NCCEH News and Updates

NCCEH staff and Coalition partners have worked long and hard on McKinney-Vento Reauthorization, working to create legislation that meets the needs of North Carolina’s homeless popluation.  Last Thursday, October 2, the House approved the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. The legislation, H.R. 7221, substantially improves the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program. In the House, the bill has been championed by the late Congresswoman Julia Carson (D-IN), Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Congresswoman Judy Biggert (D-IL), and Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY). If it passes into law, this will be the first reauthorization of HUD’s McKinney programs since 1992. It would provide communities with new resources and better tools to prevent and end homelessness.  NCCEH would like to thank all those in NC for their hard work and support of this bill!  Now on to the Senate…

So what is this bill all about?  

The bill:

• Increases priority on homeless families with children;
• Significantly increases resources to prevent homelessness for people who are at risk of homelessness, doubled up, living in hotels, or in other precarious housing situations;
• Continues to provide incentives for developing permanent supportive housing and provides dedicated funding for permanent housing renewals;
• Provides rural communities greater flexibility in utilizing McKinney funds; and
• Modestly expands the definition of homelessness to include people who are losing their housing in the next 14 days and who lack resources or support networks to obtain housing, as well as families and youth who are persistently unstable and lack independent housing and will continue to do so.

Next Steps
In order for a final bill to pass this year, it must be approved by the full Senate and signed by the President before the end of the 2008 Congressional session. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a lame-duck session for the week of November 17 to finalize pending legislation. The HEARTH Act could be part of the lame duck session. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) today applauded the Senate passage of S. 2162, The Veterans Mental Health Improvements Act of 2008.  The legislation includes a provision by Senator Burr to assist veterans at risk of homelessness by providing them with supportive services.

The legislation would also codify VA’s new travel reimbursement rate for certain veterans who drive to their medical appointments at VA. The rate was increased in January from 11 cents to 28.5 cents a mile by VA Secretary James Peake. By law, the deductible veterans must pay also increased in January by a proportionate amount. The legislation would reduce the deductible back to the 2007 level.

New figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau earlier this week suggest that North Carolina is no better off after the economic upturn of the last few years than we were before it.  Rates of poverty and health insurance insecurity increased from 2000 to 2007.  While 13.1 percent of North Carolinians lived below the federal poverty level ($21,200 for a family of 4) in 2000, some 14.3 percent are living below that level as of 2007.  The number of uninsured North Carolinians has jumped from 2000 to 2007 as well, up to 1.5 million from 1 million just 8 years ago.  Even more disturbing is that this is the first time the numbers haven’t shown some improvement after a years long period of relative economic prosperity and growth, leaving people living in poverty or without health insurance ill equipped to endure what is now an—yes I’m going to say it—economic recession. 

Levels of housing insecurity are rising across the state as people weather this recession, complete with rising numbers of foreclosures and an increase in North Carolinians in need of affordable rental housing.  Homelessness prevention has never been more critically important to plan for and implement in our communities.   

North Carolina legislators have proof in the numbers that economic growth alone—though vitally important—is not enough to lift so many among us out of poverty and provide them with living wages, affordable housing and health insurance that meets their needs.  Join us as we plan for and implement advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal levels that address the real needs of our most vulnerable populations going forward, and persuade your legislators to focus on these vitally important issues that desperately need their attention.

Together, we can change it.   

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On a sunny day in May, Senator Burr came to Raleigh to speak to advocates and elected officials from across the state, gathered at a luncheon at Marbles Kids Museum.  The luncheon was the kick-off event for the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness Leadership Summit.

The senator’s message to those involved in ending homelessness was simple: Keep it up.  It’s an uphill, often complicated battle.  Keep it up.  Homeless people deserve opportunity and a supportive environment just like everyone else.  Keep it up.  The work that you are doing to combat these issues at the local level is making a difference.  Keep it up. 

In return, he offered to keep up his end of the bargain: championing and obtaining support for federal legislation that will impact the effectiveness of our work here in North Carolina.  Last week, good news from the Senate arrived that assured us he was in fact keeping it up back at work in Washington.  The Senate passed the Veteran’s Mental Health Improvement Act of 2008, which includes Burr’s Services to Prevent Veterans Homelessness Act.

Burr’s piece of legislation would:

·         provide supportive services to keep low-income veterans in permanent housing so they do not become homeless.

·         provide veterans with greater access to housing assistance, physical and mental health services, health insurance, and vocational and financial counseling. 

The improvement in investment and coordination of services is crucial for our state, because North Carolina is home to over 770,000 veterans and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that over 40,000 North Carolina veterans live in poverty.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released the general section of the 2008 NOFA (Notice of Funding Availablility) on Wednesday, March 19.

The NOFA contains the Policy Requirements and General Section to HUD’s FY2008 NOFAs for HUD’s Discretionary Programs.

This year, HUD is implementing an elctronic process for the CoC (Continuum of Care) Application. There will not be significant changes in the type of information the the application asks, the only major change will be how the application is submitted. An exact date of the full SuperNOFA release or when application will be due has not been published.

To view a full copy of the General Section of the 2008 NOFA, visit: click here

The following is an except from the March 19th NOFA in regards to the CoC application:

Please note that HUD is transitioning the Continuum of Care application from a paper process to an electronic process in FY2008. Because the electronic application is not yet available, details of the registration process, application, application submission date, and timely receipt requirements will be articulated in two publications to be issued separate from the SuperNOFA. The first notice is expected to be issued in spring 2008. The expected publication date of the Notice of Funding Availability will be no earlier than July 1, 2008. Notification of the availability of registration instructions, the application, and other information will be released via the Grants.gov website.

To be placed on the Grants.gov notification service for notices about the Continuum of Care electronic application process, go to: (visit the link).

To join the HUD homeless assistance program listserv go to: (visit the link).

While there is still a lot we are unsure of, you can be sure we’re definitely looking at a due date past July 1, 2008.

HUD plans on making CoC award announcement on their regular schedule, usually sometime in December.

by Denise Neunaber, NCCEH executive director

The House passed the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund TODAY! Thanks to everyone who contacted or met with your member of congress to advocate for this bill! Now that it has passed the house, we’ll focus on getting the fund passed in the Senate!

See the Press Release from National Alliance to End Homelessness Below :

U.S. House of Representatives Passes National Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Groundbreaking Act to Produce, Preserve and Rehabilitate 1.5 Million Affordable Homes in 10 Years

Washington, DC- In a dramatic victory for homeless and low income people across the nation, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to produce, preserve and rehabilitate 1.5 million affordable homes in 10 years. The House voted Wednesday 264-148 to pass H.R. 2895, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007.

The Act will allot 75 percent of its federal funding to provide housing for households that are extremely low income, earning less than 30 percent of an area’s median income. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Wednesday, September 19th, the U.S. Senate Banking and Housing Committee marked up S. 1518 Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act, The McKinney Reauthorization Bill. A substitute amendment and manager’s amendment were approved. (A substitute amendment means that another Senator submitted a bill to replace the entirety of the original bill, a manager’s amendment contains changes to to bill from the original sponsor.)

Under this S. 1518, there are many changes to the McKinney program, which funds the Continuum of Care (CoC) and the Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Programs.

There was a lot of great work put into the bill. As these changes roll out, we know that there will be a time of transition as we learn the new application and regulations. I hope you’ll see that the changes to McKinney contained in this bill are aimed at helping us to better enable us to put our plans into place. Change is always difficult (all of those new regs to read), but this is a change I am truly excited about!

We’ve seen such a difference in how our programs operate– just in the past few years! This new legislation is more in line with goals of ten-year plans, is centered on evidence-based practices (programs that we know are working), and allows for flexibility in the communities to use more money for prevention and to use the funds for our highest needs.

NCCEH continues to support this bill. Along the way, we have been able to give our input on what will work for North Carolina. I believe the resulting bill is one that will help us take significant strides in ending homelessness across our state. North Carolina’s Senator Dole voted in favor of passage of this bill. A big thank you goes out to all of you who helped to work with Senator Dole’s office to gain her support and understanding for what this bill will me an for North Carolina view other blogs about our advocacy efforts: Advocates Travel to DC, Senator Dole’s Staff Visits Housing and Homelessness Programs Across NC

Under the original bill, there are several needed changes to the program, including: Read the rest of this entry »

by Denise Neunaber, NCCEH Executive Director

Asheville held it’s second Project Homeless Connect last Friday, September 14th.

Over 250 participants received a meal, linked with housing and other services, received medical attention, haircuts, massages and much, much more!

I was honored to be a part of the event. I worked the front intake table to greet participants help get data about who was served and their individual needs into CHIN (Carolina Homeless Information Network– the statewide Homeless Information Network). I’m looking forward to seeing what Asheville is able to learn about their homeless population. To view more about the event and to read specific details of what was accomplished that day, visit the project’s blog.

Before I came to work for NCCEH full time, I worked in Asheville at A-HOPE, the day center for the homeless. As I greeted people at the front door, I was glad to see familiar faces and catch up with old friends. While it was comforting to see those faces, I was more overcome with the realization that if I recognized these folks it meant that they had been homeless for a LONG time. There must have been at least 20-25 faces that I instantly recognized. I moved to Raleigh in April of 2004. That means that everyone I recognized from my Asheville days has been there for at least three and a half years. For some, they may have been out and back in. Of those, I know some had bounced in and out several times. Read the rest of this entry »

Want to understand more about Fair Housing Law? Check out these training opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

One of Senator Dole’s D.C. staffers assigned to housing issues spent this week visiting programs in North Carolina. As part of Ryan’s time here, I set up appointments for him at Hospitality House of Boone, The Salvation Army of Hickory and the Catawba Continuum of Care, CASA, Housing for New Hope, and the Public Housing Authority of Durham. Amy Sawyer(the 10-year Plan to End Homelessness Coordinator for Asheville and Buncombe County) helped to set up appointments to visit with their Continuum of Care, Mountain Housing Opportunities, Homeward Bound, and the Asheville Public Housing Authority. These programs talked with Ryan about housing and service needs for our North Carolinian communities. As Senator Dole is a member of the Senate Banking and Housing committee, her support is key in securing needed changes in our federal programs! Participants of the tour highlighted the impact that McKinney-Vento Reauthorization and the creation of a National Housing Trust Fund would have here in North Carolina.

Many thanks to all of you who were generous enough to spend time to educate Ryan about your programs and the work you are doing to provide affordable housing and end homelessness!

If you’re interested in participating in similar tours with elected officials, please contact me to discuss possibilities!