As I read over the state updates in this newsletter, the thought that recurs is "working together." There are numerous examples throughout ranging from vast and system-wide to small and personal.
A number of states mention their work with Fannie Mae through the HomeChoice project. Coalition building within states and between individuals and groups from the housing and disability spheres is also a recurrent topic. People refer favorably to the November gathering in New Orleans, which brought together the Alliance Advisory Board and, for the first time, the state contact people.
Georgia and New Mexico use differing team approaches to implement their state projects. Other initiatives like the team idea and are considering creating teams of their own. Temple University mentions that the state of Alabama is providing assistance with the training of the Year-4 data collectors. New Hampshire describes the trip to New Orleans both in terms of national networking opportunities and as a chance for the state contact and a key mortgage underwriter to think some things through ã together.
I could go on and on . . . Instead, I invite you to read on and learn about this "working together" for yourself.
When the Alliance began in 1993, one of its goals was to provide a vehicle for communication and cooperative action around the issue of home ownership for people with disabilities.
I think it's working!
Cathy Ludlum
HOME Teams and Expertise Teams
do you develop a home ownership strategy that serves an entire state? Different states have approached the question in different ways, but several have chosen a team approach. In New Mexico, the emphasis is on forming facilitated support teams for individual home buyers; while in Georgia, the objective is to begin local coalitions which will create home ownership programs in various parts of the state.
In New Mexico, applicants desiring the assistance of a HOME Team are linked to trained facilitators. Each facilitator has completed an intensive five-hour course covering topics from disability awareness, to understanding credit, to locating resources. The home seeker and facilitator have an orientation meeting with HOME-New Mexico staff, and then go off on their own to assemble the rest of their team. Communication is very important in all aspects of the process. The team may return for consultation if needed or continue working independently. The project uses the metaphor of "focusing on the lighthouse," which translates into the necessity to adapt to the situation at hand while striving toward the goal. Therefore, should a storm arrive, the team may need to drop anchor, pull into port, or search for a whole new route. As a way of helping one another to navigate, the teams report monthly to HOME-New Mexico, which is compiling a database of strategies. The rationale is that individual companies may come and go, but the idea will remain. A roofer who donated a new roof appears in the database, not so he can be asked to do it again, but so other teams in other parts of the state can benefit from the strategy.
The Georgia Home of Your Own Alliance has created expertise teams in five areas of the state. The goal of each team is to build a coalition from the local community to increase home ownership for people with disabilities in their region. Each area coalition includes people with disabilities, family members and friends, professionals in the real estate and banking industry, and professionals in the disability field. The expertise teams give guidance to individuals as needed, but people are also encouraged to develop a network of family and friends to support them throughout the home buying process. The expertise teams are designed to become independent entities, not part of an agency. Each team is asked to mentor another team with the hope that by building many little wild fires, a big fire will start and spread. The State Steering Committee takes a "hands-off" approach, simply encouraging each area to use the available resources. Ideally, when the local groups are strong enough, the Steering Committee will no longer be necessary and the expertise teams will continue to assist people.
Georgia and New Mexico have developed strategies that suit the particular circumstances of each state. The details may differ, but the overall concept is the same ã we can accomplish great things if we work together!
Year 1 States
The Fannie Mae pilot project in Southeast Michigan ended January 31, 1997. Through this pilot, 43 persons or families were pre-approved for mortgages and 25 accomplished the purchase of their homes. But there's more good news! Michigan was chosen to begin a new Fannie Mae project as the pilot was completed. Joy Horvath and Loretta Kennelly from Fannie Mae visited the state on January 29 and 30 to train lenders, agencies, participants, and contact organizations about the HomeChoice underwriting experiment. Support for down payment assistance will come from the Michigan State Housing Authority and other organizations. The initiative has also submitted an application to the Federal Home Loan Bank for additional down payment assistance. Michigan is getting the infrastructure in place so it will "hit the ground running" and utilize the new program to its fullest.
Two sessions on home ownership were presented at the recent People First Conference in Chicago. Jim Hobbs, Illinois Home of Your Own Coordinator, led sessions focusing on the practical issues people face when they decide to buy their own homes. Eight individuals with developmental disabilities who own their homes assisted with the sessions. Their first-hand accounts gave conference attendees the opportunity to hear how home ownership can change people's lives. The presenters shared the feelings that accompanied their decisions to buy homes: the excitement, the fears, the joy, and the concerns. They also described the logistical issues they had encountered and the effect on them and their goals. Members of the audience asked questions about how to begin planning for homes of their own, how to deal with problems, and how to get help. Many attendees expressed appreciation for the presentations, saying they gained valuable insight that will be used in their own journeys toward home ownership.
New Hampshire ended 1996 with a fifth home closing! 1997 looks good as four participants are only months from closing and eight more are in the planning process. One of the continuing goals of the program is to assist traditional mortgage lenders in understanding that assisting people with disabilities to own their homes presents minimal risk for them. The project has begun to demonstrate this with two of the five recent closings being handled by local lenders. In November, representatives from New Hampshire attended the National Home of Your Own meeting and the TASH Conference in New Orleans. The initiative sent Sharon Lambert, a home owner from the pilot program who also represented the state on the National Advisory Board, an underwriter from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, and the Home of Your Own Project Director. The initiative has built solid relationships between home owners, the Home of Your Own project, Area Agency support staff, and lenders (primarily the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority), and was pleased that all could attend and share their experiences with other states. Sharon Lambert was excited to take her first flight and to network more widely than ever before. Sharon Drake and Carolyn Boland, the project director and underwriter respectively, had an opportunity to share ideas and strategies for the future. This was extremely valuable to the New Hampshire project, and probably would not have happened without the Alliance's continuing support of partnerships within and between the states.
During this first year of its new pilot project, the Oregon Home of Your Own project is assisting 10 people with developmental disabilities to purchase homes. Assistance includes financial grants for down payment and closing costs, as well as technical assistance in qualifying for a mortgage, choosing a home, and learning about home maintenance and home budgeting. The first ten purchases will be complete by the summer of 1997. The initiative is applying for additional grant money and, if funding is approved, it will accept more applications in the spring. The Oregon initiative is planning a training for organizers and advocates which will include sessions on developing a vision, affordable housing resources, housing options, resources for people with low-incomes, and how the Home of Your Own program works. The training will be held in early spring and will be designed specifically for people who can commit to assisting individual participants.
The Idaho Home of Your Own project assisted with three home purchases over the last several months, bringing the total to seven. The project provided secondary financing to home buyers who purchased existing homes, new construction, and new manufactured homes. Other recent activities include a full-day meeting between key stakeholders in the housing and disability communities. Community Action Programs (CAPs) that provide home ownership counseling have been identified statewide. Home of Your Own participants are being connected to the nearest CAP, and project staff are working with these organizations to customize the curriculum. The project has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an individual or group to work with home buyers and their support teams during and after the home purchase. Project staff and other housing representatives were invited to participate in a forum to develop a statewide housing conference. Also in attendance were representatives from banks, real estate organizations, affordable housing programs, the state housing finance association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, builders, rural housing programs, and many others. Much is happening and the Idaho project is looking forward to more home purchases in 1997.
The Arizona Home of Your Own initiative continues to have an active and involved Steering Committee. Recently, the committee made strong recommendations to continue training throughout the state and to move forward in marketing the program to people with developmental disabilities who have employment and Social Security income. To date, 13 individuals have purchased their homes and another seven closings are anticipated soon. Unfortunately, the project did not receive funding from the Arizona Housing Trust Fund to reduce the principle on the loan for participants. Instead, the committee will ask the Federal Home Loan Bank to amend its application to allow up to $10,000 for down payment assistance.
The Connecticut Home of Your Own Initiative anticipates its third closing within the next several months. The couple, who live on the state line between Connecticut and New York, are natives of their town. They are thrilled to be able to buy in the area and to build a home which will suit their needs. The state initiative has re-designed its application process, and will be accepting more participants over the next several months. Approximately 20 people are waiting to receive the new applications. An ongoing dilemma is how to strike the balance between choosing people with complex issues who would benefit most from the program and still have a likelihood of success. Another activity of the initiative is the development of an accessible housing registry that would provide up-to-date listings of available units. Massachusetts has had a similar registry for several years and is providing Connecticut with background information for the development of its system.
The New York initiative is putting together a statewide HOME grant for $500,000 while assisting three regional applicants to meet the deadline for HOME applications. The State Division of Housing and Community Renewal is supportive of the Home of Your Own effort and has asked for more applications. The first HOME grant, called Homefront, has resulted in 20 closings. Over 70 people have closed in the last two years, using a variety of public and private funds. The New York Home of Your Own was especially excited to assist a woman who once lived at a state institution called Willowbrook. She and her family are about to close on a home on Staten Island. Forty applications were received for the present HOME grant of $375,000, which is tied to HomeChoice. Several booklets are available to assist person-controlled initiatives in the state. The State also has a video available from one of its regional offices about two sisters who purchased a home built to their specifications. Training activities include statewide training for service coordination staff, refinement of regional strategic housing plans to include person-centered planning, and continued presentations at all major conferences in the disability and housing fields. Increasingly, work is being done with parent, advocacy, and provider agencies.
The Governor's Council on Disabilities has continued its support of the Georgia Alliance by funding the project for $25,000 from July 1, 1997 through June 30, 1998. The initiative is proud of having established five expertise teams, and of their success in continuing to spread of the word about home ownership. Perhaps most notable was their presentation at the ParaOlympic Congress in August of 1996. Goals for 1997 include the finalizing of a new program for people with disabilities through the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority, development of a new program by Nation's Bank targeting people with disabilities, creation of five new expertise teams across the state, increasing availability of funds for home modifications and retrofitting, and a conference on visitable design.
Massachusetts received 128 applications for their Home of Your Own project. The Committee finalized its selection process in early February. A variety of disabilities and geographical diversity was represented by the applicants. According to the home buyers' counseling agencies working with the initiative, many applicants have been certified as they have completed home education classes. The certification qualifies people for funding from the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency and provides a vast amount of information on local grants, loans, and properties. If these individuals are chosen as Home of Your Own participants, the certification also qualifies them for HomeChoice. The coalition continues to work with Fannie Mae's HomeChoice program in conjunction with a Federal Home Loan Bank award of $100,000 for down payment and closing costs. Massachusetts is also promoting the use of Section 8 for home ownership. The coalition has applied to HUD for a demonstration project to show that Section 8 certificates and vouchers can help people with disabilities to pay for mortgages.
Missouri has assisted six people in becoming home owners and seven others in various stages of the process. The major issue the initiative has faced is the increasing demand from people who want homes of their own. For example, Missouri has received over 80 Letters of Interest from around the state. The advent of Fannie Mae's HomeChoice underwriting experiment has generated still more potential applicants. To address this issue, the initiative will begin to organize local Home of Your Own teams. The coalition has drafted principles and a structure for the teams, and has requested information from the National Alliance regarding how teams are formed in other states. An important link in Missouri is Nancy Verderber's position on the National Advisory Board; she serves on that board as well as the State Advisory Team. She brings her personal experience as a person with a disability and a home owner. "I see my role as informing and educating the state teams about the national board's philosophy and perspective." Nancy also keeps the involvement of people with disabilities central to any discussion, "keeping a cross disability focus, as well as helping people with cognitive disabilities get involved. This is always at the forefront."
HOME-New Mexico, Inc., started 1997 with a bang! The group has approximately 35 HOME Teams in progress, and there have been two additional closings since the last update. Ten more home seekers have started their loan process with mortgage companies. Three individuals are nearly ready to close on their new homes. The three closings are new construction transactions in different subdivisions. One of the builders has agreed to redesign the floor plan to make the home wheelchair accessible and is allowing the buyer to make other custom changes. This is just one example of the support and enthusiasm the home ownership effort is getting from the local community. The Board of Directors meets monthly, and invites one HOME Team to make a presentation on its progress and challenges. The Board listens to the presentation and then searches for resources for the home seeker. In November, with the support of a Consumer Credit Counseling Agency, the initiative held its premier First Time Buyer Workshop . The agency has agreed to hold such workshops on a quarterly basis for HOME-New Mexico home seekers. Monthly coalition meetings are held to update members on the HomeChoice Program. HOME-New Mexico is continuing to build a strong organization that touches the lives of people with disabilities and helps to make their dreams a reality!
Texas coalition is quickly approaching its first home ownership success! Raymond Talbert has been working with the coalition since April 1996, and has seen it grow through the startup phases. The coalition anticipates that Raymond will close on su casa (his home) in the next few months, using the Fannie Mae HomeChoice product. The house is in Taylor, una ciudad pequeno (a small city) about 20 miles northeast of Austin. It is the second house that Raymond made an offer on, and the process has had its ups and downs. For example, the coalition encountered some unexpected delays because the home was built antes de (before) 1955 and the funding for down payment assistance required clearance by the State Historical Preservation Board to insure that it was not a historical landmark. Close behind Raymond in the home ownership process are 11 other individuals and a family with a child with disabilities who have just completed the first Texas Home of Your Own coalition home buyer education and counseling classes. Looking toward the future, the coalition is working with the Consumer-Controlled Housing Initiative to bring together organizations from other areas of the state to affiliate with the Texas coalition. The local coalitions will be responsible for the development and implementation of a home ownership project in their geographical areas. Houston and El Paso are the next two areas targeted by the coalition. The Houston area groups have submitted proposals to the City of Houston for down payment assistance and home modification services. With 32 people on the waiting list for the Houston area, they have sus manos (their hands) full.
AlabamaAs a Fannie Mae HomeChoice state, Alabama began its initiative with the development and implementation of the Access Alabama program. The Alabama coalition, in coordination with the Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA), developed an application process, selected a single mortgage company (Regions Mortgage), and trained loan officers. Beginning in November, AHFA conducted home buyer education seminars in four geographical areas in the state. In December, nineteen applicants were selected to participate in Access Alabama. Currently, the applicants are in the process of pre-qualifying for mortgages. The University of Alabama, through a contract with the Alabama Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, is administering the operational budget for the Home of Your Own Project. The operational budget provides supports to people with disabilities to participate, assistance with their home selection, and resources for the project director and clerical staff.
The Back Home in Indiana Alliance has been formed to promote home ownership for people with disabilities in Indiana. The goals of the Indiana Alliance include: 1) assisting at least 15 people over three years to own their own homes through the coordination of financial, housing, and support services; 2) developing and documenting solutions to barriers (e.g., fiscal, policy, or programmatic) that impede home ownership for people with disabilities; 3) providing information and training with and for key stakeholders related to home ownership and other typical housing and support options; and 4) developing plans for sustaining and expanding individualized housing and support options for people with disabilities.
A Home of My Own is a collaborative effort between the Louisiana Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities and the Human Development Center (a University Affiliated Program). The initiative began in November 1995 with the establishment of the Greater New Orleans Advisory Board. The Advisory Board, which includes representatives from disability, lending, non-profit housing, and real estate organizations, assisted A Home of My Own in selecting the first four project participants. In addition, the Advisory Board provided project staff with information, referral, and guidance. A Home of My Own can already boast several accomplishments as a result of its work. For example, by the end of 1996 two participants became home owners, and a third received approval for a mortgage and the necessary subsidies. A local lender developed and made available a loan product similar to that of Fannie Mae's HomeChoice. The next year will be one of tremendous growth for the Louisiana initiative. Activities will include selection of 13 individuals with developmental disabilities as project participants, statewide training, and technical assistance for two communities in developing local home ownership initiatives. In addition, the effort will continue to cultivate relationships with housing, lending, and real estate organizations.
The Self-Determination Housing Project (SDHP) started in May of 1994 with funding from the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council. The goal of the project is to build upon national and state efforts to increase the stock of affordable, accessible, and integrated housing. Having recently become part of the National Home of Your Own Alliance, the SDHP continues to expand on the work it began three years ago. A statewide advisory committee meets monthly. The committee is composed of 43 persons with disabilities, family members, developers, architects, public officials, non-profits, lenders, housing experts, advocates, and service providers. Six subcommittees meet regularly to address specific areas of concern. Regional forums with people who have disabilities have been held in Philadelphia and Harrisburg to obtain input regarding their housing needs. SDHP has sponsored two statewide conferences, one statewide training, and various seminars at housing and disability conferences across the state. The SDHP has launched a demonstration program to promote the development of regional and local self-determination housing models. The demonstration encompasses 11 projects throughout the state, and is designed to assist 50-75 people in securing the housing of their choice. Technical assistance is provided to agencies and individuals interested in starting self-determination projects. SDHP has a large number of resources available, including a newsletter, a resource manual, a video, and a series of pamphlets. Karen Burrison has been involved with the Pennsylvania effort since 1994, and represents it at the national level. She says, "I am learning more and more about housing and how it affects the disability community. I hope that by being on the Advisory Board of the National Home of Your Own Alliance, I will be able to help others as well as myself."
Washington State had a banner year, receiving both the Fannie Mae and the National Home of Your Own Alliance awards in 1996. Committees have moved quickly to implement initiatives for both programs. The Washington Home of Your Own Alliance has assisted twelve individuals with developmental disabilities to purchase their homes. They hope to be able to replicate these activities in communities throughout the state. Workshops are scheduled with the first community in March 1997. Additional funding from the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Developmental Disabilities Council has enabled the program to provide additional staff time, an 800 phone line, and publication materials. Gilbert Roos, who represents the state on the National Advisory Board, has been speaking with potential home owners and will participate in the training workshops for new communities. Washington State has six regions which will provide additional local members to the statewide steering committee.
ArkansasThe Arkansas initiative is building on the success of its three year project, Homeownership Opportunities Today (HOT). This project was funded by the Governor's Developmental Disabilities Planning Council and administered by the Supported Housing Office in conjunction with several local non-profit groups. Ninety-nine individuals or families participated in the project over the three year period and 42 succeeded in buying homes. Eight other participants moved into rental housing. The Arkansas initiative created an infrastructure consisting of three non-profits who assisted individuals to become homeowners; a new statewide home buyer assistance program; and public and private mortgage lenders who are able to address the housing needs of persons with disabilities. Continuing challenges include how to ensure long-term funding and finding alternatives to previous reliance on diminishing government funds. The Arkansas initiative will meet these challenges and expand its efforts through the Home of Your Own network.
The Home of Your Own effort in the District of Columbia was created to facilitate home ownership and leasing opportunities for persons with disabilities and their families. The DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) has placed language in its single family mortgage program which promotes the removal of barriers faced by home buyers with disabilities. The DCHFA's Monument III program was designed specifically to address barriers faced by individuals with disabilities in the home purchasing process. In addition, the agency is providing up to $10,000 to qualified applicants for assistance with down payments and closing costs.
Mississippi is proud to be part of the National Home of Your Own Alliance. Representatives of the coalition attended the Housing Forum at the TASH conference in New Orleans. Those attending found the forum enlightening. Because Mississippi has few personalized supports to assist a person to live on his or her own, initial efforts are being targeted at systems change in this area. The first effort will be to pass an Individual and Family Support Bill in this legislative session. The second is to teach a course titled "Independent Living," which will be taught at the University of Southern Mississippi. This course will introduce students to community living options available to people with disabilities and the dilemmas people face as they pursue home ownership. Mississippi is eager for information from other states concerning participant selection, application process, and training.
The New Jersey Home of Your Own project will continue the work begun with the state's Master Plan for the 1994 Human Services Bond Issue. The initiative's primary goals are: to increase home ownership by people with disabilities; to improve the financial community's understanding of the needs of prospective home owners; to increase the overall level of opportunity for people with disabilities to explore home ownership; to develop more flexible funding which will support people where they live; and to continue developing the mechanisms by which capital bond moneys can be leveraged. Individuals with disabilities and their families will be involved by serving as members of the Strategy Group that will guide the project. An individual with a disability will coordinate the participation of other people with disabilities in this process and will serve as the project's representative on the Alliance's National Advisory Board. The Developmental Disabilities Council is undertaking this project in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Human Services, the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities, and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The state's University Affiliated Program, Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, ARC, Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities, and Thrift Institutions Community Investment Corporation also have promised their support for the initiative.
The Alliance in West Virginia is funded by a Developmental Disabilities Planning Council grant and is administered by the ARC of Harrison County. In October, Al Wiggins was hired as Project Director. Applicants in Harrison County will be assisted by the West Virginia Housing Fund, using money from the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Down payments and closing costs are part of the loan, so up-front money is minimal. To date, the roadblocks have been in securing affordable building lots with utilities and obtaining house plans small enough to meet the 800 square foot guideline set forth by the West Virginia Housing Fund. An architect is designing a two-bedroom wheelchair accessible home to meet the square foot guidelines. The plan will be available soon.
Advisory BoardThe National Advisory Board, consisting of people with disabilities from the Alliance states, held several conference calls during November å96 to plan for the gathering in New Orleans. An Advisory Board meeting was held on the first night of the gathering. Members got acquainted over pizza, approved an updated description of Board roles and a more detailed version of a strategic plan, and transacted other board business. The Advisory Board members shared their journeys toward home ownership, and all were excited to be involved with the Alliance and with Fannie Mae. During the opening of an all day housing forum at the TASH conference, Nancy Verderber, Advisory Board member from Missouri, presented a plaque to Fannie Mae on behalf of the Advisory Board. The plaque had a house-and-window motif, and Nancy spoke eloquently regarding the "windows of opportunity" provided by Fannie Mae's new program. After the keynote and presentation of the plaque, Advisory Board members participated throughout the day with their state coalitions in presentations on home ownership. Enthusiasm ran high all three days. Nancy Verderber summed up the reaction of the Advisory Board this way: "The Alliance had a very productive three days. Before we started, I didn't know how the open sessions would work as the process sounded so unstructured. But a structure did develop, and I think everyone learned a lot. It was great meeting the members from the new states, and it was so worthwhile to be connected to TASH."
Center for Universal Design
The continued expansion of the Alliance and the presence of Fannie Mae's HomeChoice program have resulted in greatly expanded use of the Alliance's information and referral services. Over the past year, the number of calls received on the hotline has increased from an average of 27 requests a month to almost 80. Most people want general information about the Alliance but specific questions frequently concern financing. People are very interested in the financing that HomeChoice offers. Every month, the Center for Universal Design distributes approximately 200 Alliance publications. Four of the publications are free and numerous others are available for a nominal fee. The most frequently requested include, "A Report on Legal and Financial Planning Issues," the "Housing InfoPak," and the workshop training materials titled, "Toward a Home of One's Own."
Human Services Research Institute
In December, the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) submitted its final external evaluation report for 1996 to the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The evaluation is the second since the Alliance began and examines how this complex project operates as a whole. A copy is now available through UNH. HSRI thanks all the state contact people, Advisory Board members, and Alliance subcontractors who participated in the process. The next evaluation project will involve a study of the Year-4 states. The workplan for this evaluation was finalized in February.
Temple University
Temple University's staff presented the first analysis of information gathered through the Homeseekers Survey at the Alliance meeting in New Orleans. Celia Feinstein and Robin Levine discussed the early findings collected from 35 Home of Your Own participants across the country. Of these, 23 were interviewed before they became home owners and 12 were interviewed after purchasing their home. In order to better understand how home ownership benefits people, Temple data collectors will re-interview the 23 people six months after they have purchased their homes. This will help to compare how owning a home affects a person's inclusion in and contribution to the community. With the help of the Alabama Home of Your Own project, Temple planned a training teleconference for new data collectors in Year-4 and Year-5 states. This training was held on March 5th.
Co-op Initiatives
Co-op Initiatives supports the work of the National Advisory Board, which consists of people with disabilities from the states participating in the Alliance. Co-op Initiatives recently prepared two documents to assist the Advisory Board and the Alliance with their work. The first, called "Role, Purpose and Responsibilities of the National Advisory Board," describes in detail what the Board is and how it works. Topics include how the Board functions, how members are chosen, roles of the subcommittees, tasks carried out by the members on a state and national level, and how members are supported. The other document is a detailed workplan based on the Alliance's PATH (or strategic plan) that the Advisory Board members and subcontractors developed at the April 1996 meeting in New Hampshire. Co-op Initiatives divided each goal into activities with timelines and assigned individuals to implement them. The Advisory Board reviewed this workplan, gave input into its development, and adopted it during the November meeting. Co-op Initiatives also assisted the Board in planning for the New Orleans event: the Alliance gathering, Advisory Board meeting, and TASH Tech. The Advisory Board played a strong leadership role throughout the conference.
A great deal has been happening in the area of home ownership for people with disabilities and more good things are just around the corner. Fannie Mae will complete a second round of RFPs (Requests for Proposal) in May, and choose five additional states to participate in its HomeChoice project. For more information, call Marcie Goldstein, Project Coordinator, at UNH (603-862-0568). The second Fannie Mae training will be held in Washington, DC, in the fall of 1997. Current and new Fannie Mae states as well as other Alliance states will attend the training. There will be a one-day Alliance meeting either before or following the Fannie Mae training. In 1998, from April 25-29, a larger three-and-a-half day meeting will be held in Washington, DC, with Alliance states, subcontractors, Fannie Mae, and guests invited to discuss the continuance of a national initiative on home ownership. The meeting will include visits to Capitol Hill and to Federal agencies in order to educate legislators and Federal officials on the value of home ownership. The Alliance is now offering a 19 page publication on guardianship titled \"Home Ownership and Guardianship\" for $2.00 and a 37 page report on the proceedings from the New Orleans meetings titled, \"Proceedings from a Gathering of State Home of Your Own Coalitions\" for $3.00. Both of the new publications may be requested from the Information and Referral Line at 800-220-8770.
Upcoming Events
May, 1997
Fannie Mae release of HomeChoice RFP's for selection of five new states
June 4-8, 1997
National Council on Independent Living Annual Meeting,
Washington, DC
Call the NCIL office at
(703) 525-3406 for further info.
November, l997
Fannie Mae training for HomeChoice and National Home of Your Own Alliance States,
Washington, DC
November, 1997
National Home of Your Own Alliance meeting,
Washington, DC
December 10-13, 1997
TASH Annual Conference Sheraton Boston Hotel & Towers
Boston, MA
call the TASH office at
(410) 828-8274 x103 for info.
April 25-29, 1998
National Home of Your Own Alliance, Housing Conference,
Hyatt Regency Bethesda,
Bethesda, MD
Alliance Toll-Free Information line:
800-220-8770
World Wide Web:
http://alliance.unh.edu