Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
David Greer
Director of Communications
During the COVID-19 quarantine, David can be reached at (202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
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“In the coming weeks, the House will consider bipartisan legislation to permanently authorize the disaster relief funding platform for housing programs. The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019 is rational, comprehensive, badly needed, and Congress should pass it. Its proposed standardization and codification would make it easier for public housing authorities (PHAs) to apply for, and receive, relief funds after being impacted by disasters the way our colleagues and their residents were in Houston during Hurricane Harvey, in Wilmington during Hurricane Florence, in San Buenaventura during the Camp Fire, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico during Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
“Perhaps if the bill were law today, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development would have a harder time intentionally stalling the disaster relief funding process for Puerto Rico, which two senior HUD officials admitted to doing during a hearing last month, and Secretary Carson has not denied.
“This is unconscionable and a blatant disregard of a statutory deadline. Though Congress has allocated $20 billion in CDBG-DR funds to Puerto Rico, HUD has only disbursed $1.5 billion, while thousands of American citizens struggle to recover.
“To remedy this, Senate appropriators included strong language in the THUD spending bill to prevent HUD from implementing its financial transformation initiative until the Department takes the appropriate steps to make all disaster recovery funds available along with necessary administrative requirements, which would include remaining allocations to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“Congress must take action to compel HUD to follow the law. We urge support for the House and Senate efforts to ensure that all Americans, regardless of income and geography, whose housing is impacted by natural disaster receive the support they need quickly and efficiently.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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WASHINGTON (September 20, 2019) – Sunia Zaterman, the Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, issued the following statement today in response to President Trump’s and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Carson’s recent comments on the crisis of homelessness in America:
“It is astounding that this administration is calling for an end to homelessness while refusing to reinvest in public and affordable housing. People without a place to live need stable housing, not just campaign rally rhetoric or politically driven economic reporting based on cherry-picked research to manufacture a root cause of homelessness.
“The reasons for homelessness vary and no single solution will end the crisis, but there is no question that the lack of affordable housing opportunities exacerbates the problem for families, people with disabilities, and veterans.
“The Housing First model, recognized by HUD as recently as December as the most effective way to end homelessness, treats stable housing as a platform for supportive services that meet immediate and long-term needs for individuals and families.
“Meanwhile, this Administration has tried to gut funding for HUD and for public housing authorities, which are essential partners in local efforts to provide safe, stable housing to low and very-low income families, and those most vulnerable to homelessness.
“PHAs work with their Continuums of Care to provide transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, and vouchers to households exiting homelessness. They also coordinate with a variety of local service providers to offer supportive services to ensure housing stability, and work with health and education partners to promote access to services that are essential for family well-being and self-sufficiency.
“The hundreds of thousands of unsheltered people living on the streets in our country need real solutions, not campaign speeches.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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CLPHA Applauds Appointment of Greg Russ to Lead New York City Housing Authority
Greg Russ is the right leader at the right time to oversee NYCHA and tackle the unique challenges facing the nation's largest and oldest public housing authority.
WASHINGTON (June 19, 2019) - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of New York yesterday announced the appointment of Gregory Russ to serve as the next Chair of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) issued the following statement in support of the city's selection of Russ, who is the current CEO/Executive Director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) and a member of CLPHA's Board of Directors:
"Greg Russ is the right leader at the right time to oversee NYCHA and tackle the challenges facing the nation's largest and oldest public housing authority. Greg is a distinguished public housing executive and proven change maker who has led with innovation to positively transform affordable housing for residents and communities. He is uniquely qualified for this position because of his experience as the Director of Troubled Agency Recovery and his work at the Chicago and Philadelphia housing authorities.
"Throughout his career, Greg has shown a commitment to preserving and improving the public housing stock while promoting self sufficiency and economic opportunities for HUD-assisted families in PHAs across the nation. In addition to his leadership in the field, Greg is considered a national expert on public housing policy.
"CLPHA applauds Mayor Bill de Blasio's selection of Greg Russ to serve as NYCHA's next chair and we look forward to supporting Greg in his new role."
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative to better insect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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On August 1, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, “America’s Affordable Housing Crisis: Challenges and Solutions.” The hearing focused primarily on the challenge of increasing the supply of affordable housing and strategies to address the significant housing cost burdens faced by many Americans. Senator Hatch opened the hearing, stating that the affordable housing crisis, “is a problem that should be ready for a bipartisan solution.” To view our write-up of the hearing, click here.
To help tackle the affordable housing issues discussed in the hearing, Senators Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced legislation, S. 548, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. The bill would increase Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) credit authority by 50 percent, as well as enact roughly two dozen changes to strengthen the program by streamlining program rules, improving flexibility, and enabling the program to serve a wider array of local needs.
During the hearing, Committee Members expressed their support for the Cantwell-Hatch bill and there was broad bipartisan consensus that the LIHTC program is a vital tool for increasing the production of affordable housing and providing low-income households, safe, quality, affordable homes. However, there were also concerns raised regarding oversight and compliance of the program. Daniel Garcia-Diaz, director of financial markets and community investment at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), presented testimony that IRS oversight of LIHTC is minimal and that there are no robust controls in place to ensure reasonableness of costs or compliance with program requirements. According to Mr. Garcia-Diaz, the GAO recommends that HUD, as an agency with a housing mission, play a greater role in the oversight of the program.
In our Statement for the Record, CLPHA applauded the leadership the Senate Finance Committee has shown in support of LIHTC to date and encouraged the Committee to support S. 548. The bill is especially beneficial to the public housing program, which has experienced decades of underfunding and federal disinvestment. We noted that LIHTC has proven to be an extremely important preservation tool for public housing, and PHAs have a long history of leveraging private equity through LIHTCs to fill the funding gap created by decreased federal appropriations. Without the LIHTC program, preservation of their public housing stock would not be possible.
CLPHA also acknowledged that competition for more valuable 9% LIHTCs is fierce in many states and that there have been concerns within the affordable housing community about increased demand from the public housing portfolio. Increasing the allocation authority by 50 percent would support the preservation and construction of up to 400,000 additional affordable apartments over a ten-year period, including the renovation of vital public housing units that are currently at-risk. Additionally, the legislation allows for an increased basis boost for projects serving extremely low-income households. This would be particularly beneficial to housing authorities, as 75 percent of public housing residents are extremely-low income.
CLPHA has been strongly supportive of the legislation. In addition to the Statement of Record above, CLPHA has also engaged in this work as a member of the A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign Steering Committee (A Call to Invest in Our Neighborhoods). The A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign has taken a lead role in promoting the expansion of LIHTC, including support of S.548. Last month the Campaign submitted a letter to Senator Hatch in response to his request for comments on tax reform, urging Congress to expand and strengthen the housing credit. Along with other Steering Committee members, CLPHA endorsed and signed the letter.
As Congress takes on tax reform in the upcoming months, we will continue to support this important legislation that would provide needed resources to public housing. CLPHA members should support the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act by contacting their senators during recess to urge them to support the bill.
Two-Generation Economic Act reflects the cross-sector collaboration that CLPHA’s Housing IsInitiative promotes.
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) recently reintroduced bipartisan legislation in the Senate, calling for the development of support programs that improve family economic security by breaking the cycle of multigenerational poverty through a comprehensive strategy that addresses the needs of parents and children. The Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017, or S. 435, seeks to align and link existing service systems and funding streams that currently support parents and children separately. Heinrich and Collins believe that aligning the support systems to help parents and children together will increase the whole family’s chances for success in life. The bill also establishes the Interagency Council on Multigenerational Poverty to provide guidance on two-generation programs; establish a system of coordination among agencies and organizations; identify best practices; and identify gaps, research needs, and program deficiencies.
The Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017 is a significant step in the fight against poverty. It would be the first piece of legislation to incorporate a two-generation approach aimed at increasing economic security, educational success, social capital, and health and well-being for parents and children together. In seeking to better align service systems and funding streams, the bill would give states, local governments, and tribes more flexibility to develop programs that meet their specific needs. The approach outlined in S. 435 would greatly improve the effectiveness of service delivery, and it highlights the same principles and goals around which CLPHA’s Housing Is initiative was founded, to better intersect housing and other sectors in order to improve life outcomes. CLPHA has long promoted two-generation initiatives as a best practice and has been a leader in fostering partnerships to encourage innovative solutions to address generational poverty.
The Interagency Council on Multigenerational Poverty will create a national focus on multigenerational poverty by facilitating coordinated efforts across multiple agencies and departments. This interagency collaboration will align and link fragmented systems and funding streams, resulting in holistic approaches that simultaneously address the needs of children and their parents or guardians.
A collaboration that has been in the works for several years, the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act includes a balance of input and interests from local service providers, families, administrators, and other stakeholders. Heinrich and Collins hope that this innovative approach will help collectively ensure that people will have an opportunity to use already existing federal resources or attract private investment to implement the two-generation approach in their community, regardless of one’s zip code.
When Senator Collins first introduced the bill, she told the story of a five-year-old girl named Arianna who was homeless, living in a tent with her family outside of Portland, ME. A state social worker worked with the Maine Homeless Veterans Alliance to provide support services to the girl and her family, who are now living in an apartment near where Arianna is attending school. This is a small-scale example of the holistic approach that Collins and Heinrich wish to achieve with their legislation.
“Just as a child’s ZIP code should not determine his or her future success, neither should bureaucratic inflexibility make it so difficult for families to get the help they need to escape intergenerational poverty,” Senator Collins said.
You can learn more about the Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017 by reading this fact sheet that explains the principles of the bill or view a copy of the bill by clicking here.
From the District of Columbia Housing Authority's press release:
Thirty five residents who participated in the District of Columbia Housing Authority’s Modified Apprenticeship Training Program (ATP) today celebrated their graduation, and more importantly, new job opportunities.
“I started the Apprenticeship Training Program in 2018 as one approach to connect our customers to opportunity and strengthen their ability to compete in the open job market in the trades and labor industries. The program has now provided job training for nearly 100 District residents and allowed them the chance to create a path toward sustained gainful employment and self-sufficiency,” said DCHA Executive Director Tyrone Garrett.
The apprentices, the majority of whom are DCHA customers, received training for light maintenance, landscaping, painting, carpentry, electrical, and other projects that will improve the curb appeal of DCHA communities. After graduation, trainees will continue receiving any necessary support from the DCHA Office of Resident Services and Workforce Development.
From the Vancouver Housing Authority's press release:
With 159 new units of affordable housing under construction and another 106 units set to start construction later this year, Vancouver Housing Authority is experiencing one of its busiest years yet.
“We’ve definitely upped the amount of projects,” said VHA Development Director Victor Caesar.
Noteworthy projects in the pipeline include:
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Tenny Creek: An assisted living community for people exiting homelessness, the first project of its kind in Washington.
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Fourth Plain Community Commons: A collaboration with the City of Vancouver that will include workforce housing, a commercial kitchen incubator, community event space and a public plaza.
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Fruit Valley Tiny Homes: A cluster of four tiny homes in Fruit Valley being built by modular home builder Wolf Industries.
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Miles Terrace: A joint effort with private housing developer Ginn Group to bring affordable apartments for seniors to downtown Vancouver.
Besides the apartments under construction, 46 units of supportive housing were recently completed at The Elwood, a collaboration with Housing Initiative. Residents, referred by Sea Mar-Community Services Northwest, begin moving in today.
Caesar noted it’s just as important to maintain existing homes as it is to add new ones. VHA will finish renovating 305 units this year and start renovations on another 287 units. Rehabilitating properties keeps much-needed affordable housing safe, livable and attractive.
Development activity of this scale is unusual for a suburban housing authority. Despite its size, Vancouver Housing Authority operates similarly to large housing authorities such as those in Seattle and King County. In many ways, Vancouver is tied to Portland’s economy and housing market.
“I think we get forgotten or left out of the regional affordable housing discussion because we’re on the other side of the river,” Caesar said.
Caesar attributed the increased construction activity to a few factors: timing, need, resources and the reintroduction of public housing.
Most units under construction this year will open in 2022, marking the end of what is typically a three- to five-year process from conception to completion.
The housing authority maintains long wait lists of Clark County residents in need of subsidized housing. Existing VHA properties are quickly leased.
Being able to leverage the City of Vancouver Affordable Housing Fund, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and other local, state and federal resources helped drive development activity. Caesar said adding staff and restructuring some departments within VHA created a smoother handoff to each step in the building process.
VHA is also reintroducing public housing, a type of federally subsidized housing where tenants contribute no more than 35 percent of their income toward rent.
From the City of Shoreline, WA's press release:
On April 1, Lake City Partners will begin providing services at the North King County Enhanced Shelter in Shoreline. Located in the former Oaks Nursing Home located at 16357 Aurora Avenue N, the Enhanced Shelter will provide 24/7 shelter services for up to 60 individuals when fully operational. The City of Shoreline and Lake City Partners (LCP) worked in partnership with King County and King County Housing Authority (KCHA) to quickly turn the former nursing home into an enhanced shelter to help address an unmet need for a 24/7 shelter in North King County.
Its prior use as a nursing home makes the facility particularly well suited to provide a safe housing option. Separate rooms are the best way to protect both residents and staff from spreading COVID or other airborne illness. In addition, individual rooms provide privacy and security for residents as they work to stabilize their health and find permanent housing.
An enhanced shelter is a particular type of emergency shelter that serves individuals seven days a week around the clock. It recognizes that individuals need to have safe and stable shelter to effectively address the challenges preventing long-term housing stability. Access to the shelter will be based on an individual’s ability to maintain behaviors that are safe in a community setting. The Shelter will also provide case management, meals, hygiene, health services, and laundry. Drug and alcohol use will not be allowed in the facility. Local first responders; social service agencies in Shoreline and North King County; and outreach staff employed by the program will refer individuals to the facility once it is fully operational.
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“KCHA is delighted to partner with King County, the City of Shoreline and Lake City Partners on this critical project,” said Stephen Norman, Executive Director King County Housing Authority. “This is one of a number of efforts we are participating in across the county. It is more essential now than ever that safe shelter and an adequate supply of permanent affordable housing be available in our community.”
From the Yakima Herald:
In 2016, when interested parties first floated the idea of a veterans housing project at the old Marine Corps Reserve armory in Yakima, they knew it would take years. But they also were confident that time and toil spent on the project would pay off. Veterans were worth the effort.
“Those are the folks who gave us our freedoms; it’s incumbent upon us to serve them and to give back to them, and this is a way for us to do that,” Lowel Krueger, Yakima Housing Authority executive director, said in July 2016 as the authority was laying out its vision for safe, affordable housing for the area’s homeless and low-income veterans.
So they followed through and stayed the course.
Today, Chuck Austin Place stands as a testament to that vision, as well as a salute to perseverance, cooperation and a deep appreciation for those who have served the nation and who deserve our support. The one-stop center is on schedule to see its first residents in July. When completed, the $17 million center will include 41 housing units; a center for medical, dental and behavioral health and other support services; and open space within a lot measuring roughly 4.6 acres at the corner of Tahoma and South 16th avenues.
“Everything seems to be on time and on budget at this point,” Krueger said recently. “We’re clicking along pretty good.”
Read the Yakima Herald editorial board's op-ed "Center for veterans is worth all the time and effort," featuring the Yakima Housing Authority.
From CBS 13 Baltimore:
The State Department of The Environment is working closely with the Baltimore City Housing Authority to test the wastewater of more than 14 locations in Baltimore for COVID-19.
Janet Abrahams, with the Baltimore City Housing Authority, said crews are pulling samples twice a week from each site.
“This is a very successful process that they have implemented,” she said.
A sample device is placed underground for 24 hours, then transported to a lab for testing. Abrahams said if COVID-19 is detected, they can then bring in on-site testing for residents.
Their testing proved to be successful. Earlier this month, officials said samples from Latrobe Homes detected elevated COVID-19 levels in their wastewater.
That meant one or more residents, or visitors, who recently used the restroom had contracted the virus.
Officials said this is all about finding early warning signs and getting a jumpstart to keeping residents safe.
“We can’t keep it virus-free, but we can definitely make sure when we see the spike was going on we’re testing and making sure that families practice the social distancing,” Abrahams said.
Read CBS 13 Baltimore's article and watch the local news story.