Monarch Housing’s Blog!

The New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency released the 2008 Low Income Housing Tax Credit awards today for the spring round on July 1, 2008. The total tax credit allocation in this round was $15,087,652. Twelve (12) different projects were funded. A total of eight hundred thirty four (834) low income units will be developed.

Among the three supportive housing projects funded was Eva’s Village Apartments in Paterson, NJ. This fifty-one unit supportive housing development is sponsored by Eva’s Village. Monarch Housing Associates was the consultant for this project.

The other two supportive housing projects were:

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USA Today reports that homelessness has been on the rise ever since the wave of foreclosures began in 2007. According to a study released in April by the National Coalition for the Homeless, 76 percent of homeowners and renters displaced by foreclosures are moving in with relatives and friends, 54 percent are moving to emergency shelters, and approximately 40 percent are living on the streets. (Respondents were allowed to give multiple replies to the survey questions.)

Six cities reported increases in the number of homeless people in emergency shelters and transitional housing, and representatives from 10 cities said they have seen an increase in households with children seeking homeless services. Although several reasons were given for these elevated numbers, foreclosure was the primary cause cited.

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We read this report on CNN on July 2, 2008, with shock although the Monarch Housing Blog! has reported on this issue previously. To read the full article click here. To read our prior posts on this subject click here.

The key points made in the article are:

More veterans are facing a new enemy on the nation’s streets

Veterans make up almost a quarter of homeless population

Homeless rate among veterans expected to rise

The following is a few of the crucial sections.

Veterans make up almost a quarter of the homeless population in the United States. The government says there are as many as 200,000 homeless veterans; the majority served in the Vietnam War. Some served in Korea or even World War II. About 2,000 served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Officials say many more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than veterans of previous wars. The government says PTSD is one of the leading causes of homelessness among veterans.

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Tags: Ending Homelessness, homeless-veterans, ptsd, VA

Over 155 have registered to attend!

Everyone attending must register!

Click here to register!

With four weeks left to the 2nd Annual Congressional Reception, more than one hundred fifty-five (155) formerly homeless, passionate advocates and housing providers from across the state have registered to attend the July 30th event.

Don’t you want to be part of this historic event? If you want to register now is the time to do so. Click here to register online to attend as well as to sign up for one of the three free busses!

The Second Annual Congressional Reception has been scheduled for July 30, 2008 starting at 1:30 PM and ending at 3:30 PM. Please plan to arrive by 1 PM. This year’s reception will build on the success of last year’s Reception and seek to have an even larger impact on federal policy issues that impact homeless individuals and families.

July 30, 2008
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Russell Senate Office Building
Room SR 385
Constitution Avenue and First Street, SE
Washington DC

At least three buses will be chartered to help transport participants to the Congressional Reception. To register online for the Congressional Reception and the bus click here.

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness’ mission is to advocate on a federal level for adequate funding for permanent affordable and supportive housing for homeless individuals and families.

Click here for a flyer for the 2008 Congressional Reception. Please circulate to all interested parties.

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This is an important training as voting is important for all citizens including the homeless.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 2:00-3:00 EST

This audio training will cover some of the common barriers to voting for people experiencing homelessness and ways to overcome those barriers. We will also discuss ways service providers and advocates can foster greater voter registration and participation.

Tulin Ozdeger of NLCHP and Michael Stoops and Corey Yarbrough of NCH will be co-presenting.

We will be using webinar software for this training. Click here and follow the promts to access the visual portion of the presentation.

Call (641) 715-3222, access code 163-588-116 to hear the audio portion of the presentation

Written materials from this training will be made available on our website.

Click here to register for this event.

We found this news story from WLBT in Philadelphia of interest.

Temple University students worked with SafeHome Philadelphia this semester to find affordable housing within the community for Philadelphia’s homeless families.

The project stemmed from SafeHome’s Executive Director Phyllis Ryan Jackson’s belief that if affordable housing did not exist in Philadelphia, the numbers of homeless would be much higher, as they are in New York and Los Angeles.

Ms. Ryan Jackson says, “It was always puzzling to me that if it were true that there was absolutely no safe and affordable housing available for homeless families — as is commonly reported — why wasn’t Philadelphia’s homeless family population skyrocketing every year? City reports show the number to be remarkably stable over the years, which suggests to me that by employing Housing First strategies like rapid rehousing or prevention, we could truly empty our shelters.”

Units ranged from one to seven bedrooms and were in areas including North, South, and West Philadelphia, as well as Germantown, Kensington, and Port Richmond. The average rent was $668 per month. Yearly rental cost, on average, was $8,684 including security deposit. Providing subsidies for the housing, as well as home-based supports and linkages to community-based social services, would cost the city far less than the $35,000 per year it pays to house a family in shelter.

To read the full article click here.

Pictured above left to right in the top row - Taiisa Telesford [Email address: ttelesford #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ], Sharon Levy [Email address: slevy #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ] and Peggy Verenna-Doebbeling [Email address: peggy #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ]. Front row - Richard Brown [Email address: rbrown #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ], Elizabeth Tedeschi [Email address: etedeschi #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ], Eucabeth Williams [Email address: ewilliams #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ], and Diane Driscoll [Email address: ddriscoll #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ]. The photo was taken by Asish Patel [Email address: apatel #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ].

The new office address is:

29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156

In September we will be holding an open house.

The phone number as well as the individual fax numbers remain the same. However, each staff member now has an individual extension. Please add this information along with the new address to your records.

Phone Extensions

Richard Brown [Email address: rbrown #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ] - 225

Kelly Dowd [Email address: kdowd #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ] - 221

Diane Driscoll [Email address: ddriscoll #AT# monarchhousing.org - replace #AT# with @ ] - 227

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