-Winners By Category-
Affordable Housing Award
Greenville County Redevelopment Authority
Energy Star Construction Program
HOME Investment Partnership Program Award
Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development
Partnership for Permanent Housing Program
Homeless Coordination/Assistance Award
Clark County Department of Community Services
Clark County Homeless Engagement Collaboration
Innovation Award
Loudon County, Department of Family Services
Loudoun County Emergency Homeless Shelter
Economic Development
Los Angeles County, CA
LA BOOST
Affordable Housing Award
Greenville County Redevelopment Authority
Energy Star Construction Program
In September 2007, Greenville County Redevelopment Authority Board and staff were concerned about the high cost of utilities and operating a homes for GCRA homeownership applicants. In March 2008, the GCRA Board approved that new and rehab homes would be built or improved to the Energy Star standard. GCRA and its partners have built over 30 new homes in the past year that meet the standard and homeowners and tenants report lower utility bills in comparison to other homes in the area.
Also in September 2007, gas prices was continuing to rise at a steady pace increasing to as high as over 3.50 per gallon of regular fuel oil in the fall of 2007. The gas prices at the pump had an immediate effect on families meeting GCRA's affordability criteria. Families were spending more on fuel cost to get to work, purchase groceries, and limited income for basic living expenses. The affordability of homeownership began to be out of reach for most families because of the increase in utility and basic living cost.
The GCRA Board and staff began to discuss the long-term affordability of owning a home. Included in the discussion was the need to create homes that were more sustainable and less costly to own and operate. The agency then began to explore methods for reducing the construction cost of homes to reduce the mortgage amounts. Efforts to reduce the construction cost were limited and rising construction cost was fueled by material demand and increasing fuel cost. It was decided after reviewing several options, including attempts to reduce the construction, to review making newly constructed homes more energy efficient.
One of the challenges reviewed was the ability of contractors to build homes according to the new energy efficiency standard if adopted and explaining the requirements of maintenance to future homeowners.
The initial results of the program were presented to the GCRA Board in March 2008. The initial success of the program prompted the GCRA Board to require that all newly constructed homes and all owner-occupied rehabilitation meet or exceed the Energy-Star standard. The Board was aware that owner-occupied and purchase-rehabilitation and resale units would be difficult to retrofit and meet the standard. The GCRA Board requested that staff make every effort to meet the standard with any new products or construction process installed in the homes that were owner-occupied or purchase-rehab for resale. The GCRA Board also required that all new units constructed, by partner organizations, with funding from GCRA meet the Energy-Star requirement as well.
Since the initial approval by the Board, GCRA has built over 30 new Energy-Star certified homes. Staff noticed an immediate effect in the attic areas were foam insulation and heat barrier was installed. In most homes, the attic space daytime temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. In all homes constructed, the attic temperatures did not exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit or no more than 10 degrees above the temperatures in the insulated bedrooms rooms with no air condition system in operation.
HOME Investment Partnership Program Award
Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development
Partnership for Permanent Housing Program
Fairfax County's Partnership for Permanent Housing (PPH) is a successful model for moving homeless households into permanent housing by creating a foundation of sustainable self-sufficiency. The objective of PPH is to assist homeless families living in shelters address challenges that can prevent them from attaining stable housing and self-sufficiency with the goal of moving them into homeownership. PPH is a collaboration between Fairfax County's Departments of Family Services, Housing and Community Development and three local non-profits: New Hope Housing, Northern Virginia Family Service and Reston Interfaith. PPH serves as a component to Fairfax County's Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
In January 2009, there were 1,730 homeless persons in Fairfax County, more than
60% of those persons were in families, and 64% of adults in those homeless families were employed. Monthly average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the county is $1,134, requiring a family to earn approximately $22 an hour to be able to afford the rent. 82% of homeless families in the county earn less than $14.74 an hour.' Low incomes and high housing costs make it difficult for homeless families to secure stable housing in the county. Homeless families often face other challenges as well such as domestic
PPH provides a comprehensive package of services to assist those in greatest need in the Fairfax community: homeless families faced with several challenges to overcome before achieving self-sufficiency and breaking the cycle of poverty. PPH focuses on all contributing factors to homelessness and addresses those issues each in turn with an aggressive supportive approach that is producing highly successful results. At program entry, close to half the participating families (42%) cited domestic violence as their main reason for homelessness. Several families were struggling with learning disabilities and/or depression. Past traumatic relationships also made it difficult, initially, for some participating families to open up to their case managers in sharing sensitive information or deferring to them on financial matters.
In the first two years of the program, one lesson that has been learned is that homeownership may not be an attainable goal for all participating families within the five-year time frame. Some will require additional time and services to reach that goal; however, these households are still successfully moving along the path to maintaining stable housing through rental options and increasing overall self-sufficiency.
PPH serves as a tested and successful model for public-private partnerships working together to address complex social issues. The program not only takes on the issue of homelessness, but also life issues which often prevent a family from achieving selfsufficiency, such as divorce, domestic violence, cultural assimilation and creditldebt management issues. It is a full-scope approach to assisting families in achieving and maintaining their household's self-sufficiency. The program innovatively combines the resources of both the public and private sectors to empower families in breaking the cycle of poverty.
Homeless Coordination/Assistance Award
Clark County Department of Community Services
Clark County Homeless Engagement Collaboration
The Clark Homeless Engagement Collaboration (CHEC) employs a housing first model to hard-to-serve individuals living on the streets or in encampments and for individuals re-entering the community from jail andlor hospitals. The innovative CHEC program is utilizing an evidence-based practice model (Program for Assertive Community Treatment) to assist individuals living in encampments and individuals reentering the community obtain immediate housing. The CHEC program is expanding the housing capacity through landlord outreach and education. In the first year I0 I individuals who were homeless received housing through CHEC (49 individuals were living in uninhabitable areas, 52 re-entered from jail or hospitals).
According to the Clark County I0 year plan, in the 2007 one-day count, 1,392 people were homeless in Clark County Washington. Of those people counted in 2007, close to
30 percent were unsheltered - on the streets, in parks, sleeping in cars, or doubled up with family or with friends. This plan identified providing 'Housing First' and assistance to individuals 'Re-entering' the community as high priorities. In the fall of 2007 the Clark County Department of Community Services (DCS) submitted an application for funding to the Homeless Grant Assistance Program operated under the aegis of the Washington Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED).
The proposal entitled Clark Homeless Engagement Collaboration (CHEC) was designed to address the needs of the most vulnerable segment of the homeless population in Clark County- those living on the street and in encampments, those with mental health and or substance abuse disorders, and individuals coming from jail and state hospitals
During CHEC's inaugural year significant advancements have been made in Clark County's ability to support homeless individuals to find and maintain housing. Additionally new relationships have been formed and policies and practices implemented to improve the efficiency and efficacy of services provided to residents of Clark County who have very low incomes. Individuals and families are now housed, new rental units for individuals with very low incomes have been identified and are under contract, and collaboration between formal and informal stakeholders has occurred. The above is from the Clark Housing and Engagement Collaboration Evaluation Re~orbty the Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston.
The CHEC Outreach Team's collaborative efforts during the first year of the project are important to highlight. This group was responsible for working directly with residents in the encampments to target chronically homeless individuals identified by the Vancouver Police Department and SHARE, Inc. to move into housing. Progress towards the goal of reducing encampments has been made. All of the individuals who have received housing had moved from an encampment to housing provided through CHEC. Ten encampments sites have been identified and residents have been targeted for CHEC services.
Between July I, 2008 and June 3 I, 2009 forty-nine individuals living in Clark County who were homeless received housing through CHEC
Innovation Award
Loudon County, Department of Family Services
Loudoun County Emergency Homeless Shelter
The design team consisted of public-input sessions via the CDBG process, the Planning Department, the Department of Construction and Waste Management, the Department of Family Services, plus the input of the current program operators (Volunteers of America and the Salvation Army). Consistent with the CDBG goal to provide and maintain affordable housing and prevent homelessness, the design team had several objectives:
1. To design, construct and operate a new Emergency Homeless Shelter which serves families, couples and single individuals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
2. To provide holistic/intensive case management services to end the cycle of homelessness.
3. To utilize state of the art energy and maintenance efficiencies to achieve longterm savings. The efficiencies were ‘designed-in’ vs added-on.
4. To site the facility in a more convenient location to reduce transportation outlays shuttling clients from downtown to rural facilities.
A careful look at the existing situation, the desire to improve the quality of services, find a more centrally-located bus-route location, and reap savings and efficiencies both in terms of operating the programs and achieving maintenance and energy efficiency were also key objectives.
Both the family shelters and the single men’s shelter were lacking capacity. The new facility will enable the County to serve a minimum of 75 additional clients yearly. The location is along public bus routes that enables clients to get and hold jobs, utilize community services, attend schools, social and religious activities.
The total cost of the Emergency Homeless Shelter project was $2.3 million. County tax dollars were the primary source of funding for this project and resulted from a careful review of many competing projects typical of a county undergoing rapid population growth (schools, public facilities, public services, fire and rescue and safety). The urgency of the Emergency Homeless Shelter came as a result of an expanding landfill within close proximity (across the street on rural Woods Road) from the existing family homeless shelters coupled with a need for additional bed-space and a permanent location for a single men’s shelter (which was operating in a non-optimal leased rural facility) and the day-time drop in center which receives almost 400 visits monthly.
The model for the innovative design and construction of Loudoun County’s new
Emergency Homeless Shelter can be replicated by most communities trying to best serve their homeless populations. The project was founded on collaboration and the recognition of needs and opportunities to design an energy-efficient multi-use facility for the long-term best interests of the community. The project is an excellent example of federal-local partnerships and provides a maximum return on investment.
Economic Development
Los Angeles County, CA
LA BOOST
The Community Development Commission of Los Angeles County launched the Los Angeles
Business Owner Outreach Support and Training (LABOOST) Program to replace an underperforming business incubation program. LABOOST, an innovative entrepreneurial training program that assists small businesses succeed through skill development and direct counseling, is offered in two five-month phases. During phase one, participants plan, then launch their business concept before the completion of the session. During the second phase, participants execute a business growth and expansion plan. Each segment starts with an immersive "BOOST" Camp that provides immediate results. Since the program's inception, 58 participants graduated from LABOOST.
LABOOST provides small business training at LASW delivered by entrepreneurial experts in incubation. Through LABOOST, emerging small businesses receive professional training, outreach, counseling, and advisory services.
It was important to devise a program that would make best use of the training dollars. The program was designed to provide an immediate deep immersion into entrepreneurship as follows:
· Two programs are offered: one for new businesses, and a second follow-up program for businesses entering a growth period.
· Each program is limited to only 10 select cohorts.
· Each program begins with a hands-on kick-off "BOOST Camp" lasting a day and a half to immerse the clients and provide information and education that can be used immediately.
· Each program is five months long.
· During the five months, each participant receives 2 one-on-one sessions with an experienced small business counselor.
· Once a month, there is an education workshop that provides useful business tools that can be used immediately.
· Once a month, all entrepreneurs gather as a community to help each other for a discussion facilitated by one of the trainers.
One of the key ingredients unique to the LABOOST program is accountability. As a requirement for the LABOOST program, each participant is given mutually agreed upon homework and goals to accomplish for the next meeting. Each participant signs a document stating that they agree to complete this work, or they may be removed from the program.