Georgia Initiative for Community Housing: A Community Development Partnership

Transcription

1 Georgia Initiative for Community Housing: A Community Development Partnership COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY CONFERENCE CHARLESTON JULY 24, 2013 KAREN TINSLEY & KIM SKOBBA HOUSING AND CONSUMER ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

2 Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) Helps communities create and launch a locally based plan to meet their housing and neighborhood revitalization needs 3-year program of technical assistance and cross-community sharing Structure to enhance coordinated action necessary for community development Centerpiece of GICH: Retreat workshops Competitive application process; admit 5 communities each year

3 GICH Collaborative Partners

4 Need Small, rural communities Bring together critical players Access funding Organize and implement a strategy

5 Purpose Improve the capacity of local leaders by providing training, education, and hands-one experience in goal setting, planning and implementation Develop local expertise in available housing programs and legal tools

6 History U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Affordable Housing Program National League of Cities, Georgia Municipal Association pilot project Enhanced pilot program to create GICH 2005 National Council State Housing Agencies Special Achievement Award 2008 (GA Department of Community Affairs) UGA Nominee for the Outreach Scholarship W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award 2011

7 GICH Program Methods Technical assistance Expert presenters Training Facilitation Consensus building Networking Mentoring

8 GICH Program Components Attend two retreats a year with other participating communities Identify issues and needs, available resources, and potential obstacles Develop new ideas about meeting local housing needs and enhancing community development Learn best practices and available resources and funding for housing and community development Produce a community housing plan with objectives and goals Begin implementation of the action plan

9

10 Local Housing Industry Partners City government elected official City government staff Bank Real Estate Builder/Developer Nonprofit organizations Habitat for Humanity Public housing authority Local school system Regional Commission/Planning Agency Chamber of Commerce Cooperative Extension Family Connections Resident/citizen Faith-based organization Planning/Zoning/Historic Preservation Board Economic Development/ Downtown Development/Urban Redevelopment/Land Bank Authority

11 Examples of Local GICH Initiatives Target distressed neighborhood for revitalization Develop multi-family tax credit apartments; redevelop a failed subdivision Revise outdated codes and ordinances Increase code enforcement; remove dilapidated homes Create a Land Bank authority or Community Land Trust Obtain first CDBG or CHIP grants

12 Team Activities Housing fairs Clean up day

13 Successes Before Rehab in Thomson After

14 Successes Before After Infill development in Douglas

15 Impact / Outcome 4 communities were award more than $2 million in housing and community development grants Constructed 40 homes LIHTC multi-family units 286 Rehabilitated 27 homes Removed abandoned or dilapidated units 84 6 communities conducted housing assessments Provided 6 households with down payment assistance Provided 461 individuals with housing counseling

16 Principles & Lessons Learned Consensus building, collaborative-partnership model Help communities assemble a representative team grassroots program Provide space for participant networking and crosscommunity sharing of ideas Cultivate mentors from past program participants Provide accountability and networking structure for coordinated action Provide facilitators and other resources to help develop plan and secure grant funding to implement activities

17 Principles & Lessons Learned: Local teams Share leadership of housing teams to increase stability and sustainability Educate public and elected officials about housing goals and plans Assess team composition for effective, representative work group