Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Shaun Donovan, explained the need for a housing and transportation affordability index, allowing consumers to make more informed choices when purchasing a house, thus leading to an active and productive marketplace. (0:29)
The grim numbers are in and 1.6 million Americans are homeless. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) held a news conference to announce details of the 2007 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.
Mark Johnston from the Office of Community Planning and Development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said HUD works with over 3,800 cities and counties across the United States that represent 98 percent of the national population. He said this is the first homeless assessment that covers an entire year and will be used in the future to measure homeless populations. He said HUD focuses people who have nowhere permanent to sleep and are living either outside or in homeless facilities. Johnston said the United States has seen a 30 percent reduction in homeless rates since 2005.
Jill Khadduri, a researcher from Abt Associates Inc. and a contributor to the report, gave statistics concerning the homeless population. Among those statistics were that 77 percent of homelessness occurs in cities, 70 percent of the homeless are self-dependent, and that on any given night 57 percent of those seeking shelter in temporary housing facilities spent the previous night with family, friends, in jail, or at the hospital. Of the 1.6 million homeless in the United States, she said 69 percent are men, 57 percent are minorities, 55 percent are middle-aged, and 13 percent are veterans.
Dr. Dennis Culhane from the University of Pennsylvania discussed the 30 percent of the homeless population is comprised of families. He said 55 percent of homeless families are African-American and that homeless families require housing on average twice the amount of time individuals do. He also said the typical homeless family consists of a mother with two children, half of those children being under the age of six.
Johnston said tremendous federal resources have been devoted to assure a reduction in homeless. He said HUD has allocated $1.4 billion in the last several years to programs that provide housing, substance abuse and mental health therapy, and job training. He said the 40,000 permanent housing units provided have made a significant difference in lowering the rate of homelessness.
Deputy Assistant for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Secretary Dominique Bloom, talks about HUD’s communication with the Hope Six Programs still needing to expend their funds. She explains that the grant agreement between each grantee and HUD clearly stated that all funds must be expended within five years of grant award. Bloom says that HUD worked with grantees to help them stay on track with their development schedule, including many site visits. (0:50)
The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “Federal Spending Requirements in Housing and Community Development Programs: Challenges in 2008 and Beyond.” Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) presided over the hearing and talked about the Hope Six housing and development program and the reforms that need to be made to it. (more…)
At the Senate Appropriations Committee, Joint Subcommittee meeting on “Homeless Veterans,” Senator Patty Murray(D-WA) said when our country fails to live up to obligations to our veterans, there is a result of high rates of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and chronic unemployment, and all of these are contributing factors to homelessness. Experts estimate that 1 in 4 of all the nation’s homeless are veterans. Our veterans are heroes, she said, and we must ensure that they never reach the point of homelessness. Women veterans are the fastest growing group of homeless veterans, and we must ensure that the Veteran’s Administration evolves along with the needs of the veterans that it is serving, but HUD (Housing and Urban Development) must take steps to promote affordable housing. (more…)
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson says the largest part of the budget is affordable rental housing. Combined, this budget seeks 29 billion for the rental assistance program which they estimate will help more than 4.8 million households. We need to maintain the units currently available in addition to expanding the numbers. Finally, he says, the homeless have not been forgotten, and for the first time ever they have seen a decrease chronic homelessness, a drop of 12%. We must continue the progress, he says. (:48)
At the House Financial Services Committee Full committee hearing on the Housing and Urban Development Department’s (HUD) FY2009 Budget, Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) said the proposed Budget is seriously inadequate, and the cutbacks are “distressing.” At the city level, there is the sub-prime crisis and foreclosures. Frank said the funding of the war in Iraq has caused substantial deductions and cuts in other areas, which results in a under funding of Urban initiatives. He said he expresses “deep unhappiness: in the cutting of money to the cities. He said it is an uncompassionate example of public policy.
Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) said in recent years the house market has fueled the economy, and that nearly 70% of adults own their own homes. A sharp rise in foreclosures have made lenders reevaluate the lending process, Bachus said, and many Americans struggle to make payments. It doesn’t seem fair, Bachus said, to shift the responsibility from home owners to everyday taxpayers, just because the house values are going down.
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said Congress should allow the FHA some flexibility in setting premiums, so they can offer “safe” refinance options. He said he believes that FHA Secure has proven already that it is extremely valuable, and setting FHA home loan limits would provide availability to help more people. Last year, 96% who completed HUD’s program avoided foreclosure.
A large part of the Budget, Jackson said, is for low-income rental housing. They have been making strives to help the chronic homeless, and the proposed Budget seeks to increase the homeless program. Also, nine hundred and eighty vouchers would be able to be used with the Veteran’s Administration to help homeless vets.
