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Dear Matt,
We hope you are having a great summer and finding time to enjoy the
outdoors. At AHC we have been busy with work and with changes at the
agency. While Rachel Kogan heads out for a maternity leave we have a
few additions to the staff. AHC has also begun a fairly intensive
strategic planning process to look at our future directions, so look
for more on that later in the year. We hope you find this newsletter
informative and as always, please visit
our website for more information.
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AHC staff presents at National Alliance to End Homelessness
conference |
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In July 2005, Jonathan Sherwood and Joe Carleo were in
attendance at the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH)
annual conference in Washington, DC. Jonathan presented on program
evaluation at an all-day AIDS institute that was convened by the
National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC) as a part of the
conference. He also presented a workshop at the conference on
HOPWA and how it can be used in concert with other federal
resources. For more information, visit
Alliance's website or visit
NAHC's website.
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DPH publishes annual training calendar: AHC trainings included |
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AIDS Housing Corporation will continue its HIV/AIDS Housing
training series thanks to funding from the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health, HIV/AIDS Bureau. This year, the
training series will emphasize working with programs to assist
them with DPH’s new requirements and priorities articulated during
their most recent procurement process. The series began July 21st
with New Year, New Contracts, Best Practices, led by Rachel
Kogan and Jonathan Sherwood. The current
training calendar is available on the DPH website.
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United Disability Housing Partnership advocates for disability
housing vouchers |
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In the Fiscal Year 2006 Massachusetts budget, United Housing, the
cross-disability housing advocacy project led by AHC, was
successful in advocating for a $700,000 increase for the
Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP). This state program is
similar to the federal Section 8 program, but it provides housing
vouchers exclusively to disabled individuals. This increase will
provide approximately 100 new vouchers for FY 2006 and is the
first funding increase for the program since 2002.
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AHC releases HIV/AIDS housing needs assessment for Plymouth County |
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In July, AHC released an HIV/AIDS housing needs assessment and
resource inventory covering Plymouth County. The report, funded
through the City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development,
synthesizes epidemiological data, income and market rent data, and
focus group findings and includes recommendations for future HOPWA
funds for the region.
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AHC announces new and improved New England-wide online housing
directory |
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AHC’s improved
HIV/AIDS housing directory is now online. You can now sort
through and search for housing programs based on geographic
region, program type, population served and a number of other
criteria. Use the Quick Search tool to select programs from a
specific region within New England or click on column headings to
sort programs by city, state, permanent/transitional,
congregate/scattered, men, and women. We will be updating the
information in the directory over the coming months. Please let us
know what you think of the new directory. Send comments and
program information updates/corrections to info@ahc.org.
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AHC welcomes new staff members |
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AIDS Housing Corporation staff continues to grow, with three new
staff members recently joining our team. We are excited to have
them with us. Andrew Keys joined AHC in June as the Program
Support Specialist. Maria Orsini begins AHC in mid-August as a
Project Manager. Amy Davidson also joins AHC in mid-August as a
part-time Project Manager.
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Spotlight on the Board: Dean Hara
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Dean Hara is one of AHC newest Board Members. “As a financial
advisor with Ameriprise Financial, formerly American Express
Financial Advisors, I provide sound financial advice to help my
clients achieve financial freedom. My clients appreciate a
thorough, honest approach to managing their hard-earned money.
Working together, I help them make informed decisions and develop
an effective financial plan to help them feel secure and in
control.
I’m excited about joining the board and look forward to helping
the staff to further capitalize on the great work they already do
and continue to make available their housing resources to those in
need.”
Dean lives with his spouse, Gerry Studds, and their dog,
Bonnie, in Boston’s South End. |
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