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Street r o o t a l B
Education * Dialogue ♦ Independence
NATIONAL
hopes
for the
future
H UD Secretary Shawn Donovan cut
his teeth on homeless issues with the
National Coalition for the Homeless.
Now, homeless advocates want to hear
how he will apply what he’s learned.
PH O TO CO URTESY
.ident O bam a an d T are.co n v in ced th a t__ n n m h e r of available re n ta l v o u ch ers. We
any recovery must be sustainable and based
on real growth, not only on the jobs front,
W ashington, D.C.— .
haun Donovan, named secretary of the but in the housing market as well. And this
US Department of Housing and Urban
absolutely must indude1 a more concerted
Development served’ as an intern at
effort on the part of the fédéral government
the National Coalition for the Homeless to encourage the production of more
when his career in Washington was just
affordable rental housing.
getting started.
Here are his reflections of that time:
T.T.: WZwzf steps have the Congress and
“As an undergraduate I'was volunteering
your administration taken thus far that will
at a homeless shelter in Cambridge and
prevent more people from becoming homeless
went to hear Robert Hayes, founder of
and help put people experiencing homelessness
Coalition for the Homeless, speak. His
back into homes?
powerful words moved me to ask if there
was any work I could do with the coalition
S. D.: The American Recovery and
in Washington as I was moving there to
Reinvestment Act provides $1.5 billion in
intern for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
grants to rapidly re-house families who fall
Robert Hayes directed me to Maria
into homelessness or to help prevent them
Foscarinis and the National Coalition for
from becoming homeless in the first place.
the Homeless. I interned for the Coalition
HUD’s new Homeless Prevention and Rapid
at the same time as working in Senator
Re-housing Program allows us to fund
Moynihan’s office and conducted research
homeless prevention activities as never
federal housing policy at both places. I ■
before. President Obama and the Congress
remember staying up all night to set up an
recognized that too many families are
exhibition of photographs from Stephenie {
experiencing a sudden economic crisis and
Hollyman’s book “We the Homeless” in the
are at extremely high risk of becoming
Senate Rotunda. “ - Shaun Donovan 1
homeless. The Recovery Act is just one way
we’re hoping to offer the land of short- and
Tony Taylor: At a recent news conference,
medium-term help to put them on the path
President Obama was asked to comment on
to self sufficiency.
the growing crisis of family homelessness. The
president responded by'acknowledging that the,
T. T.: For many years, low-income families
homelessness problem, in this country "was bad arid individuals in our nation have, faced a
even when the economy was good, ” and cited
severe shortage of affordable housing. How will
the importance of creating quality jobs to help
the Department of Housing and Urban
homeless families and individuals afford
Development address this, problem under your
shelter. While job creation is certainly an
leadership?
important component of a federal response to
homelessness, it is only part of the solution.
S.D.: The prior administration lost sight
What would you add to the president’s
of how the housing boom, as beneficial as it
response?
may have been for homeowners, placed
much of our available rental housing Stock
Shawn Donovan: For many Americans,
well beyond the reach of many lower income
the previous economic prosperity was
families. In particular, families liyiug in high-
largely fueled by the artificial growth in
cost areas continue to face à hard choice -
home values. This put tremendous
either move to a lower cost area or live in
pressure on the rental marketplace as lower
substandard housing.
income families Struggled-to find a home or
We must take a more balanced approach
apartment they could afford. They
to our national housing policy. This is why
experienced none of the benefits of a
we are seeking to create $1 billion Housing
booming housing market and all of the
Trust Fund to stimulate the production of
negative consequences.
affordable housing and to increase the
S
also intend to increase funding to our
standing Community Development Block
Grants and HOME programs that will go a
long way toward investing in the affordable
rental market. I believe the president’s
proposed 2010 budget returns the federal
government to its leadership role as a
catalyst for expanding the availability of
decent and affordable rental housing.
T.T.: What role do you believe scattered-site
public housing should play in your
Departments response to homelessness?
S. D.: Housing First projects have shown I
that homeless persons, Including chronically
homeless ¿persons, can be stably housed in
scattered-site housing, with appropriate
support. Ofcritical importance is-the ability
of the families and service providers to be
reliably in contact. Placing homeless
families in locations that are distant to
important service providers may add a layer
of complication to the provision of services.
Placing homeless families in Scattered-
site public housing is a local decision based
on thè type of housingavailable, and the
type, and locationof the services being
provided. I encourage public housing
authorities to connect with their
community’s local continuum of care to
secure services and to assess what the best
housing option might be for homeless
families.
T. T.: What is your vision for the U.S,.
Interagency Council on Homelessness
(USICH) ih the coming years? . .
S.D.: The focus of the previous
Interagency Council was to end chronic
homelessness. We learned from that
experience that if we assess research and
then clearly define a policy objective, target-
resources to meet that objective and then
measure results that we can .make a real
difference. HUD, a member of the USICH,
played a key role in this initiative. It’s nów -
time to use that same process and see what
can be done not just for the chronically
See HUD, from page 11
>
Above, Housing,
arid Urban
Development
Secretary Shawn
Donovan at an
Earth Day Event
earlier this year.