agencies in collecting, tabulating, and publishing Federal statistics.
- Poverty status, per the Census Bureau, is given to a household when the total income of a householder's family in the last twelve months is below the appropriate poverty threshold. The poverty thresholds vary depending upon three criteria: size of family, number of children, and, for one and two-person families, age of the householder. @ www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html
- Proffers are a voluntary offer by a landowner to perform an act, contribute money or donate land in order to mitigate the impacts of new development that result from a rezoning.
local organizations
of the Thomas Jefferson Regional Planning District
- AHIP
- AHIP (Albemarle Housing Improvement Program) is a private, non-profit housing and community development organization dedicated to assisting low income Albemarle County and Charlottesville City residents to have the opportunity to live in safe, decent and affordable housing.
- CAAR
- CAAR (Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors)
- CRHA
- CHRA (Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing Authority) manages 376 units of public housing at 11 sites in the City of Charlottesville. It also administers 300 Housing Choice Vouchers (previously known as Section 8) that provide rental assistance to households with incomes below 50% AMI.
- Habitat for Humanity
- Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville
- IMPACT
- IMPACT (Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together) is a grassroots initiative bringing a diverse group of congregations together to live out our religious traditions' call for justice. This year the focus is affordable housing and public transportation.
- PHA
- PHA (Piedmont Housing Alliance) is a regional nonprofit organization that creates housing and community development opportunity for very low to moderate income families and individuals.
- PACEM
- PACEM (People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry) is an interfaith collaboration of congregations in Charlottesville that helps people find shelter at night, especially during the cold winter months. Through PACEM local congregations take turns hosting men and women who have nowhere else to sleep at night.
- PHAR
- PHAR (Public Housing Association of Residents) empowers low-income residents to protect and improve public housing communities through collective action.
- Region 10
- Region Ten Community Services Board serves the Tenth Planning District of Virginia. The region includes the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson.
- Salvation Army
- The Salvation Army's Transitional Housing Program, the "Center of Hope", helps motivated homeless families make the transitional from "crisis" to "independent and stable" living. This program helps residents for approximately two years.
- TJPDC
- TJPDC (Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission) promotes the efficient development of the physical, social, and economic policies of the district by assisting local government to plan for the future. The district includes the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson.
- TJACH
- TJACH (Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless) is a broad-based coalition of individuals and organizations working to end homelessness in our region through strategic planning, coordination of services, and public education/advocacy on the causes and impacts of homelessness.
local reports
- A report on actions needed to address the region's affordable housing crisis produced by The City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the University of Virginia Joint Task Force on Affordable Housing - January 9, 2009 www.albemarle.org
- Annual Housing Report 2007 produced by Albemarle County Housing Committee
and Office of Housing - June 2008 www.albemarle.org - Annual Housing Report 2006 produced by Albemarle County Housing Committee
and Office of Housing - June 2007 www.albemarle.org - A Poverty Workgroup Report produced by Albemarle County - November 2007 @ www.albemarle.org
- The State of Housing Report of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District produced by TJPDC - 12/21/06 @ www.tjpdc.org
- Locked Out: The Impact of Local Regulation on Affordable Housing produced by the Free Enterprise Forum - April 2006 @ www.freeenterpriseforum.org
government agencies
- HUD
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s mission is to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing free from discrimination.
- HUD User
- HUD USER is the primary source for federal government reports and information on housing policy and programs, building technology, economic development, urban planning, and other housing-related topics.
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Housing topics.
- VA Social Services
- Documents self-sufficiency standards for VA.
national organizations
- Center for Community Change
- The Center's Housing Trust Fund Project is the nation's only comprehensive source of information and technical assistance on the funds.
Lots of practical help for creating a housing trust fund. - Habitat for Humanity International
- Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.
- National Alliance to End Homelessness
- The development of local ten years plans began in 2000 when the National Alliance to End Homelessness announced A Plan, Not A Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years. Links to all the plans of various localities across the country.
- National Low Income Housing Coalition
- The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to ending America's affordable housing crisis. Their Out of Reach report provides excellent stats.
- The Urban Institute
- For 35 years, Urban Institute researchers have examined how well federal housing policies serve needy families and the communities in which they live. Good place to get facts & quotes.
studies
- Rethinking U.S. Rental Housing Policy produced by Harvard University's JCHS - March 2007 www.jchs.harvard.edu
- MIT report debunks affordable housing myths produced by MIT Center for Real Estate - April 2005 web.mit.edu
- Rethinking Rental Housing: Expanding the Ability of Rental Housing to Serve as a Pathway to Economic and Social Opportunity produced by Harvard University's JCHS - December 2004 @ www.jchs.harvard.edu
- The Impact of Homeownership on Child Outcomes produced by Harvard University's JCHS - October 2001 @ www.jchs.harvard.edu
insights
- Survey: Area homeless population growing
The Charlottesville area's homeless population increased this past year and fewer people living in shelters and on the streets are employed, according to a new survey. - Finding Common Ground
A regional housing conference that was held March 20, 2008 in Charlottesville. Handouts from the sessions are available online. - Voices of Poverty
A podcast project devoted to the poverty problem in Charlottesville, Va. - How the other 20% lives
Poverty sucks. Ask one out of five people in Albemarle County or one out of four in the city. - What They Didn't Teach Us in Library School
Like every urban library in the nation, the City Library, as it is called, is a de facto daytime shelter for the city's "homeless." - Myths about Affordable Housing
A number of myths about affordable housing continue to circulate. But in reality, communities benefit when they ensure access to affordable housing.
reader feedback
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Lensmaster
Peter wrote
Make sure you come out to IMPACT's Action on March 10 2007 at UHALL 6:30 pm expecting close to 2000, bring friends...
Posted November 18, 2007
