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Dear Subscriber,
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to fill out our
eNewsletter Satisfaction Survey last month. We carefully read your
responses and are incorporating your suggestions into our newsletter.
One item that many respondents requested was a column for Housing
Advocacy Strategies. In particular, some respondents requested more
attention to the housing of non-citizens. In response, you'll find our
first Housing Advocacy Strategy column is on the topic of federal
housing programs and immigration status. If you have any more ideas or
suggestions for our newsletter please contact us. Happy Fall!
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State and federal government respond to housing needs of Katrina
evacuees |
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In recent days, the federal government has announced several
initiatives to respond to the housing needs of the thousands of
individuals rendered homeless in the Gulf region following
Hurricane Katrina. At the state level, the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts has come forward to offer assistance as well.
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Consumer training series to kick off this fall |
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The United Disability Housing Partnership, the AHC- led
cross-disability coalition of housing organizations, is kicking
off their community organizing efforts with a series of trainings
for consumers. Individuals living with disabilities will be
invited to participate in trainings focusing on developing a
direct action campaign, organizing tactics, legislative advocacy,
and leadership skills. Consumers will then begin organizing and
mobilizing others around issues that are important to them in
order to create real social change. The first training will be
held later this fall.
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AHC's Standards of Care: two upcoming trainings |
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AHC has coordinated two trainings in the upcoming months. The
first one, "Mental Health Issues and Responses in Congregate
Housing Settings," will be held at 25 West Street in Boston on
November 8, 2005. The second, titled "Understanding Substance Use
and Implementing Harm Reduction Strategies for HIV Housing
Providers" will be held on December 6th and 7th at New Beginnings
in Framingham.
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AHC releases draft report on HIV/AIDS housing needs and resources
in the State of New Hampshire |
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With funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and in collaboration with the New Hampshire HIV
Community Planning Group, AHC has released a draft report on the
housing needs and resources available for people living with
HIV/AIDS in New Hampshire.
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HOPWA 101 goes online |
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Materials from AHC's day-long training "HOPWA 101" are now posted
and catalogued on AHC's website. These materials are useful for
HOPWA grantees and program sponsors, and include topics such as
"Documenting HOPWA Eligibility," "Managing HOPWA Rental
Assistance," "HUD and Grantee Monitoring," and others.
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Housing Advocacy Strategy: Immigration status and Federal
housing programs
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With an understanding of the challenges associated with finding
subsidized housing for non-citizens, this issue's Advocacy
Strategy answers several related questions:
- What housing programs are immigrants eligible for?
- Can an immigrant living in public housing be considered a
"public charge"?
- Do housing programs have to report the immigration status of
an applicant to INS?
- Can a housing program require social security numbers on
their application?
- Should an undocumented immigrant report income to the
housing program that wasn't reported to the IRS?
- What is "pro-rated" housing assistance?
Click here for a discussion of these questions |
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