HEALTHY HOMES IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Kevin Lundy, Program Officer, Community Foundation of Greater GreensboroBrett Byerly, Executive Director, Greensboro Housing CoalitionApril Richard, Healthy Homes Team Manager, Greensboro Housing Coalition

GREENSBORO HOUSING COALITION Non profit of 25 years

Advocates for safe and affordable housing for all, but with a special focus on helping people with low incomes and disabilities

Service range provides for all from homeless to homeowners

3 Teams: Homelessness Prevention, Foreclosure Prevention, and Healthy Homes

Address housing issues by not only providing referrals to other agencies, but with referrals within our agency– the teams work together and support the work of each other

KEY PARTNERS Kresge Foundation

City of Greensboro Neighborhood Development Department

Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro

Cone Health

Community Housing Solutions

University of North Carolina at Greensboro Center for Housing and Community Studies (new 2015)

Evaluation of research and Data Mapping

Partnership for Community Care

North Carolina Housing Finance Agency

North Carolina Housing Coalition

National Center for Healthy Homes

Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina

Cottage Grove Inititave

New Hope Community Development

Mustard Seed Community Clinic

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

Environmental Protection Agency

POLICY ACTIVITIES OF GHC: CODE ENFORCEMENT RUCO ended in 2011 due to legislative changes

Post-RUCO task force formed Created new code enforcement ordinance Established fines for non-compliance

$200- initial $75- daily fine for subsequent days Total fines: nearly $1 million

Elon University Bus Tour- January 2015 Students requested information about collections of fines +/- 7% collection rate

Proposed revisions to code enforcement ordinance- July 2015 Enacted- September 2015

IMPACT OF CODE ENFORCEMENT POLICY CHANGES

COMMUNITY EDUCATION ACTIVITIES OF GHC: BUS TOUR GHC started doing Healthy Homes Bus Tours in 2004 The purpose of the tours is to raise awareness of housing issues in our communities.

Stops on the tour have included: Substandard houses and apartments where the owner has repeatedly not been in compliance with

minimum housing standards (Greensboro Adopted IPMC) Homes or apartments that have been remediated by our partners (i.e. Lead abatement, accessibility

repairs, properties that were problematic and now are turning around).

HEALTHY HOMES TEAM OF GHC Umbrella team Accept walk-ins, call-ins, and referrals from other teams

Respond to tenant and homeowner complaints and concerns

Assess homes for health and safety hazards while engaging tenants and homeowners in this process Provide tenant and landlord education on rights and responsibilities

Discuss solutions and/or next steps to resolve or alleviate housing concerns

PROGRAMS

Housing Hotline

Housing Quality Standard Inspections Provide inspections of properties before our

agency and partners provide financial assistance for moving expenses for the homeless or those living in hazardous conditions

Advancing Safe and Healthy Homes Initiatives Funded by The Kresge Foundation Home visiting program Asthma Demonstration Partnernship

Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities

Landlord Tenant Partnership

ASTHMA DEMONSTRATION PARTNERSHIP 40 households received interventions Referred by Cone Health

Intervention Model 2 person team to interview family and perform visual assessment Assessed intervention needs based on home visit Hired contractors to make repairs as needed Provide trigger reduction materials or services

Green cleaning kit, allergen mattress and pillow covers, HEPA vacuums, HVAC filters, Integrated Pest Management

Conducted follow up visit to interview family and perform second visual assessment

UNCG researcher completed data analysis

Analysis has shown that modest repairs to the home and education can reduce the use of medicines, emergency medical care, and the burden on the family

Fostered a collaborative relationship with the major hospital system in the area

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, HEALTHY GREENSBORO EPA funded collaborative agreement to reduce asthma hospitalization rates

Targets 4 zip codes- 27401, 27405, 27406, 27407

UNCG researcher produced heat maps to show high areas of need for program Areas also coincide with clusters of substandard

housing, older homes, and public housing

Intervention Model- community engagement 300 home visits Attending neighborhood and community

meetings to discuss safe and healthy housing Engaging partner agencies and educating them

on safe and healthy housing

LANDLORD TENANT PARTNERSHIP Established by Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro

Provides a funding source for GHC to move people out of dangerous housing Help low-income rental owners to make repairs to their units

LANDLORD TENANT PARTNERSHIP Established in December 2013, the Landlord-Tenant

Partnership is a joint venture of the Greensboro Housing Coalition (GHC) and Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro (CFGG).

The Landlord-Tenant Partnership Fund at CFGG supports the Landlord-Tenant Partnership program by making payments and deposits for rent and utilities for:

Tenants participating in the Partnership; Tenants displaced by substandard housing; and Tenants displaced by other reasons that lead to loss of housing.

LANDLORD-TENANT PARTNERSHIP ELIGIBILITY

Tenants whose landlords participate in the Partnership are: Eligible for past due rent IF they have verified reason for owing rent AND can pay rent in the future.

Eligible for supplemental rent for up to six months IF the new landlord has raised rents after rehabilitation AND tenant pays the pre-rehabilitation rent each month.

Tenants who are displaced by substandard housing are: Eligible for security deposit, and/or first month’s rent, and/or utility deposits, IF they can pay rent and utilities in the new rental unit.

Process Notes:

For approved assistance, CFGG processes disbursements to third parties directly (e.g. utility, landlord). Disbursements are not made to individuals who are clients of GHC.

Appropriate documentation is required for each “case”.

THE IMPACT

CFGG fundholders and community members have contributed nearly $150,000 to this fund

Since its inception, the fund has enabled 108 households to secure safe, healthy, affordable housing.

Support has been provided to tenants/families in the form of 235 payments to vendors/third parties totaling $108,599.87.

On average, each household received approximately $960.

TYPICAL CASE

Call-in client complaining of a long standing issue with landlord about repairs or pest management

Initial Call Interview Rental history Repair request history Landlord response Rent payment delinquency Schedule home visit, obtain property

management contact information, and/or provide advice on following the protocols for repair requests

Home Visit Tenant provides assessor with a walk-through Pictures are taken of issues Mediation begins with property management

Demographics

Black couple or female, head of household with children Immigrants and refugees

Lower income, earning slightly above minimum wage

Living in rental properties in Eastern Greensboro

Rent: $400-650 for 2 or more bedrooms

IMPORTANCE IN AREA

Reducing the number of substandard homes in the area

Increasing tenants’ and landlords’ knowledge of their rights and responsibilities

Increasing the number of families that will leave homelessness and go into a safe, healthy, and sustainable housing

Empowers our vulnerable population by equipping them with the skills they need to manage the safety of their home

Raising the property values of homes in areas near substandard units which increases homeowner wealth and the tax base of the city.