Housing Development Alliance

Hello.
My name is Wm. David Woods. I am the Director of Finance of the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. This is my second blog for the organization. This time, I would like to take a moment to write about our dedicated Staff and devoted Board Members. We have a great Staff and an active Board here at the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. Each member of the Staff and the Board is focused on furthering the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the organization. This is true whether they are working on the front lines building and managing projects, coordinating volunteers, working with potential home owners, or administering our programs and finances. In addition, it is a lot of fun to be associated with the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. We truly enjoy working towards bettering the lives of those whom we serve and assisting the economic development of Perry, Knott, Breathitt and Leslie Counties. Feel free to contact us with any questions that you might have about our services or to offer your assistance. We look forward to hearing from you!

If you stop for a second and listen closely, you can hear a faint tapping sound echoing through the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. It is the sound of the Housing Development Alliance “Hammerin’ in the Hills” spring volunteers. These volunteers are college students who choose to forgo the typical Spring Break to come to Appalachia to help those in need. Our March volunteers have traveled from as far away as Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Tennessee.
During the month of March, in a mixture of snow, rain and sun, volunteers from St. Joseph University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee and Chester College of New England in Chester, New Hampshire, repaired 3 houses in Breathitt County and 4 houses in Perry County. Under the supervision of the Housing Development Alliance carpenters, these students repaired roofs, dug ditches, worked in crawl spaces to secure beams, removed and replaced porches and built handicap ramps. During the work day the students had opportunities to interact with the home owners and learn a little about our area and its rich culture, acquire new carpentry skills and gain a little insight about themselves and what they can accomplish. These students worked hard and were often exhausted and covered in mud by the end of the day but remained focused on the job they came to do. I spoke with one of the Breathitt County homeowners who expressed amazement that people their age would give up their vacation to come and work for people in Appalachia. She also said that they had given her hope for the future.
The month of March saw a total of 51 volunteers visit our area with more arriving in April. So, if you hear the faint tapping sound of hammers echoing through the mountains, look around - the sound may just be coming from some of our volunteers. You may also want to keep in mind; this is just the prelude to the summer months. When our volunteers begin arriving in June the tapping will grow louder and louder as the mountains are filled with the sounds of people helping people.

The Housing Development Alliance needs you. If you believe in the work of the Housing Development Alliance, we need you to let your elected officials know that our work and the federal programs that fund them are important. Currently several program that the Housing Development Alliance utilizes to provide new homes and home repairs are under threats of deep budget cuts (cuts of over 80%!). These programs help the Housing Development Alliance assists nearly 100 families a year and work supports approximately 75 jobs in the community (based on figures from the National Association of Home Builders on the economic impact of constriction within a community).

Here is some information from the Housing Assistance Council – a national housing organization:

Funding for key USDA rural housing programs is in jeopardy for the rest of 2011 and for fiscal year 2012. The Senate may vote on 2011 funds as early as Tuesday, March 8. Senators need to hear from their constituents about the importance of these programs in their states.

Previously HAC reported that the rural housing programs' funding prospects looked much better in the 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR) than in the 2012 Administration budget. That has changed; reports indicate that the Administration has suggested using its 2012 budget proposals as a starting point to reduce 2011 spending. As a result, the Senate bill may include serious cuts to Section 502 direct mortgage loans, the self-help housing program, Section 504 repair loans and grants, and rental preservation.

The Administration's budget would cut Section 502 direct loans to $211.4 million from their FY10 level of $1.121 billion. Section 523 grants for local self-help housing producers would be eliminated. There would be no Section 504 loans for very low-income homeowners to repair their homes, and Section 504 grants for very low-income elderly homeowners would be cut by almost two-thirds, from $31.6 million in FY10 to $11.5 million. The Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization demonstration program and the Preservation Revolving Loan Fund would be defunded. More details are available on HAC's website at
http://www.ruralhome.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=393:fy-2012-budget-and-appropriations&catid=45
and the National Rural Housing Coalition's site at http://ruralhousingcoalition.org/rural-housing-issues/coalition-priorities .

If you believe in our work, please call or email your Senators and ask them to keep USDA rural housing programs at FY10 funding levels for both 2011 and 2012. Tell them that these programs not only meet the affordable housing needs of many low-income and working families, but also create much needed jobs. Your support is greatly appreciated.