Students and staff at the Great Hope Homes Homework Club held a culminating celebration of Black History Month that included a dramatic interpretation of Harriet Tubman freeing slaves with songs and readings about her journey. The students also gave short readings about civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges: US Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker; Carter G. Woodson, creator of Black History Month; champion athlete Wilma Rudolph; and the Greensboro Four Sit-ins to protest segregation.
The Montgomery County Council’s budget deliberations are in full swing and we need you to be a champion for programs that support affordable housing in the county. Access to quality, affordable housing serves as an important source of stability for our neighbors who face economic challenges, and the county’s housing trust fund is the primary tool for building and preserving housing for low-income households.
On Thursday, Feb. 13, the Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will take up the capital budget for the County’s housing trust fund, known as the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF). The County Executive has recommended a total of $22 million for housing production, or level funding from last year. In addition, he has proposed setting aside $10 million for a new “Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund,” a dedicated private-public fund to preserve affordable housing. These additional funds will provide a needed boost to preserve affordable housing before it is lost, but we also need additional resources in the HIF to accelerate the development of new housing that is affordable to low- and moderate- income renters. At the local level, emails from residents often prove to be the deciding factor in budget decisions.
It is critical that Councilmembers hear from YOU on this issue before Thursday as the committee’s recommendation will carry substantial weight with the full Council. Please email the Council to let them know that you care about residents having access to affordable housing and support additional resources for the HIF.
Below is a message you can copy and personalize to urge County Council to support strong funding for affordable housing. Click here for a list of Councilmembers’ email addresses.
Dear Council President Katz and Members of the Council:
I am writing to express my strong support for robust funding of the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF), to support preservation and creation of affordable housing in Montgomery County, and to request that the Council increase funding in the capital budget for Affordable Housing Acquisition and Preservation. As you know, Montgomery County, and the region, are experiencing an affordable housing crisis.
The Council of Governments adopted regional housing targets to meet current and future housing needs, and the County Council took action to support this effort. In an independent effort, the Urban Institute projected that Montgomery County will need to create more than 20,000 units of housing for households with incomes of $55,000 or less in the next 10 years to meet the demand. If the County is serious about meeting the housing targets it has endorsed, we must find a way to ramp up production and preservation efforts and devote the necessary resources beginning with this budget.
On Thursday, the Council’s PHED committee will take up the HIF budget. I urge you to increase funding over and above the County Executive’s budget request, and to take bold steps to accelerate the development of affordable housing in the county.
Sincerely
Montgomery County should take strong steps to expand the availability of affordable housing, MHP’s Chris Gillis told the County Council at a Feb. 6 hearing on the fiscal 2021 capital budget.
“MHP’s top priority in the County Executive’s proposed capital budget is additional funding to support the acquisition, development, and renovation of affordable housing, and to grow the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) to $100 million annually by 2022,” said Gillis, MHP’s director of policy and neighborhood development.
He noted the Urban Institute estimated that Montgomery County needs to create an additional 20,000 units of housing for households with incomes of $55,000 or less by 2030 to meet residents’ needs. This would require producing about 2,000 units a year for low- to moderate-income households. But at current funding levels, the county is only producing about 600 units a year, making it likely the need will not be fully addressed.
Gillis praised the County Executive’s proposal to create a new Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund. The fund would be capitalized with $10 million in county dollars for each of the next two years with the intention of leveraging additional private capital to make $40 to $50 million available to loan to developers. But he urged
caution in how funding is structured and priorities are set.
“All affordable housing projects in Montgomery County require some level of gap financing and we worry that if the HIF doesn’t increase by a commensurate amount or more, it will create a serious bottleneck on the trust fund. It potentially sets up a scenario where the lion’s share of the HIF is being used to support preservation to the detriment of new production, which is no less important.”
Gillis added, “We recommend that the Council increase funding for the HIF by $10 million in FY21. These additional resources will ensure that we don’t repeat past mistakes and put us on the path of getting to $100 million by the end of 2022.”
Read his full statement here.
MHP has earned a new certification that recognizes and validates the positive impact of our resident-centered programs, including Community Life enrichment programming. MHP is now a Certified Organization for Resident 
Engagement & Services (CORES) entity.
CORES recognizes organizations that demonstrate a commitment, capacity, and competency in providing resident services coordination in affordable rental homes. These certified organizations are invested in using housing as a platform for opportunity and have a record of providing robust resident services coordination in affordable housing communities. The program is administered by Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future. Learn more about the certification here.
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition released a housing action plan aimed at ensuring the light-rail transit system does not endanger 17,000 affordable homes across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. The recommendations were developed through a collaborative process, with MHP taking a leadership role. “The time to act is now,” said MHP President Robert Goldman. He told WAMU-FM, ““It will be a big loss if we build the Purple Line and the folks who live there now can’t find a way to stay.” With construction of the transit line already underway, the plan calls for leaders, nonprofits and private sector leaders to start implementing some of its recommendations now. The plan recommends:
More information on the recommendations is here. For more media coverage of the recommendations, see MHP’s In the News page.
For more than 30 years, MHP has been committed to housing people, empowering families, and strengthening neighborhoods. We provide over 2,275 quality, affordable homes in the region. Our programs offer more than just a place to live — they give families an opportunity for stability and a chance to aspire and achieve.
MHP has seen great growth over the past three decades. In the years ahead, we are committed to further expanding access to quality, affordable housing and providing impactful programs for our residents. Will you help us get there? Join us and our many supporters and make a gift today. Together, we can make a difference.
Learn more about MHP’s successes from the videos below.
Ms. Corles is a respected, beloved teacher in MHP’s afterschool programs for young students. To connect with them, she draws upon her own challenging life experiences. She sees MHP’s afterschool enrichment programs as an opportunity to take the hands of her students and help them navigate their own challenges.
Building on the excitement of Long Branch Week of festivals, MHP is continuing to collaborate with community partners to draw attention to the great Long Branch community particularly during the winter holiday season. Together with Montgomery Parks, we recently held a free, family-friendly gathering — “Afternoon S’mores” — at the Flower Avenue Urban Park. Many thanks to all who brought non-perishable food donations to benefit Manna Food Center.
To continue in the holiday spirit, we will welcome Santa from 2-4pm on Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Flower Avenue Urban Park, with carolers, sweet treats and cocoa. Join us!
Learn more here.
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC), which includes public, non-profit, and private organizations, is working to ensure the Purple Line transit project serving Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will help create a place of opportunity for all who live, work and invest in the corridor. MHP is an active participant.
PLCC has developed a Housing Action Plan, with 12 draft recommendations based on these strategies to preserve and grow opportunities for housing for all within the Purple Line corridor:
• Make sure that there is a diverse mix of homes across the full range of price points.
• Address major challenges that would hinder the ability of residents to continue to afford to live along the corridor whether renting or owning.
• Make it possible for a wider range of families to own their homes across the corridor.
PLCC is seeking comments on the recommendations from interested resident and community stakeholders. Read the recommendations here. Provide your comments and learn more about the coalition here.
Robert Garren, who has lived at Parkview Manor Apartments in Hyattsville since 1995, spread his arms and said: “It’s a beautiful day!” The cause for celebration was the completion of a transforming renovation of the property, which provides 53 affordable residences in a residential neighborhood close to many amenities.
We welcomed many partners at the celebration, including Kenneth Holt, Secretary, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. See more photos here.
We are indebted to the contributions of many partners who provided financing and support, and and to those who worked hard to develop and complete the renovations:
Maryland DHCD
Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
City of Hyattsville
Enterprise Community Investments
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
NeighborWorks America
Enterprise Community Loan Fund
Miner Feinstein Architects
Hooten Construction
Building Consultants, Inc.
Klein Hornig
Residential One Management
Macris, Hendricks & Glascock, P.A.
The Washington POST published a letter to the editor from MHP President Robert A. Goldman, responding to an Urban Institute assessment of housing challenges in the Washington, DC, metro area.
Read it here.
