healthy homes in your community kevin lundy, program officer, community foundation of greater...
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HEALTHY HOMES IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Kevin Lundy, Program Officer, Community Foundation of Greater GreensboroBrett Byerly, Executive Director, Greensboro Housing CoalitionApril Richard, Healthy Homes Team Manager, Greensboro Housing Coalition
GREENSBORO HOUSING COALITION Non profit of 25 years
Advocates for safe and affordable housing for all, but with a special focus on helping people with low incomes and disabilities
Service range provides for all from homeless to homeowners
3 Teams: Homelessness Prevention, Foreclosure Prevention, and Healthy Homes
Address housing issues by not only providing referrals to other agencies, but with referrals within our agency– the teams work together and support the work of each other
KEY PARTNERS Kresge Foundation
City of Greensboro Neighborhood Development Department
Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
Cone Health
Community Housing Solutions
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Center for Housing and Community Studies (new 2015)
Evaluation of research and Data Mapping
Partnership for Community Care
North Carolina Housing Finance Agency
North Carolina Housing Coalition
National Center for Healthy Homes
Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina
Cottage Grove Inititave
New Hope Community Development
Mustard Seed Community Clinic
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Environmental Protection Agency
POLICY ACTIVITIES OF GHC: CODE ENFORCEMENT RUCO ended in 2011 due to legislative changes
Post-RUCO task force formed Created new code enforcement ordinance Established fines for non-compliance
$200- initial $75- daily fine for subsequent days Total fines: nearly $1 million
Elon University Bus Tour- January 2015 Students requested information about collections of fines +/- 7% collection rate
Proposed revisions to code enforcement ordinance- July 2015 Enacted- September 2015
IMPACT OF CODE ENFORCEMENT POLICY CHANGES
COMMUNITY EDUCATION ACTIVITIES OF GHC: BUS TOUR GHC started doing Healthy Homes Bus Tours in 2004 The purpose of the tours is to raise awareness of housing issues in our communities.
Stops on the tour have included: Substandard houses and apartments where the owner has repeatedly not been in compliance with
minimum housing standards (Greensboro Adopted IPMC) Homes or apartments that have been remediated by our partners (i.e. Lead abatement, accessibility
repairs, properties that were problematic and now are turning around).
HEALTHY HOMES TEAM OF GHC Umbrella team Accept walk-ins, call-ins, and referrals from other teams
Respond to tenant and homeowner complaints and concerns
Assess homes for health and safety hazards while engaging tenants and homeowners in this process Provide tenant and landlord education on rights and responsibilities
Discuss solutions and/or next steps to resolve or alleviate housing concerns
PROGRAMS
Housing Hotline
Housing Quality Standard Inspections Provide inspections of properties before our
agency and partners provide financial assistance for moving expenses for the homeless or those living in hazardous conditions
Advancing Safe and Healthy Homes Initiatives Funded by The Kresge Foundation Home visiting program Asthma Demonstration Partnernship
Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities
Landlord Tenant Partnership
ASTHMA DEMONSTRATION PARTNERSHIP 40 households received interventions Referred by Cone Health
Intervention Model 2 person team to interview family and perform visual assessment Assessed intervention needs based on home visit Hired contractors to make repairs as needed Provide trigger reduction materials or services
Green cleaning kit, allergen mattress and pillow covers, HEPA vacuums, HVAC filters, Integrated Pest Management
Conducted follow up visit to interview family and perform second visual assessment
UNCG researcher completed data analysis
Analysis has shown that modest repairs to the home and education can reduce the use of medicines, emergency medical care, and the burden on the family
Fostered a collaborative relationship with the major hospital system in the area
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, HEALTHY GREENSBORO EPA funded collaborative agreement to reduce asthma hospitalization rates
Targets 4 zip codes- 27401, 27405, 27406, 27407
UNCG researcher produced heat maps to show high areas of need for program Areas also coincide with clusters of substandard
housing, older homes, and public housing
Intervention Model- community engagement 300 home visits Attending neighborhood and community
meetings to discuss safe and healthy housing Engaging partner agencies and educating them
on safe and healthy housing
LANDLORD TENANT PARTNERSHIP Established by Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
Provides a funding source for GHC to move people out of dangerous housing Help low-income rental owners to make repairs to their units
LANDLORD TENANT PARTNERSHIP Established in December 2013, the Landlord-Tenant
Partnership is a joint venture of the Greensboro Housing Coalition (GHC) and Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro (CFGG).
The Landlord-Tenant Partnership Fund at CFGG supports the Landlord-Tenant Partnership program by making payments and deposits for rent and utilities for:
Tenants participating in the Partnership; Tenants displaced by substandard housing; and Tenants displaced by other reasons that lead to loss of housing.
LANDLORD-TENANT PARTNERSHIP ELIGIBILITY
Tenants whose landlords participate in the Partnership are: Eligible for past due rent IF they have verified reason for owing rent AND can pay rent in the future.
Eligible for supplemental rent for up to six months IF the new landlord has raised rents after rehabilitation AND tenant pays the pre-rehabilitation rent each month.
Tenants who are displaced by substandard housing are: Eligible for security deposit, and/or first month’s rent, and/or utility deposits, IF they can pay rent and utilities in the new rental unit.
Process Notes:
For approved assistance, CFGG processes disbursements to third parties directly (e.g. utility, landlord). Disbursements are not made to individuals who are clients of GHC.
Appropriate documentation is required for each “case”.
THE IMPACT
CFGG fundholders and community members have contributed nearly $150,000 to this fund
Since its inception, the fund has enabled 108 households to secure safe, healthy, affordable housing.
Support has been provided to tenants/families in the form of 235 payments to vendors/third parties totaling $108,599.87.
On average, each household received approximately $960.
TYPICAL CASE
Call-in client complaining of a long standing issue with landlord about repairs or pest management
Initial Call Interview Rental history Repair request history Landlord response Rent payment delinquency Schedule home visit, obtain property
management contact information, and/or provide advice on following the protocols for repair requests
Home Visit Tenant provides assessor with a walk-through Pictures are taken of issues Mediation begins with property management
Demographics
Black couple or female, head of household with children Immigrants and refugees
Lower income, earning slightly above minimum wage
Living in rental properties in Eastern Greensboro
Rent: $400-650 for 2 or more bedrooms
IMPORTANCE IN AREA
Reducing the number of substandard homes in the area
Increasing tenants’ and landlords’ knowledge of their rights and responsibilities
Increasing the number of families that will leave homelessness and go into a safe, healthy, and sustainable housing
Empowers our vulnerable population by equipping them with the skills they need to manage the safety of their home
Raising the property values of homes in areas near substandard units which increases homeowner wealth and the tax base of the city.
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