The Cornerstone:11th Hour for Real Rent Reform, Good News for Federal Housing Funds, Life-Skills Programs Seek Volunteers

Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing

In This Issue

"Living Well" Life-Skills Program Moving Forward - Seeking Volunteers

11th Hour for Real Rent Reform in 2010

Good News for Federal Housing Funding

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, Aug. 3rd Tenant Call-in & Albany Lobby Day

Life-Skills Programs Continue To Grow - your help is encouraged

Since founding the Education Outreach Program in 1990, in partnership with New York Catholic Charities, this life-skills program format has helped over 1,000 women and men in the process of recovering from the trauma associated their homelessness and rebuilding their lives.

In 2008, with Congregation Anshe Chesed, we established "Panim el Panim for homeless women and men on Manhattan's Upper West Side,

In 2009, in partnership with the Reformed Church of Bronxville and Hudson Link - the Assembly assisted in the establishment of "Coming Home" for men who had also been incarcerated.

This coming fall and spring, with the support of our dozens of Institutional members and individual supporters, a significant grant in memory of Andrew Stallman and the additional support of a Signature Mission Grant from the New York Collegiate Church Corporation, support from the Creative Ministries Program of the Presbyterian Women of the Presbyterian Church USA, and support from the Cordoba Initiative/Park51, we will be embarking on a number of new life-skills empowerment programs including "Living Well" for women made homeless as a result of domestic Violence and "Homecoming" for veterans of our armed forces who have experienced homelessness.

These programs depend on the support of many volunteers who serve as mentors, session leaders and dinner hosts.

We are now actively seeking women who are interested in serving as mentors this coming September for our new "Living Well" Life-Skills Empowerment program
for women who had become homeless as a result of domestic violence

We are also seeking individuals who are interested in providing a meal for the program participants or for their children (for whom the program will be providing childcare during the program sessions.)

If you would like to learn more about these programs and are interested in becoming a volunteer mentor or dinner host, please contact us at info@iahh.org

In addition if you would like to underwrite the cost of a stipend for a life-skills program participant for one semester - at a cost of $375, Please consider making a contribution to the Assembly for this purpose by clicking on the icon above or send a check to the Interfaith Assembly, 48 St. Marks Place, NY NY 10003

House Party Inspires a Matching Grant

On Thursday, July 29th, the Interfaith Assembly held our first House Party
to benefit the fall semester of the Interfaith Assembly's Panim El Panim Life-Skills empowerment program for men and women who have experienced homelessness

We Are Pleased to Announce that our hosts have now offered to match - up to $2,000 any funds that come in over the next 2 weeks in association with the House Party

If you would like more details - or if you would like to host a house party of your own, please email us at info@iahh.org

The Cornerstone:
The Newsletter of Interfaith Assembly
August 3, 2010

Dear Friends,

As you read this issue of cornerstone, affordable housing advocates are on their way to Albany to stem the loss of affordable housing and advocate for the rights over 1 million New Yorker renter households. With nearly 40,000 New Yorkers in shelters seeking affordable housing and fully one third of New York Renter households paying more than half of their income in rent - the ability to live in dignity and security for over one million New Yorkers hangs in the balance.

With New York State's budget expected to be resolved today or tomorrow, this is very likely the last chance in this legislative year to pass legislation that will establish basic protections such as preventing a landlord from evicting every tenant in a building for "personal use", extending rent protections to more than one hundred thousand tenants in Mitchell Lama buildings who's buildings are aging out of the program, and limiting the amount that a rent may increase when a tenant moves out of their apartment.

The tenets of virtually every faith tradition call on us to stand with those in need - and there are few needs more central to a life of dignity than the need for a safe and decent home. We invite you to call your State Senator today and urge their support of the package of tenant protection bills that we expect to be brought to the floor today.

We are also pleased to report that thanks to the leadership of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the help of many, the FY 2011 HUD appropriations Bill (the House of Representative's proposal for housing funding in 2011) passed without the most dangerous amendments included. This means that funding for supportive housing for veterans and other important programs has been preserved.(See details below)

Thank you for your attention to these important matters. Please feel free to contact us at info@iahh.org or by phone at (212) 316-3171 with any questions about the issues covered in this newsletter - and thanks for sharing our newsletter with friends and colleagues.

11th Hour for Real Rent Reform - Call Your Senator Today!

After advocating for stronger tenant protection legislation over the last two years the Real Rent Reform (R3) campaign, an effort of nearly 50 community and city wide organizations is coming down to the wire with a package of pro-tenant legislation expected to be brought to the floor of the Senate either Tuesday (August 3) or Wednesday (August 4). After over 40 lobby days, many hundreds of advocate visits and dozens of local actions over these past two years it is coming down to two days defend the rights of New York's families to decent affordable Housing and call on our State Senators to keep their promises.

The Interfaith Assembly and our allies with R3 are urging all New Yorkers concerned about loss of affordable housing to call their State Senator's Albany office today, Tuesday, August 3 and urge the Senators to tell Democratic conference Leader John Sampson that they will refuse to vote on the State budget until the package of pro-tenant legislation is brought to the floor for a vote.

To identify and call your Senator go to www.nysenate.gov/senators and plug in your zip code, then call their Albany office and let them know your concerns. Also, please disseminate this information today to others in your network. Your calls today can help stem the loss of affordable housing for all New Yorkers - particularly those with low and moderate incomes.

By holding a vote now, rather than blocking these bills behind closed doors, those Senators who don't stand up for low, moderate and working class New York renters will show their constituents where they really stand so that the voters can decide who they want representing them in the Senate this fall.

For more info on the campaign and recent victories, including the passage of the loft bill and illegal hotel bills, visit the Real Rent Reform website at www.realrentreform.org

Good News on Federal HUD (Housing and Urban Development) Funding

Last week NLIHC (National Low Income Housing Coalition) sent a call to action describing several harmful amendments that the Rules Committee had allowed to be offered as part of consideration of H.R. 5850, the FY11 HUD appropriations bill.

Thank you for your contacting your Representatives! Your work stopped several bad amendments from being offered and/or accepted, including Amendment #19 (described below). Following debate on the amendments, the final bill passed by a vote of 251-167.

Here is an update on what the House did yesterday on the FY11 HUD appropriations bill. A complete analysis of the mark up will be included in the July 30 issue of Memo to Members.

NOT OFFERED: Amendment #19- offered by John Adler (D-NJ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jim Himes (D-CT) and Peter Welch (D-VT)- This amendment is particularly important to mention to your Representative because it was filed by Democratic members and other Democratic members are likely to give it more consideration. The amendment would:

Eliminate Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (VASH) voucher funding

Eliminate Resident Opportunity and Supportive Services (ROSS) program funding

Eliminate HOPE VI funding

Eliminate Brownfields program funding

Reduce HOME funding by $175 million

Reduce Self Help and Assisted Homeownership Program (SHOP) funding by $22 million

FAILED: Amendment #8- Tom Latham (R-IA)- would:

Reduce Public Housing Capital funding by $455.8 million

Reduce Native American Housing Block Grant funding by $120 million

Eliminate Brownfields program funding

Reduce HOME funding by $175 million

ACCEPTED: Amendment #6- Michael Arcuri (D-NY)- would reduce Policy Development and Research funding by $3 million.

#1 ACCCEPTED OTHERS NOT OFFERED OR FAILED: Amendments #1, #2, and #3- John Boehner (R-OH)- would reduce Policy Development and Research funding by $300,000, reduce Transformation Initiative funding by $40 million, and reduce funding for capital grants to renovate affordable housing by $35 million.

ACCEPTED: Amendment #5- Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)- would reduce administration and operations funding by $21 million and prohibit the Secretary from using any remaining funds for travel expenses.

ACCEPTED: Amendment #15- Bruce Braley (R-IA)- moved $20 to the Community Development Fund from HUD non-personnel expenses.

ALL FAILED: Four amendments that would reduce overall funding for bill (and HUD programs):

Amendment #18- Jim Jordan (R-OH)- would reduce the bill by $18.6 billion.

Amendment #10- John Culberson (R-TX)- would reduce the bill by $13.4 billion.

Amendment #14- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)- would reduce the bill by $10.5 billion.

Amendment #17- Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ)- would reduce the bill by 5% (about $3.4 billion).

PASSED:

Passage of the FY11 T-HUD bill. The House bill would provide over $1 billion more to HUD programs than the President's budget request.

Look for more details in the July 30 issue of Memo to Members, which is delivered by email to NLIHC members each week. And link to NLIHC on Facebook and Twitter to receive breaking news and other updates.

Stop Bloomberg from Adding Restrictions to Advantage Program

In the face of high unemployment and record family homelessness, the Bloomberg administration is planning to add additional restrictions to the Advantage program.

This fall, the city plans to implement stricter requirements that some fear will worsen the cycle of the shelter system. The city, in its Advantage program, will require families to contribute 40 percent of their monthly incomes (up from the current requirement of $50 per month) and have at least one family member working 35 hours each week (up from the current mandate of 20 hours) to qualify for a second year of assistance.These restrictions could mean 14,500 families losing their rental subsidies over the next 18 months.

Increasing rent contribution levels in the Advantage program and the certainty that more families will leave the Advantage and end up in shelter will cost the city almost three times as much per family. With record numbers of families already living in shelter this change in policy will hurt struggling New Yorkers and further tax the City's resources. Please join us by sending an e-letter calling on the mayor to drop these new restrictions on rental assistance and to help more formerly homeless New Yorkers stay in their homes -- and out of shelter.

Section 8 Victory - Reaching out to those holding vouchers

Thanks to the hard work of public officials, non-profit agencies and concerned community groups and individuals About 2,500 families whose promises of shelter were taken from them will have more certain futures now that city officials have reinstated Section 8 vouchers that were rescinded in December. City officials announced this week that a $32 million plan will restore the value of these vouchers, through a combination of funds from various governmental agencies as well as hold harmless another 4,000 active vouchers who's holders (largely formerly homeless families) had been told to expect that they would have to contribute an additional $100 a month towards their rents.

If you or your community work with men and women who are low-income and/or homeless, please notify them that if they are holding a section 8 voucher that they had been told was no longer valid, they should contact the NYC Housing Authority (or any other government agency they may have been working with) as soon as possible to confirm that they should resume their search for a home for themselves and their families.

Thanks to many including Bill Deblasio, Cris Quinn, Scott Stringer, the Legal Aid Society and each of you who wrote or called over the past months for the persistent pressure and skill full negotiations with the New York City Housing Authority and the Mayors office for this important victory.

to read more go to: iahh.org/good-news-nyc-tenants

Invite the Interfaith Assembly's Speakers Bureau to Visit Your Community

The Assembly's Speaker Bureau includes men and women who have graduated from some of the Assembly sponsored life-skills empowerment programs and are willing to share their stories of recovery from the traumas associated with their homelessness and the process of healing and rebuilding of their lives.

Since its inception, such presentations have been shared on over 1,000 occasions with universally positive reactions.

Such presentations are a great opportunity to educate and sensitize youth groups about the the reality of homelessness by "putting a face and a name" to homelessness - as well as a powerful vehicle to motivate and inform a Jewish, Christian or Muslim community about ways that they can give practical expression to their faith traditions tenets.

If you would like to learn more about this program, and schedule a presentation this coming fall, please contact the Assembly by phone at 212-316-3171 or by email at info@iahh.org

Inspired, strengthened and sustained by faith, the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing is committed to confronting the unconscionable and unacceptable reality of homelessness in New York City. Recognizing society's shared responsibility and working as partners with those who have experienced homelessness, the Assembly will mobilize communities of faith to empower all people, to advocate public policies to eliminate homelessness, and strive for the transformation of society.