2000 Best Practice Finalists

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July 11, 2000
For Immediate Release

Seven Best Practices Winners in Eastern Missouri Compete Nationally for HUD's "Best of the Best" Award

The "Best Practices" finalists are HUD-funded programs that are maximizing resources by using innovative methods to make a significant difference in the lives of the people in the communities they serve.

The top 100 of these finalists will be recognized for their exemplary use of HUD funding and/or for their exemplary assistance to HUD constituents at HUD's 2000 Best Practices and Technical Assistance Symposium. Thousands of people are expected to attend the symposium - called Building a Better Tomorrow: Sharing, Preparing and Succeeding - in Washington, DC, August 7-10.

"The creative solutions these finalists are using to ensure a brighter future for many of our neediest people are making a real difference to communities nationwide," Cuomo said. "Thanks to their hard work, the homeless are coming off the streets and moving towards self- sufficiency, the unemployed are finding good-paying jobs, and families are moving into their own homes for the very first time. I applaud their efforts and challenge others to follow their lead."

More than 2,800 nominations were received nationwide in the following categories: Fighting for Fair Housing, Increasing Affordable Housing and Homeownership, Reducing Homelessness, Promoting Jobs and Economic Opportunity, Empowering People and Communities, and Restoring Public Trust. The 404 winners were selected from over 1,100 local winners recognized earlier in the competition.

The 404 finalists will be reviewed by a "Blue Ribbon" committee for one of HUD's 100 "Best of the Best" awards. This committee is made up senior HUD staff, as well as executives from 20 industry partners, including Freddie Mac, the National Community Development Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Hispanic Housing Council, the National Affordable Housing Management Association, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Best Practice: Bristol Place (previously Murphy Blair Townhouses)

Local Developer Transforms Run Down City Housing Through Community Partnerships

Jon Pyzyk of Kohner Properties turned crime-infested, dilapidated housing in St. Louis, Mo., into a thriving, affordable apartment building. More than 50 percent of the neighborhood in which Bristol Place is located was owned by the city because of tax foreclosures. Kohner Properties purchased the 100-unit apartment complex at a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) foreclosure sale for $640,000 and adopted a substantial amount of surrounding abandoned property from the city in exchange for removing trash and dead trees. He first worked closely with police to arrest and/or evict tenants and visitors responsible for drug trafficking. The apartments were then remodeled: new roofs, windows and doors were installed, modern kitchens replaced old ones, and walls were demolished to enlarge the size of rooms. Kohner Properties obtained $1,861,004 in privately-financed renovation costs and a 10-year tax abatement from the city. Through partnership, innovation and dedication, Kohner Properties changed the environment of the eight city blocks they own and/or manage, making the area safer and economically stable, and promoting interest from other developers.

Contact: Jon Pyzyk
Phone: (314) 862-8916
St. Louis, Missouri
Tracking Number: 1512

Best Practice: College Hill Apartments

Program Provides Community Resources for Public Housing Residents

College Hill Apartments is a 178-unit, Section 221(d) (4) project located within four crime-ridden, economically depressed city blocks of North St. Louis, Missouri. Its inhabitants consist almost entirely of single mothers who receive welfare assistance. A variety of partnerships with community organizations have been created to provide services to all generations of the complex's resident families, including day care, after-school programs, drug and alcohol counseling, and support for women leaving prison. The center also provides educational materials (e.g., literacy, pre-GED, GED) and access to the Internet, a fax machine, a copy machine, and e-mail-not only for apartment residents but also for disadvantaged members of the surrounding community.

Contact: Eileen Donvan
Phone: (314) 534-4143
Tracking Number: 2109

Best Practice: Doorways Interfaith AIDS Residence Program

Program Offers Community Services to HIV/AIDS Individuals

Doorways is an Interfaith Program, which provides innovative residential settings in which HIV affected individuals, and families can receive coordinated community resources. Doorways began providing residential services over 10 years ago with a 10-unit project. Today the organization meets the needs of HIV/Persons living with AIDS through a continuum of residential services. It is the only housing program specifically designed for people with AIDS in the St. Louis area. Doorways operates four programs: The Residential Program, the Own Home Program, the Clearinghouse, and the Supportive Housing Program. Currently, construction is almost complete on a new 811 unit apartment complex, to be called Mama Nyumba ("My Mother's House" in Swahili). Doorways also houses up to 450 persons each month through its rent/mortgage subsidies, and independent and supportive living facilities. In the near future, the program plans to expand its work into other St. Louis neighborhoods.

Contact: Lynne Cooper
Phone: (314) 535-1919 ext. 3030
St. Louis, Missouri
Tracking Number: 453

Best Practice: Missouri Commission on Human Rights

Commission Trains Ministry Staff on Fair Housing Issues

The Missouri Commission on Human Rights is partnering with Columbia Interlight Ministry, a local housing counseling agency, to promote fair housing in four counties in Missouri. The commission provides fair housing training to the ministry’s staff who then collect allegations of fair housing violations in the counties served and deliver them to the commission for further investigation. As part of an outreach strategy, the commission also developed a fair housing quiz show for use at state and county fairs. The traveling quiz shows receive a positive response at these events and serve to further educate the public about fair housing issues.

Contact: Donna Cavitte
Phone: (573) 522-1019
Missouri-Various Counties
Tracking Number: 205

Best Practice: Northeast Community Action Agency Corporation Affordable Housing Initiative

Agency Establishes Housing Consortium for Increase Homeownership

The Northeast Community Action Agency Corporation Affordable Housing Initiative used a host of innovative tools to address the lack of affordable housing in St. Charles County, Missouri. The corporation established a network of public and nonprofit housing and service providers to consolidate scarce resources while matching the needs of individual homebuyers with existing state and local programs. Focus groups developed to examine topics such as recruitment, housing counseling, financing, and follow-on supportive services are another means by which the corporation helps to smooth the often difficult path to homeownership in the St. Charles County area.

Contact: Carla Potts
Phone: (573) 324-6622
St. Charles County, Missouri
Tracking Number: 2231

Best Practice: St. Louis HUD Sweat Equity Program

Program Exchanges Manual Labor for Down Payment Assistance

The Sweat Equity Program developed by the St. Louis HUD office permits any homebuyers who are applying for a FHA-insured loan to exchange manual labor on their new home for a percentage of their down payment. Prospective homeowners can plant grass seed around their house for a 1 percent discount on their down payment and can paint the inside of their home for a 2 percent discount. In both cases, the housing contractor supplies all necessary supplies and the homebuyer provides the labor. The St. Louis Sweat Equity Program has been successful in enabling low-income homebuyers to become involved in the construction of their new home and in easing the financial burdens that often inhibit homeownership.

Contact: Dennis Martin
Phone: (314) 539-6388
St. Louis, Missouri
Tracking Number: 865

Best Practice: Support Services Provision Program

Program Offers Housing Assistance and Community Support for Families

The Support Services Provision Program of Beyond Housing of St. Louis provides a combination of permanent housing for needy families and comprehensive, individualized assistance to enable those families to reach their goals of self-sufficiency. Families are selected by income eligibility and willingness to achieve self-sufficiency. Case workers focus on identifying and meeting the needs of each individual in the family. The families are required to set and keep records of both short- and long-term goals, and the records are reviewed quarterly with case workers. The organization operates 215 homes in the St. Louis area and serves 875 needy people, including 570 children. Services provided include training for homeownership, parenting skills, employment counseling, childcare assistance, transportation and vocational assistance, money management training, tuition for post-secondary education, books, GED educational support, job readiness activities, training and education. Youth services include classes in life skills and leadership development, computer access and training, tutoring and exposure to post-high school possibilities.

Contact: Chris Krehmeyer
Phone: (314) 862-8130
St. Louis, Missouri
Tracking Number: 2600