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Our Mission
Creating sustainable solutions through community awareness, capacity building, and advocacy to ensure housing options for all Nevadans
JANUARY 2022
Executive Director Message
As complex as affordable housing is and the solutions are, the approach of the Nevada Housing Coalition to advance and promote affordable housing is simple and straightforward. We advocate, educate, and collaborate. This is our MO and, in 2022, we are building on our past efforts with strong leadership guiding us and a diverse cross section of members and partners alongside us.
Advocacy. NHC is actively advocating for sound policies and programs at the federal and state levels to increase affordable housing production and preservation and expand access and equity in affordable housing.
- In 2022, we will continue to support the priorities of the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s HoUSed Campaign as you can see below in our Advocacy Updates Section. We will also continue to work with all of our Congressional Delegates as they fight for Nevadans and affordable housing in D.C.
- At the state level, the NHC Policy Committee is digging into the opportunities for our upcoming 2023 Session. This is hard work, and I am grateful to work with this incredibly engaged and informed group of Nevada housing stakeholders and Coalition members. As you may recall, NHC led efforts on 5 bills in the 2021 Session, 2 of which were signed into law.
- Finally, as we all know, the pandemic has brought forward unprecedented resources to support our recovery through the American Rescue Plan Act. The Nevada Housing Coalition is continuing to engage with our state’s leaders to prioritize and invest in affordable housing. Check out our January Lunch & Learn to hear updates from the Nevada Treasurer/Treasurer’s Office. And if you haven’t already, read through our Recommendation to Invest $500 million of State Fiscal Recovery Funds.
Education. NHC provides education and information to all Nevada housing stakeholders, covering the broad spectrum of affordable housing from permanent supportive housing and affordable multifamily housing to affordable homeownership.
- Join our Monthly Lunch & Learns on the 4th Wednesday of every month from 12-12:45 pm.
- 2022 Annual Nevada Housing Conference: October 2022, Northern Nevada (Exact Date and Venue in Process)
Collaboration. Collaboration is at the heart of the work of our advocacy and education efforts. While it is not always the easiest path, we believe strongly in the input and feedback of Nevada’s housing stakeholders across the state, across sectors, public and private, urban and rural. We collaborate on our own projects, and we encourage and facilitate collaborative efforts with our partners.
Lastly, the work we do is possible due to generous grants we receive and our growing membership. If you are not a member and would like to support our work, you can Join Us to help create sustainable solutions and housing options for all Nevadans.
Christine
Announcing the 2022 NHC Board of Directors
Welcome and congratulations to Lorri Murphy, Ovation Development; Brooke Page, Corporation for Supportive Housing; and Emily Paulsen, Anthem. As you can see from our list of Board Members below, these three will expand the Coalition Board’s expertise and perspective. And although physically located in the south, both Brooke and Emily have statewide reach and responsibilities.
Member Spotlight
This year, we’re introducing a new feature to our Newsletter: the Member Spotlight! Each issue will feature information on a few members such as their mission, an interesting fact, or what they hope to see from the Coalition this year.
Watch our very first Member Spotlight videos below by clicking the “play” buttons. You can also view the corresponding slides by clicking on the “Learn More” buttons.
Upcoming Events
January Lunch & Learn
Affordable Housing Resources and Financial Tools featuring ARPA Updates and the State Infrastructure Bank
Wednesday, January 26th
12:00 – 12:45pm
Join the Nevada Housing Coalition and the Nevada Treasurer/Team for an update on our American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State Fiscal Recovery Funds. The U.S. Treasury just released their Final Rule regarding the eligible uses of the funds. What does this mean for affordable housing?
Additionally, we’ll hear more about the proposal that is open for public comment regarding the designation of $20 million of the State Infrastructure Bank for affordable housing.
NHC Event Planning Committee
Are you an active member who would like to be more involved with the Coalition? Do you enjoy event planning or have creative ideas to share? If so, we invite you to join the NHC Event Planning Committee. The Event Planning Committee is a working group established to support NHC events and its members. For Committee expectations or to join, please contact amanda.lakin@nvhousingcoalition.org.
Resources
NHC Website Resources
Have you visited the Resources page of our new website? We’ve selected reports, research and data from trusted partners to bring you easy access to National and Nevada-specific information. Visit often as we’ll be updating it frequently to bring you the most timely information in the affordable housing sector.
Newest Resources:
- Paycheck to Paycheck Database (Jan. 2022)
- Emergency Rental Assistance: Spending and Performance Trends (Dec. 2021)
- Build Back Better Advocacy Toolkit (Dec. 2021)
- Treasury ERA Programs in 2021: Preliminary Analysis of Program Features & Spending Performance (Dec. 2021)
2021 Nevada Housing Conference Photos
Conference photos are up! Check out photos from our 2 day event, and download and share any you find yourself in.
Advocacy Updates
Federal Update
Build Back Better Act Stalled for Now, but Opportunities in FY22 Approval: Unfortunately, the BBB has not yet come for a vote. We are hopeful that negotiations in Congress will continue to include the housing provisions that would provide a long overdue investment in affordable housing – an investment not seen for decades. We urge our Nevada Congressional Delegates to continue advocating to Congressional Leadership on behalf of affordable housing in Nevada.
Read More:
- Overview of Housing Provisions included in BBB
- In-Depth Review of Housing Provisions
- NLIHC National Housing Trust Fund Estimates for States
- Analysis by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
FY22 Spending Bill: The House spending bill, approved in committee in July 2021, would increase funding to HUD by $6.8 billion above FY21 for a total appropriation of $56.6 billion. Significantly, the House bill includes expanding rental assistance through the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program to an additional 125,000 households. Our voucher programs in Nevada are currently fully-subscribed – these additional vouchers would be available to our low income Nevadans struggling to find housing. The Senate proposal provides HUD approximately $1 billion less and does not include the expansion of rental assistance. In order to avoid a government shutdown, Congress must either authorize appropriations bills by February 18th or enact another Continuing Resolution.
Nevada Update
Nevada American Rescue Plan Act Fund Updates: NHC continues to educate and advocate for the $500 million investment recommendation submitted to the state for its consideration. The U.S. Treasury just released the Final Rule. NHC is currently in the process of analyzing our recommendation relative to the Final Rule.
In December, the Interim Finance Committee approved an allocation of $30M for Community Nonprofit Grants. 337 applications were submitted, totaling over $445 million in requests. The proposals were to address the urgent needs of the communities and could include some housing proposals. An initial set of approvals for funding is anticipated at the February IFC meeting. https://nevadarecovers.com/
Nevada State Infrastructure Bank: Affordable housing is infrastructure. Safe, decent and affordable housing is a long-term asset that provides a stable, quality living environment for individuals and families.
The State Infrastructure Bank recently met and put forward a proposed capital allocation. The proposal includes a $20 million designation of funds for affordable housing. The Nevada Housing Coalition attended the January 5th meeting and provided supporting comments. The proposed capital allocation is open for public comment. For more information:
- Meeting Materials: https://www.nevadatreasurer.gov/PublicInfo/Public_Notices/
- Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM0Q7Glu5PU
- The Nevada Independent: State Infrastructure Bank’s priorities include housing, charter schools
- Nevada Current: State Infrastructure Bank plans to fund what legislators wouldn’t: Charter school buildings
You can learn more about ARPA and the State Infrastructure Bank at our upcoming January 26th Lunch & Learn. Register HERE.
Member Announcements
Nevada Rural Housing Authority
Tomorrow, January 20, Nevada Rural Housing’s Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher Wait list will open. Based on estimated need, the wait list could open and close quickly, and therefore NRHA recommends anyone who is interested in applying do so as soon as possible. Preference will be given to applicants with a landlord willing to participate in the HCV program, so NRHA also encourages landlords who are interested in participating to speak with their tenants about the opportunity to apply. Apply HERE.
Nevada Speed Test
The Western Nevada Broadband Initiative is a coalition of local governments working to improve broadband connectivity across the state. Your help is needed to pinpoint the region’s most unserved and underserved homes and businesses. By logging into www.nevadaspeedtest.org, a mapping tool which measures internet speed, home and business connectivity can be analyzed to identify strategies and funding solutions to improve our regional broadband structure. It takes less than a minute, and your help is greatly appreciated!
Do You Have an Announcement?
If you’re an active member of NHC and have an announcement to share in an upcoming Newsletter, please contact amanda.lakin@nvhousingcoalition.org.
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