The Washington Post writes, “Christie: Obama ‘kept every promise’ he made about helping NJ recover from Superstorm Sandy.”
“Thoughts on the Housing Market Recovery,” prints Forbes.
The Hill reports, “Rep. Grimm: Sandy recovery ‘just starting.’”
“Underwater borrowers getting more time to refinance,” says the Sun Sentinel.
Housingwire posts, “Lawmakers fight to save financing for manufactured homes.”
As HUD enters our third year of the Father’s Day Initiative, we want to send a message to housing authorities that are considering hosting Father’s Day events on or around June 15 to strengthen the bond between children and their fathers, who are often absent from the lives of their children who live in public housing, and connect Dad’s with economic, employment, health and education resources. We understand that times are hard, but it is during these challenging times that families need each other most and, for that reason, HUD is encouraging PHAs to host Father’s Day events. The Father’s Day Initiative is about encouraging the men in and around public housing to be the best dads, parental partners and community members they can be. With that in mind, we hope PHAs will focus on this goal to create events that fit their current demands and circumstances. HUD is encouraging agencies to utilize existing community resources. For example, an agency can partner with the local Girls or Boys Club or YMCA to host an event. If you have an onsite day care center, consider inviting dads to the center for an afternoon. Perhaps you help arrange a father and child trip to a “story hour” at your local library. Find a way to start that works for you to bring fathers and their children together.
More information at HUD.gov/FathersDay2013.
Dickey Anne and Arthur Cook, who remain underwater on the mortgage for their Corona house, used HARP to get a new loan that knocked nearly 2 percentage points off their interest rate and slashed their monthly payment by $480.
Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times
Newsday reports, “Sandy, Irene, Lee damages: NY distributing $1.7B in HUD recovery funds.”
“Federal refi program for underwater homeowners hits its stride,” prints the Los Angeles Times.
The New York Times says, “Homeowners in Flood Zones Opt to Rebuild, Not Move.”
“Nearly 300 Volunteers Join Rebuilding Together Boston to Renovate Homes and Non-Profit Facilities on National Rebuilding Day,” writes The Business Review.
Over 100 people gathered at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the National Fair Housing Act and Fair Housing Month. Housing leaders were on hand to provide opening remarks in support of this year’s theme, Our Work Today Defines Our Tomorrow, which was followed by a talk on Louisville’s history of racial segregation provided by Dr. Catherine Fosl of the University of Louisville’s Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice. Dr. Fosl outlined the trends and important events of the century leading up to the racial integration of Louisville’s communities as they exist today.
The attendees then joined the Get on the Bus: The Path Toward Equal Housing Opportunity tour, which was a 3-hour guided tour of neighborhoods and communities within Louisville that played an important role in the fight for racial equality and how they evolved over the past five to six decades. The tour guides were community leaders who had lived in Louisville and experienced the effects of the era’s segregation, protests, and discontent. Marshall Abstain, Merv Aubespin, Raoul Cunningham, Dr. Catherine Fosl, Charlene Holloway, and Walter Hutchins served as the guides.
Each year, HUD and its Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) partner agencies receive and investigate about 9,000 complaints alleging discrimination based on the Fair Housing Act’s seven prohibited bases: race, color, national origin, religion, gender, family status, and disability. Last year, disability was the most common basis of complaints filed with HUD and Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies, cited as a basis for nearly half of all complaints. Race was the second most common basis of complaints, cited as a basis for nearly 30 percent of all complaints.
Anyone who believes that his/her fair housing rights have been violated can file a complaint by calling 1-800-669-9777 (voice), 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing and through our new fair housing mobile application for iPhone and iPad users.
Cross posted from WhiteHouse.gov
One year ago, the President established the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) that established an innovative new model of federal-local collaboration dedicated to assisting communities get back on their feet and create jobs by helping them better leverage federal resources and form key partnerships to implement economic visions. Teams of federal employees are embedded with seven Mayors across the country to provide tailored technical assistance to cut through red tape, increase government efficiency, and build partnerships to help local leaders implement sustainable economic plans.
A year later, we have learned a lot about collaboration, team work, and how the federal government can support local communities working as a team to get things done.
These lessons are outlined in the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Annual Report, which describes the impact of the SC2 Initiative and identifies emerging innovations that have the potential to be applied to many other communities working to strengthen their economies and job creation at the local level.
At a time when communities must accomplish more with every dollar of investment, SC2’s work in its first few years has already enabled communities to maximize the impact of more than $345 million in existing federal funds. Continue reading
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