HHB Meeting 3/19/08

Agenda for HHB meeting: Legislative Action Day: Overview & Sharing Massachusetts Budget Process and timeline Budget Priorities on both the State and local levels Brainstorming Ideas for Further Advocacy Announcements Meeting Kara Ullestad, MA Coalition for the Homeless first spoke about Legislative Action Day and its huge success.  About 350 persons attended this event including direct service people, schools and faith organizations (about 180)  Speaker from Amnesty International, Joshua Rubenstein, spoke about housing and its affordability  Panel discussion and meeting with legislators  Kara recognized that CMHA made a great effort to get people involved in talking with their legislators.  Several advocated for prevention funds and increased grants for EAEDC. Many legislators were supportive but realistic and explained that it is a tight budget year  Next year MCH hopes to do a better job of setting up meeting with legislators

Jeff Naylor, Homes for Families, explained the budget cycle with a chart handout.

 The budget is now in the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee and it will be until April and then the budget goes before the full House and it is debated and voted on.  Jeff explained that before the budget reaches the Senate in May that advocates should alert their Senators on what should be their priorities and to push for what may have vetoed.  In June, the budget has been amended and challenged in the Senate and then is the time to alert both Reps and Senators on what individuals want to see in the Conference Committee Report  The Conference Committee is a compromise between Reps and Senators and this is when we should contact Reps and Senators to push for line items  The Governor receives the budget and can either sign it or veto all or parts of the budget. The House and Senate can override the Governor’s vetoes  The final budget appears in July and this is when state agencies can begin spending their monies. July is when advocates and lobbyists should call and thank their legislators

Sr. Linda said that meeting with legislators in the fall rather than spring would be a good idea and to remember to call or email follow-ups with area legislators. Kara and Sr. Linda went over statewide priorities such as MRVP and RAFT.

 MRVP needs more money to supply more vouchers especially flexible vouchers  A new target group for these monies is unaccompanied youth such as students  Change eligibility from below 200% of poverty line to basing it on the Area Median Income to help more people.  Rapid re-housing and deeper subsidies (12 to 18 months)  RAFT was also discussed and it needs remedy o Kelly Filock, CMHA HAP, discussed a pilot program that would be more effective than RAFT in housing families. Other alternatives: tax credits, use of vacant buildings and approach CDCs o It is difficult to help people in different regions because rules are different by city – find out areas where RAFT does not work and find alternatives together. o Subsidies used as incentives for landlords to continue below-market rate rents o Also, help families into permanent housing who can afford to move out of shelters  Sr. Linda spoke about EAEDC and its recipients by legislative district o It is necessary to adjust the COLA to ensure that people have enough money to cover their costs of living and to guarantee that they have a decent standard of living. o Why does EAEDC money take so long to be given to people? Who is accountable? How should we make them held accountable? Where is the money going if not into services?

Local Worcester information was given by Courtney Seidler

 Median wage earned by Worcester renter is $11.41. To rent a decent two- bedroom apartment it is $890/month. This requires renters to make $16.45. Worcester renters face a rental gap of $347/month. At only $11.41 a Worcester renter would need to work 119 hours a week. Voucher programs like MRVP and AHVP close this gap and keep families in their homes rather than enter the shelter system  In a point in time survey, October 2006 and March 2007, 15% of Worcester families entered into shelters because of non-payment of rent.  Lack of affordable housing leaves another 27% of Worcester families in shelters.  Worcester is spending $16,362 per family to keep them in shelters – it would be more cost-effective to give them vouchers to stay in their homes or to develop more affordable housing units.  DCH is a local initiative that provides furniture and household items to people in need. In FY07, it helped 867 unduplicated households and had been referred by 53 area shelter programs and social service agencies. Brainstorming of more ideas for further advocacy:  Use of Media – Letter to the Editor in the Telegram & Gazette; Op-Ed pieces in major newspapers (www.bread.org for steps on how to make op-ed pieces), call, email, postcards  Accountability was a topic of this meeting as how do we make sure that the money we are asking for legislators to support is getting to those agencies and to those in need. Treatment of people and finding the right people with whom to speak is also important in this task of getting people the funds.

Announcements  Legislative Luncheon will be held in May after the House budget has come out with its revised version and we know for what we are fighting  HHB members were asked to keep CMHA informed of needs and what they have encountered as they speak with legislators  WALK for the Homeless postcards were handed out  Hope for Housing meeting on April 8 at First Baptist to discuss children and homelessness  Homes for Families is also holding a forum discussion on April 28 from 10 AM – 3.15 PM about partnering with a workforce development program to reduce family homelessness.