Congregation Leaders, Advocates Call on New Prince George’s County Executive to Fix Housing Agency, Address Residents’ Housing Needs
Partnership for Renewal In Southern and Central Maryland (PRISCM) and Coalition for Smarter Growth
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
October 13, 2010
Contact:
Cheryl Cort, Coalition for Smarter Growth
202-244-4408 x 112 (office)
202-251-7516 (mobile)
Congregation Leaders, Advocates Call on New Prince George’s County Executive to Fix Housing Agency, Address Residents’ Housing Needs
In the wake of record foreclosures and still unaffordable home prices, the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Partnership for Renewal in Southern and Central Maryland (PRISCM) released a new report calling on the future County Executive to address residents’ housing needs. After examining how well Prince George’s County’s housing programs meet the housing needs of residents, the study found that 46 percent – some 137,000 – of Prince George’s households spend more on their housing than they can afford. At the same time, the County has returned millions of dollars in federal funding that could have helped, and has no clear plan for how to assist households in the future.
Download the fact sheet at http://www.smartergrowth.net/anx/ass/library/11/building-stronger-communities-factsheet.pdf.
“We need leadership from a new County Executive and a new Director of Housing. While the County gives back unspent money to the federal government, many of our congregants cannot find a decent apartment to rent or a home they can afford to buy. Now is the time to transform how we meet the housing needs of our community,” said Rev. Dr. Michael C. Turner, Sr., president of PRISCM and Pastor of the Miracle Center of the Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Capitol Heights.
The report, entitled Building Stronger Communities, provides detailed findings and recommendations aimed at transforming the County’s housing programs. It encourages the adoption of national best practices to meet the needs of Prince George’s families struggling with high housing costs, poor housing conditions and other challenges.
In particular, the report makes the following recommendations:
1. Create a comprehensive strategy that identifies housing needs across a range of households (including income, size and composition), audits existing capacity to meet those housing needs, and strategizes with a diverse set of public and private sector stakeholders to make recommendations to fill gaps in capacity and resources.
2. Build capacity in the Department of Housing and Community Development to accomplish the County’s housing goals by cultivating agency leadership and staff that demonstrate expertise in housing finance, effectively administering federal and state housing resources, and aggressively managing the County’s interest in development deals.
3. Build capacity among small local nonprofitsto help meet the County’s housing goals by establishing a mentoring program between these nonprofits and high capacity housing development organizations. These partnerships could produce County-supported demonstration projects that would improve the County’s housing stock while increasing the capacity of the smaller nonprofits.
4. Improve the existing housing stock by efficiently utilizing existing resources like HOME, CDBG, and state tax credits; establishing new, locally-funded resources like a housing trust fund and an acquisition fund; and using land use and zoning tools to promote mixed-income development.
5. Establish housing policies and processesthat support development projects that fit the County’s larger goals, are competitively selected, meet stringent underwriting requirements and are a good investment given the time and resources required.
6. Demonstrate political willingnessto support and invest in a diverse range of housing options by aggressively backing DHCD to meet the county’s housing needs and soliciting participation from industry investors, policy experts and non-profit developers through advisory committees and project review panels.
The report shows that many families still face crushing housing costs. According to Rev. Dr. Michael C. Turner, Sr., “Every Prince Georgian working family should be able to find a decent home that they can afford. The Housing Department’s problems take determination and real leadership to fix, but they aren’t insurmountable. We call on the incoming County Executive to provide that leadership. With better housing options, families can stabilize their living situations so that they can pursue better jobs, more training and education, or just have more peace of mind.”
Cheryl Cort, Policy Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, added, “The next County Executive needs to make improving the lives of working families the priority that it should be. A decent home for your family that doesn’t break your budget is basic to getting ahead and is an important contributor to economic development. Quality housing is the cornerstone to building a better life for families and a better community for everyone.”
Download the full report at http://www.smartergrowth.net/anx/index.cfm/1,239,html/Building-Stronger-Communities.
About Partnership for Renewal in Southern and Central Maryland (PRISCM), www.PRISCM.org
PRISCM’s mission is to be a powerful vehicle for equity and justice, addressing social, racial, political, economic and environmental policies that affect the lives of low income and moderate income families. The group trains and mobilizes a vocal constituency for fair and innovative public policies, developing a powerful grassroots base while working in partnership with other groups on jobs, housing, transportation, immigration, economic development and other critical policy issues. PRISCM represents fifty congregations in Prince George’s and Calvert Counties.
About Coalition for Smarter Growth, www.smartergrowth.net
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization addressing where and how the Washington, D.C. region grows, partnering with communities in planning for the future, and offering solutions to the interconnected challenges of housing, transportation, energy and the environment.
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