MAY 2020

A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

By Christine Hess, Nevada Housing Coalition Executive Director

Dear NHC Members and Stakeholders,

Looking ahead to Nevada’s housing recovery and resiliency through the next phases of COVID-19, NHC continues to advocate for housing stability needs now, gather and provide information for our stakeholders and housing leaders, and keep our eye on a future of more affordable housing options for all Nevadans. We are thankful for all our partners working on the frontlines.

If you have just a minute, please scan the list of resources and information links that come in the full newsletter below. The amount of information coming at all of us in this time is overwhelming, but I did try to highlight some resources that you may not have seen yet or that may be particularly helpful.

Some of our recent activities during this time:

NHC convened a small group of stakeholders representing private industry, local government, nonprofits to develop feedback that was submitted to HUD regarding the factors they are considering for the new formula to allocate the remaining HUD funds as part of the CARES Act. Our letter is here.
NHC worked with the Guinn Center to access data for Nevada 2-1-1 that shows Housing & Shelter as the #1 request by callers, year-over-year, and continuing into the COVID-19 pandemic. The graphic is here and below.
Our next NHC Statewide Webinar, Nevada Housing & COVID-19: Anticipating the Recovery, is almost finalized and will be announced soon – initial details are below. Our first Statewide Webinar had 205 active participants with over 220 registered.
The NHC Policy Committee is active and anticipating the 2021 Legislative Session. Affordable housing and housing security crosses all industry sectors. COVID-19 is highlighting how housing challenges affect some of our most vulnerable and their ability to access education, healthcare and have their most basic needs met in this difficult time. We are looking at policy opportunities for our elected leaders to consider.

As you may or may not know, Nevada Housing Coalition is a membership-based organization. We recently revised our membership and sponsorship schedules. You can check out our revised benefits and levels here.

Be safe and well,

Christine Hess
Executive Director

Christine
christine.hess@nvhousingcoalition.org

STAY IN TOUCH

Monthly Newsletter– next month we will begin featuring an inside look at some of our Nevada affordable housing partners and their projects
News Blogs– there is so much information to communicate and especially now, monthly may not be soon enough! Get this information on your own time through our social channels or checking in with our News section.
Follow Us!Nevada Housing Coalition on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@HousingNevada)! We will follow you back and share the love of your news with our audience too.
On-demand Statewide Webinars– we will keep it relevant and timely

EVENTS

NHC Statewide Webinar, #2 – Nevada Housing & COVID-19: Anticipating the Recovery

We will feature the Nevada Housing Division and their role Nevada’s housing recovery, research from the Guinn Center on Nevada Housing with a look at the financial crisis and today, Clark County/MACC response and recovery efforts, updates from the Nevada Apartment Association and more.

Coming very soon!

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to Opportunity Alliance Nevada for their speedy and timely launch of their new Financial Navigator program http://www.opportunityalliancenv.org/: This is a one-on-one, virtual, support service using volunteers. They will not be licensed professionals, but folks with backgrounds that can work with the Crisis Team to help people in the community better navigate their emerging financial needs.

Employment Opportunity Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority: Deputy Director of Affordable Housing

Employment Opportunities Nevada HAND

RESOURCES AND LINKS

There is so much information out there. NHC has highlighted some of the links that we think you may find helpful.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) is an excellent resource. They produce timely and relevant news and reports

o A good breakdown of the moving bill in the House: Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act to provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Emergency-Rental-Assistance.pdf

o NLIHC and CARES Act fundinghttps://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Housing-Instability-and-Homelessness_Cares-Act.pdf

o Report showing need for $76B-$100B more federal funding for rental assistance based on research from financial crisis. https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Need-for-Rental-Assistance-During-the-COVID-19-and-Economic-Crisis.pdf

(Per the NLIHC, Nevada ranks #29 in these findings with estimated need in the next 12-months for rental assistance for severely cost-burdened households at $845M)

o Housing Instability and COVID-19 map gives breakdowns by county in all the states: https://nlihc.org/rental-housing-instability-homelessness-and-covid-19

o   FEMA Toolkit relative to housing: https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/COVID-19_FEMA-Toolkit.pdf
o   HUD Waivers https://nlihc.org/responding-coronavirus-needed-regulatory-actions#Waivers
o   Database to help understand what properties may be covered by the federal eviction moratorium https://nlihc.org/federal-moratoriums

Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Loan Lookup Tool here: https://www.knowyouroptions.com/rentersresourcefinder
Freddie Mac’s Multifamily Loan Lookup Tool here: https://myhome.freddiemac.com/renting/lookup.html
Track the COVID-19 funding coming into Nevada through the Nevada Grants Office: http://grant.nv.gov/covid_19_grants/
Interesting research from Urban Institute relative to Unemployment and Rent https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/dont-overlook-importance-unemployment-benefits-renters (NHC and the Guinn Center provided similar Nevada information pre-CARES Act and the $600/wk additional UI benefit Here)

Eviction Labs, based out of Princeton University, has collected and consolidated policies around the country relative to COVID-19. They developed an interesting Housing Policy Scorecard. Nevada ranks #4. https://evictionlab.org/covid-policy-scorecard/nv/
Follow rent collections for multi-family housing nationwide: https://www.nmhc.org/research-insight/nmhc-rent-payment-tracker/.
Multi-family information that is more Nevada specific: https://www.realpage.com/analytics/april-week-3-apartment-rent-payment-trends-nearing-normal-levels/ and http://info.entrata.com/newsletters/documents/2020/trends/conventional/04222020.pdf.

IN THE NEWS

Affordable Housing, Nevada Affordable Housing, Nevada Housing

These are just a few news articles of possible interest as we try to stay on top of affordable housing concerns and perspectives of all kinds and viewpoints.

Nevada Rural Housing Authority announces COVID-19 emergency assistance program

CARES Act rental and housing assistance still in the pipeline

Home Values Rising in Nevada Amid Coronavirus Crisis

How will COVID-19 affect affordable housing?

Nevada Affordable Housing Assistance Corp. offering program to help low-income homeowners

Homeless population at COVID-19 isolation complex triples in two days

CORTEZ MASTO LEADS COLLEAGUES IN URGING CONGRESS TO PROVIDE HOUSING SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

CORTEZ MASTO, ROSEN CALL FOR MORE FUNDING FOR SOCIAL SERVICE NONPROFITS IN NEXT CORONAVIRUS RELIEF BILL

Cortez Masto to cosponsor legislation creating $75 billion Housing Assistance Fund

What to Expect in the Las Vegas Housing Market