In the Toolbox This issue of In Focus highlights employer-assisted housing (EAH), a broad set of tools that employers can use to help their workers find decent, affordable homes within a reasonable commuting distance of the workplace. Employers can provide grants or loans to assist with downpayments (for homebuyers) or security deposits (for renters), offer homeownership education and counseling, and invest in the development of affordable homes in the community. State and local governments can increase employer involvement in housing through financial incentives, encourage employers to support policy changes that can help meet local needs and collaborate with organizations that work with interested employers to design and manage housing benefit programs. EAH programs offer many benefits, including reducing workers' commute times and removing a major obstacle to new employee recruitment. EAH programs improve existing employee retention, morale and productivity. Employer involvement in housing initiatives can also contribute to community development in and around workplace facilities and be used as part of a neighborhood stabilization strategy in neighborhoods in need of reinvestment or areas with high rates of foreclosed properties, increasing the desirability of the surrounding environment. Learn more about employer-assisted housing		"Out Loud" Podcast This month's Out Loud podcast features an interview with Connie Ealey, Residential Assistance Coordinator at Funding Partners for Housing Solutions. Funding Partners for Housing Solutions is a community development financial institution that provides access to capital for low to moderate- income households to obtain affordable housing opportunities. Laura Williams, research associate at the Center for Housing Policy, talks to Ealey about the benefits of employer assisted housing for workers in high-cost areas based on her experience in resort communities in Colorado. Ealey describes the success of a downpayment assistance program that Funding Partners administers, and how it can enable employees to live near work. Listen to the Podcast Solutions in Action In 2003, the Delaware State Housing Authority launched a Live Near Your Work program to leverage public funds. Employers contribute $1,000 per participating employee which is then supplemented with an equivalent state contribution. The local community might then supply additional matching funds if it is also a program participant. Slightly higher grants are available for homes purchased in targeted revitalization areas. In order to receive assistance through the program, homes must be located within a three mile radius of the workplace. Learn More about this Solution in Action
Share Your Story How can we get more employers to adopt employer-assisted housing strategies? The math, generally, seems to work out in their favor, and the loyalty and stability it brings to their workforce is not something to ignore. So why don't more employers participate? Is this a failure of marketing by workforce housing advocates? What are some better ways to approach and work with employers about starting a workforce housing program? Join our Affordable Housing- General discussion group on the HousingPolicy.org Forum to respond to this question or add your own. Share your experiences with fellow housing practitioners across the country! Visit the Forum to Share Your Story Join HousingPolicy.org Did a colleague forward this newsletter to you? Keep In Focus coming to your inbox by joining HousingPolicy.org today! Signing up will also keep you in loop about other National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy news and events. ...Sign Up Online		Resources from Regional Policy Forums on Workforce Housing Now Available! View PowerPoint presentations, video clips and other resources that address workforce housing from four Bring Workers Homeregional policy forums. Throughout 2010, the National Housing Conference (NHC) and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) partnered to host the Bring Workers Home regional policy forum series in Atlanta, GA; Minneapolis, MN; Austin, TX and Honolulu, HI. Each Bring Workers Home regional forum explored how to create and sustain a workforce housing program, the importance of regional partnerships in advancing workforce housing, employers' perspectives and how practitioners and advocates manage successful workforce housing strategies. Click here to view the Bring Workers Home resources
		Featured Gallery Entry: Westcott Ridge, Fairfax, VA Photo Credit Curtis Hall, 2007

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Archives

September 2010: Rental Housing Preservation
July 2010: Improve Residential Energy Efficiency
May 2010 - Disaster Resistant Housing
April 2010 - In Focus: Housing Solutions Week Recap
December 2009 - In Focus: Coordinated Housing and Transportation Policies
September 2009 - In Focus: Shared Equity Homeownership and Asset Building
July 2009 - In Focus: Post-Conference Edition
April 2009 - In Focus: Learning Conference
March 2009- In Focus: Neighborhood Stabilization
December 2008- In Focus: Neighborhood Stabilization
November 2008-- In Focus: Neighborhood Stabilization
October 2008-- In Focus: Transit-Oriented Development
September 2008-- In Focus: Inclusionary Zoning
August 2008 -- In Focus: Rental Housing Preservation
July 2008-- In Focus: Shared Equity Homeownership
June 2008 -- In Focus: Green Affordable Housing -- This issue of In Focus kicked off a series of Six Housing Policies for a World of High Energy Costs
May 2008 -- In Focus: Foreclosure Prevention
April 2008 -- In Focus: Employer-Assisted Housing
February 2008 -- HousingPolicy.org was launched in January 2008 as part of Housing Solutions Week. Click here to view materials from the week.