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Hawaii Agencies Receive $6,724,087 in Grants to Serve the Homeless

The federal strategy to end chronic homelessness for persons who are mentally ill, addicted, or physically disabled received a boost in Hawaii with the awarding of over $6.7 million in grants through HUD's Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grants Programs. In addition, Guam received $306,358 to help its homeless population. The Continuum of Care grants provide housing (permanent and transitional) for homeless persons along with services such as job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and childcare. Emergency Shelter Grants help convert buildings into homeless shelters, assist in their operation, and fund related social service and homeless prevention programs necessary to get people back on their feet. To learn more about chronic homelessness, visit the Internet.

Additional $2,330,000 in HUD Grants to Benefit Hawaii's Underserved Populations

HUD has awarded grants to agencies serving some of Hawaii's diverse underserved communities: at-risk youth, very low-income elderly, people with disabilities, people with AIDS, and public housing residents.

The City & County of Honolulu received $700,000 for its Youthbuild Program to provide job training, leadership skills, and academic schooling to youth who have not completed high school and are at-risk of dropping out. The grant is to help youth, ages 16 to 24, get back on track with receiving their diploma and learning construction skills for potential careers in the building industry.

Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH), the state public housing agency, will use $250,000 to help public housing residents become more computer literate and economically self-sufficient by establishing a Neighborhood Network Computer Learning Center at Kuhio Park Terrace/Kuhio Homes. HCDCH will use $300,000 to provide services for very-low income elderly living at Pumehana and Punchbowl Homes.

Gregory House, the only designated HIV shelter in the State of Hawaii, received a $1,080,000 renewal grant from HUD's Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program to continue providing transitional and permanent housing with services for persons diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Honolulu and are at-risk of homelessness. Support services include substance abuse counseling, job training and placement, budgeting, and accessing mainstream resources to succeed in acquiring independent permanent housing.

HUD Honolulu Field Office Staff Meet with CNMI Governor Babauta

A team from the HUD Honolulu Field Office - comprised of the Field Office Director, Chief Counsel, Lead Civil Rights Analyst, Director of Community Planning and Development, Director of Public Housing, and Single Family Housing Program Specialist including our Single Family Housing Program Specialist outstationed on Guam - went to Saipan on March 31 to meet with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Governor, Juan Babauta and his Lt. Governor, Diego Benavente. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the needs of the people of CNMI and how HUD programs can better address those needs.

While on the island of Saipan, the HUD team met with community stakeholders including: representatives of faith-based and community-based organizations and representatives of the Garapan Revitalization project. In addition, the team provided training on HUD's programs and activities for the Board of Directors of the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation (NMHC) and the NMHC staff. They also toured a battered women's shelter. Over $4 million in HUD funding is provided to CNMI each year.

HUD Executive Staff Meet with Guam Governor Camacho

The Honolulu Field Office Director and members of his Executive Staff met on March 29 with Guam Governor Felix Camacho and the Executive Director of the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (GHURA). Governor Camacho expressed his gratitude for the support that Guam receives from HUD. The Field Office Director explained that the main purpose of the visit to Guam was to conduct a coordinated review of GHURA, the agency on Guam that administers the Community Development Block Grant, HOME, Emergency Shelter Grant, Continuum of Care, Public Housing, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the Section 8 contract on the Guma Trankilidat elderly housing development. The coordinated review was intended to provide HUD with a baseline of program performance that will serve as the basis for ongoing reviews of GHURA.

While on Guam, the HUD team provided training on HUD's programs and activities for the GHURA Board of Commissioners and key staff. Over $37 million is provided annually in HUD funding to Guam and over 739 FHA-insured mortgages, valued at nearly $25 million, still remain in force on Guam.

2004 Community Homebuyer Fairs To Encourage Homeownership

Plans for the fourth annual series of Community Homebuyer Fairs is well under way. Thanks to a collaborative effort of dedicated supporters, three homebuyer fairs will take place on Oahu to help prepare people for homeownership.

The schedule for the 2004 Community Homebuyer Fairs is as follows:

These free homebuyer fairs are designed to educate people in our communities about the home buying process, qualifying for a mortgage, and the resources available to help people become homeowners. Fair attendees will have an opportunity to sit with a loan officer to be pre-qualified for a mortgage and ask any financing-related questions they may have. Industry partners will be available to share information on how to shop for a home. Homebuyer Educators and Housing Counselors will be present to advise people with housing issues or concerns. Information on Self-Help Housing, Hawaiian Home Lands, Government loan programs, and Fair Housing will also be available. For more information, please contact Claudine Allen at (808) 522-8175, ext. 223.

HUD Conducts Free Grant Writing Workshops To Mobilize Communities

In mid-February, Cheryl Appline, Program Manager for HUD's Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives in Washington DC, presented four grant writing training workshops, one in each county. Over 200 people participated in these two-day workshops representing a broad cross section of Hawaii's community. The purpose of the training was capacity building: helping faith, grassroots, and nonprofit groups to acquire the knowledge and skills to successfully access federal funding to launch their community improvement projects. Potential funding sources include HUD's over 40 competitive grant programs, which are announced annually at a single time, and HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, which is administered by each County government.

Ms. Appline was very well received as her dynamic delivery-style and professional experiences in development, such as building homes for Habitat for Humanity in North Philadelphia and a shopping mall for a faith group, captured the attention of workshop participants. Ms. Appline, who is on the faculty at Eastern University, developed the grant writing training module that was used nationwide in all 81 HUD field offices - successfully training an audience of over 8,000 with another 6,000 people on waiting lists.

Hosts for the Hawaii workshops included Central Union Church, Maui Community College, Kauai Community College, County of Hawaii Office of Housing & Community Development, and the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

HUD Shares Money Smart Skills with Honolulu Youthbuild Participants

On January 23, Gayle Ota, Housing Program Specialist, and Claudine Allen, Operations Analyst, conducted a Money Smart Presentation for 15 participants of the City and County of Honolulu's Youthbuild Program. The presentation covered the importance of a savings account, how to use a checking account, why and how to set up a budget, and the importance of credit.

The Youthbuild program is designed to assist high-risk youth between the ages of 16 and 24 to learn housing construction job skills and to complete their high school education. Youths who participate in Youthbuild receive a combination of classroom academic and job skills development and on-site training in a construction trade. Program participants enhance their skills as they construct and/or rehabilitate affordable housing for low- and moderate-income persons.

Money Smart is a financial literacy curriculum developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). HUD has partnered with the FDIC to utilize the Money Smart curriculum as a basis for educating potential homebuyers on the very basics of how to prepare for homeownership. The biggest hurdles for many potential homebuyers are the lack of down payment funds and a poor credit rating. By reaching out to teenagers and young adults, we hope to impress upon people at an early age the importance of managing money wisely and the rewards of a good credit history.

Many persons with physical disabilities may have problems accessing their units due to their use of wheelchairs, crutches, or other mobility devices. They may need to make alterations in their units in order to have adequate and/or safe access. The Federal and State Fair Housing laws require that housing providers permit, at the expense of the person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises, if necessary, for the tenant's use and enjoyment of the premises.

A housing provider that receives federal financial assistance would be required to pay for the requested modification, unless it can be demonstrated that it would result in an undue administrative and financial burden or a fundamental alteration of it's program.

A housing provider can condition permission for the modification based on the tenant agreeing to restore the unit to its original condition when the tenant vacates the unit. However, a tenant need not remove the modifications if they will not interfere with the next tenant's use and enjoyment of the unit. For example, a wider door need not be made smaller again. The housing provider may also ask that the tenant set-up an interest bearing account not to exceed the amount of the modifications to cover the cost of returning the apartment or house to its original condition.

Promoting HUD's Contracting Opportunities

Staff from the Honolulu Field Office is partnering with the local office of the Small Business Administration (SBA) on a strategy to promote HUD's contracting opportunities to small businesses through posting on the SBA web site and with outreach events scheduled during the year. Targeted publications from HUD's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization regarding HUD contracting/subcontracting opportunities as well as how a business can market itself more competitively are available for distribution as handouts. The first event was held on February 27 as part of the 2004 Entrepreneurs on the Grow series of business forums designed to address the issues and ideas driving Hawaii's economy.

Contracting opportunities are also posted on HUD's website. All competitive HUD Contracting Opportunities expected to exceed $25,000 can be found on the government-wide Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website.

Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse

A new online resource developed by HUD's Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R), supports state & local governments and others seeking information about laws, regulations, and policies affecting affordable housing. Some of the services available include: an electronic newsletter highlighting strategies and policies; a searchable database of publications, local laws, regulations, policies, and plans that identifies problem areas and offers solutions; and a toll-free number staffed by housing professionals familiar with regulatory barrier issues and the clearinghouse collection. For more information, visit the Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse website or call toll-free 1(800) 245-2691, option 4.

HUD Staff on the Move

Lynn Lee, Senior CPD Representative in the Community Planning and Development (CPD) Program, has joined the CPD program in the Los Angeles Field Office, effective March 8, 2004. We thank Lynn for her service to the Honolulu Field Office and wish her only the best in her new endeavor.

Calendar of Events

2004 Fair Housing Month "Keepers of the Dream" Activities

April 23, 2004. 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Keepers of the Dream: Fair Housing and Landlord and Tenant Code Training. Free. Maui Community College - Maui, Hawaii. Contact: Tony Bajinting at (808) 270-7157.

April 26, 2004. 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Keepers of the Dream: Federal & State Fair Housing Laws. Free. King Kamehameha Beach Hotel - Kona, Hawaii. Contact: Carolyn M.F. Vierra at (808) 586-8636

See listing for other Fair Housing Month Activities at the Internet

April 27-28, 2004. 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. "Financial Management for Federally-Funded Organizations". Free. Ala Moana Hotel - Ilima Room. A workshop designed to demystify financial management systems and reporting. Trainer is Judy Monteux from the Rural Community Assistance Corporation. Contact: Derrick of the Honolulu Field Office Community Planning and Development (CPD) division at (808) 522-8180, ext. 261.

May 4-6, 2004. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on May 5 when training starts at 9:30 a.m. "Housing in Hawaii: Solutions That Work". Fee for food. Hawaii State Hospital Auditorium. Three One-Day training sessions designed to expand the knowledge base of mental health providers, advocates, and Federal/State/County housing agencies to assist persons with severe and persistent mental illness to locate and maintain housing. Training partners are the Department of Health-Adult Mental Health Division (AMHD) and the HUD Honolulu Field Office. Contact: Elaine Brown at AMHD's Oahu Office at (808) 733-1697.

June 19, 26, & July 10, 2004. Various times. Community Homebuyer Fairs.Free.
June 19, 2004: 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at Kapalama School Cafeteria
June 26, 2004: 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Filipino Community Center Ballroom in Waipahu
July 10, 2004: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Windward Mall Center Stage