Five years ago, one of the most destructive natural disasters in our nation’s history hit the Gulf Coast. When they hit the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita took thousands of lives, displaced millions of residents, wiped out hundreds of square miles of coastal land, and inflicted major damage to nearly 300,000 homes.
A half-decade later, Gulf Coast residents are still trying to pick up the pieces. Since taking office in January 2009, the Obama Administration has been working hard to ensure residents are given the tools they need to recover from the hurricanes and rebuild their lives and communities. As a result, $2.43 billion in public assistance funds for recovery that had been stalled for years has been obligated since the beginning of the Administration, with President Obama’s Recovery Act providing billions more.
But the Obama Administration is committed to doing things differently in the Gulf – in two fundamental ways. First, we believe that government should stand with the residents of the Gulf Coast, not in their way. That means cutting through the red tape.
Secondly, we are not only helping the Gulf Coast recover from disaster – but working to revitalize the region and build it back better and stronger.
Since becoming HUD Secretary, I have had the privilege and experience of visiting the Gulf Coast region five times to see the challenges and progress for myself. From my first visit with Secretary Napolitano where we announced millions of dollars in funding to stimulate long term recovery, to volunteering with the St. Bernard Project to help rebuild the homes of two elderly families, it has been extremely important to see the progress we are making and the work that still lies ahead firsthand.
As I prepare to make my sixth trip this week on the 5th Anniversary of the storm, I wanted to share with you some of HUD’s accomplishments so far:
HUD’s work in the Obama Administration began with the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP). Shortly after President Obama’s inauguration, I discovered that thousands of families who received assistance through DHAP would see that assistance come to an end without having found permanent housing. Together with our partners in the Administration, we extended this assistance for an additional six months -- allowing displaced families more time to transition to self-sufficiency. By partnering with nearly 350 public housing agencies across the country, we were able to provide temporary housing to over 30,000 families displaced from their homes by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Today every DHAP family is accounted for – having already made the transition to permanent housing or well on their way to doing so.
HUD has also been able to assist displaced Gulf Coast residents through the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) under President Obama’s Recovery Act. Under this program, states and communities received grants to help prevent homelessness and provide rapid re-housing assistance to those who are already homeless. Louisiana has received $13.5 billion in funding under HPRP, and Mississippi has received $13.3 billion.
We have also helped stabilize Gulf Coast communities suffering from foreclosures and abandonment. As part of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act, Mississippi received nearly $46.3 million under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), while Louisiana received $39 million, with an additional $29.7 million competitively awarded to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority consortium. Indeed, with HUD strongly encouraging local non-profit organizations to help the city target their funds more effectively through technical assistance, Mayor Landrieu has made tremendous progress helping New Orleans cut through the red tape and ensure these funds are helping the neighborhoods that need it most.
We are also working to rebuild a stronger and more ethical housing authority in New Orleans. I recently appointed a new leadership team to the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), led by David Gilmore. Bringing 40 years of public housing experience, Mr. Gilmore and his team are working to develop new affordable housing in New Orleans, fostering closer relationships with social service providers and expediting assistance to lower income families. At the same time, he is working to ensure that public housing is not only a place for families to find safe, affordable housing but also provides opportunities for those who live there – helping more than 800 New Orleans residents find work.
These accomplishments are just the beginning for a Gulf Coast region still struggling to regain its footing. But as long as we continue to cut through the red tape, listen to the voices of people on the ground and get help to families and neighborhoods that need it most, I have no doubt we will continue to produce results and help the families of the Gulf Coast move from recovery to revitalization.
In June, Secretary Donovan attended the World Bank Institute’s “Innovative Cities Global Dialogue” with city leaders from the around world. The symposium focused on solutions to the challenges their cities face as well as how to make their cities engines of economic growth.
At the conference, Secretary Donovan discussed how cities are the solution and the importance of U.S. Global Engagement.
Our guest blogger today is Lee Jones, Region 10 Public Affairs Officer (Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska)
Seattle's Urban Rest Stop has always had a pretty simple, certainly straightforward pitch. Everybody enjoys a good, warm shower.
A homeless vet who makes his home on a grate. A family down on its luck and sleeping most nights cramped and uncomfortable in their car. A fry cook on his way to his second job as a night watchman.
When first proposed by the Low Income Housing Institute to address a severe shortage of public facilities in downtown, the Urban Rest Stop was, no question, not the most popular new idea to ever hit Seattle. The initial proposal, in fact, precipitated a lawsuit from merchants, property owners and the Downtown Seattle Association objecting to its location. Another was found - the 47-unit Julie Hotel, once a "swank residence" for single professional women and now a National Historic Landmark. With financial support from the City of Seattle and, bygones becoming bygones, a $250,000 renovation grant from the Downtown Seattle Association, the Urban Rest Stop opened its doors - and shower stalls - in 1990.
When first proposed by the Low Income Housing Institute to address a severe shortage of public facilities in downtown, the Urban Rest Stop was, no question, not the most popular new idea to ever hit Seattle. The initial proposal, in fact, precipitated a lawsuit from merchants, property owners and the Downtown Seattle Association objecting to its location. Another was found - the 47-unit Julie Hotel, once a "swank residence" for single professional women and now a National Historic Landmark. With financial support from the City of Seattle and, bygones becoming bygones, a $250,000 renovation grant from the Downtown Seattle Association, the Urban Rest Stop opened its doors - and shower stalls - in 1990.
The first month, it provided 815 free showers. By 2006, it did 55,000 showers - 60 percent, it estimates, to folks "getting ready for work" - and 19,000 free loads of laundry. "You have to wonder what people were doing before we opened our doors," said Ronni Gilboa, its manager.
For many, it provides an essential service. “The Urban Rest Stop,” one who has used its services, “has allowed me to clean up in order to help me get employment. They have treated me fairly and with dignity. Without these services (and they have told me of countless other resources) it would have been infinitely more difficult to improve my situation.”
“Having to work for a living, being able to take a shower before going to work has helped me immeasurably,” said another. The Urban Rest Stop, added a third, “.has enabled me to maintain myself to be presented to others and myself, not only on the outside, but as a pick-up mentally and keep some level of sanity through the madness of being homeless.”
On August 28th, 2010, the Urban Rest Stop marked its 10th anniversary. It has plenty to celebrate. Since opening day, it has:
Distributed more than 100,000 free toothbrushes.
Gone through more than 1,050 miles of toilet paper, enough to reach all the way from downtown Seattle to downtown Cheyenne.
Done more than 220,000 free loads of laundry.
Provided more than 540,000 free showers – equivalent to turning on the faucet to every man, woman and child living in Charlotte, Oklahoma City or Portland.
Three mornings a week, nurses from the Harbroview Medical Cener provide first aid and preventive health care. A podiatrist drops by once a month. Every Tuesday afternoon gives free haircuts. There’s legal assistance available monthly for those filling-out Social Security applications. Sixteen-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, it’s open, giving the homeless the tools they need to be an active member of Seattle’s economy and society.
Once controversial, the Urban Rest Stop now is just common sense. The City and State of Washington as well as HUD have long provided it with financial support. But it’s also generated wide support in the community, receiving funding from, among others, the Nordstrom Foundation, the Kroger Foundation, the Boeing Employees Community Fund, the Seattle Foundation and, of course, private citizens who know a good idea when they see one.
"The best ideas often are the simplest ideas," said HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride. "And whether it's the rubber duck that is the Urban Rest Stop's trademark, or the wide range of services it provides, the Urban Rest Stop has proven over the last 10 years that simple is just plain smart. We at HUD are proud to support its very good work."
Our guest blogger today is, Jessica Molinego, Intern in HUD's Office of Public Affairs
Earlier this week, HUD announced that it is charging several Bristol, Pennsylvania property owners and their management company with housing discrimination for refusing to rent a one-bedroom apartment to a mother and her seven-year old daughter.
Now, this apartment was perfect for the mother and daughter. It was near the mother’s work and had the potential to make a busy mom’s life a little better.
Nevertheless, the landlords turned them away. “No kids allowed,” the owners said.
So, the mother and daughter moved into a nearby shelter to continue their search for a new home. Knowing that she had rights under the Fair Housing Act, the mother went to her local fair housing association and submitted a complaint.
Forty-two years after the enactment of the Fair Housing Act, HUD still fights for those whose rights have been violated, especially for those who are denied because of familial status. If you believe you are a victim of discrimination, you should contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 (voice) or 800-927-9275 (TTY). To read more about this case click here.
In early July, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), held its Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, where a record crowd of 42,000 people gathered, including families, Latino leaders, community advocates, business owners, and many others. Among this year's highlights was our town hall, "What's the Holdup? Strategies to Jump-Start a Stalled Economy," where I was joined by notable guests, including U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan.
We looked for solutions to today's tough times and zeroed in on the reality of homeownership and jobs in our neighborhoods. The picture is bleak for some. Many families have lost their jobs and many others, often as a consequence, are losing the shelter of their homes. Even while we continue to celebrate the recent passage of the banking reform bill, we are reminded that foreclosures and unemployment run rampant throughout the nation, especially in the Latino community, where a whopping 17% loss of homeownership is expected by the time the recession is over.
Secretary Donovan has reached out to the Latino community to hear our concerns and suggestions. He spoke at our Annual Conference last year in Chicago as well, where he committed to teaming up with NCLR to mitigate foreclosures and help families keep their homes. He has stayed true to his promise by making necessary improvements to HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program). For example, now servicers cannot begin the foreclosure process until the homeowner has been screened for a loan modification, giving people a better shot at staying in their homes.
At the Conference this year, Secretary Donovan announced the FHA First Look program launch. This will give redeveloping communities hurt by high numbers of foreclosures first claim on purchasing FHA-insured foreclosed homes, a fantastic alternative to investors swooping into neighborhoods with the goal of buying cheap and selling high when the market recoups. NCLR is glad to be a partner in this rollout. FHA First Look empowers communities to invest in their own backyard.
Secretary Donovan also made a plea for HUD's Transforming Rental Assistance initiative, which would create 300,000 jobs in our poorest communities to make much needed capital improvements and repairs to public housing. The Secretary said it was time to put an end to the "separate but inherently unequal" housing system in this country that traps 2.5 million families in poor neighborhoods for generations.
Like other Americans, our community seeks real, tangible change. We look forward to progress in getting us out of the housing crisis as leaders such as Secretary Donovan have the courage to be innovative with solutions that are showing results. After a robust conversation at the town hall, I asked him to help us implement and enforce the local hiring requirements for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a commonsense strategy that could increase local jobs while helping communities recover. We hope to hear from the Secretary next year on the progress of this initiative.
Secretary Donovan (middle), D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (left), D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty (right), join residents of the Gibson Plaza Apartments in D.C. at the complex groundbreaking. The apartments will undergo a $31 million energy efficient, green retrofit which includes more than $2 million from the Recovery Act.
Last week, I spoke at two events that helped underscore the extent to which President Obama’s Recovery Act is paving the way for a clean energy economy.
Before an audience of green affordable housing developers at the Communities of the Institute for Professional and Executive Development (IPED) annual conference, I highlighted four ways HUD is using the lessons of the Recovery Act to make this possible—first, by upgrading and retrofitting 230,000 units of HUD’s affordable housing stock to high green standards by the end of this summer; second, by providing new tools to property owners that demonstrate which green improvements they can make and the savings they can generate; third, by using the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to catalyze new forms of green retrofit financing for single- and multi-family housing; and fourth, by forging interagency partnerships across government to weatherize homes and help clusters of communities work together to reduce the combined cost of housing and transportation.
A day earlier, at the groundbreaking for the green retrofit of the Gibson Plaza Apartments in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC, I saw for myself how these kinds of Recovery Act investments are helping green our homes, improve our quality of life, and create jobs. Over $2 million in Recovery Act funding will help residents of this 40 year old neighborhood anchor cut their utility costs more than 20 percent -- at the same time creating75 good-paying green jobs that can never be sent offshore.
Gibson Plaza reminds us that at the same time the Recovery Act is making homes healthier and more energy efficient, it is preparing the new generation of professionals--from mechanics and plumbers, to architects, energy auditors, and factory workers building solar panels and wind turbines--we need to design, install, and maintain the first wave of green technologies. It’s changing the way we do business and it’s laying the foundation for the clean energy economy America needs to compete and prosper in the 21st century.
The housing industry is of vital importance to our country’s future. It is a key sector of our economy, supporting millions of jobs in construction, manufacturing, real estate, finance, and other industries. Moreover, for many Americans, their home is their largest financial investment.
That is why the Obama Administration is strongly committed to responsibly reforming our nation’s broken system of housing finance, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And that is why it is so important that we get the reforms right.
Work on this issue is well under way, as the Obama Administration continues to develop a comprehensive reform proposal for delivery to Congress by January 2011. Earlier this year, Secretaries Geithner and Donovan testified before Congress, outlining the principles that will guide the Administration’s housing finance reform efforts. In April, the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued related questions for public comment, which have received over 300 responses from a broad cross-section of stakeholders. (To view these responses, please visit: here and here.)
That commitment to public engagement will continue. Today, the Administration is announcing that it will hold on August 17 a Conference on the Future of Housing Finance at the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. This event will bring together leading academic experts, consumer and community organizations, industry groups, market participants, and other stakeholders for an open discussion about housing finance reform.
As we continue moving forward, it is critical to maintain an open, productive public dialogue about how best to address a housing finance system that everyone – across both sides of the aisle – agrees is in clear need of reform. To help inform this debate, it is useful to offer some context about the Administration’s efforts to date in this area and the current state of our nation’s housing finance system.
Stabilizing the Housing Market
In September 2008, the Bush Administration put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship and began injecting taxpayer funds into those firms in order to keep them afloat. When President Obama took office in January 2009, he inherited not only this conservatorship arrangement, but also a mortgage market and economy in free-fall.
From the beginning, the Obama Administration has made clear that the current structure of the government’s role in the housing finance market is unsustainable and unacceptable. Fundamental reform was clearly needed. But abrupt change or an uncertain reform process in the midst of the financial crisis could have destabilized an already fragile housing industry and made it even more difficult for Americans to buy a home or refinance a mortgage. Continuing to provide financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was the right decision then for the mortgage market and for our economic recovery – and it has played a critical role in stabilizing the housing industry during a period of crisis. Even today, private capital has not yet fully returned to this market. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other government entities guarantee more than 90 percent of newly originated mortgages. They are practically the only game in town.
Fannie and Freddie under Conservatorship
During their two years in conservatorship, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been tightly supervised and regulated. Fannie and Freddie have made significant progress in improving the credit quality of their new obligations. Since 2008, FICO scores and loan-to-value ratios – both of which are key measures of how likely a borrower is to default – are meaningfully better on new mortgages. Fannie and Freddie have also increased their guarantee fees and risk-adjusted their pricing.
The losses that the federal government has had to backstop are virtually all attributable to bad loans that Fannie and Freddie took on between 2005 and 2007 – during the height of the housing bubble. Unfortunately, we still need to manage the continuing consequences of those poor credit choices.
Of course, none of these facts eliminate the need to take a hard and comprehensive look at long-term solutions for our nation’s system of housing finance. But they do offer important context about the numbers behind the headlines on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Responsible Reform
The size, importance, and complexity of the housing finance market all compel us to craft its reform with great care:
The U.S. mortgage market is the second largest securities market in the world, after U.S. Treasuries.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently guarantee more than $5 trillion in mortgages and hold a total of $1.6 trillion in agency loans and other securities in their portfolios.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are only one part of a broader housing finance system that includes the Federal Housing Administration, Ginnie Mae, the FHLBanks, other government programs, and a significant private sector role in originating, funding, and servicing mortgage loans.
For decades, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac privatized their profits while ultimately putting taxpayers at risk for losses. This type of “heads private shareholders win, tails taxpayers lose” system of misaligned incentives makes no sense for the nation. Housing finance reform needs to address these and other complex issues responsibly. That is why the Obama Administration is committed to an open and inclusive public dialogue about the future of U.S. housing finance. Given the importance of this task, we want to hear the best ideas from all sides of the debate. Working together with our colleagues in Congress, we believe that this is the right path forward to achieve responsible reform.
Jeffrey A. Goldstein is Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the U.S. Treasury Department
Our guest blogger today is John D. Trasviña, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO)
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Twenty years later, the Act continues to help level the playing field for persons with disabilities. We celebrate this anniversary and the strides we have made toward greater integration, equality and independence. This important civil rights law granted persons with disabilities the legal right to engage in productive work and participate fully in community life. It also secured their right to community-based support in order to live free of the confines of institutional walls and enjoy the benefits our democratic society has to offer. And, in the process, the ADA has helped break the myths and stereotypes that have too long burdened people with disabilities. It is time for us to recognize and appreciate the inherent potential within each of us, regardless of our physical or mental challenges.
As Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), I am proud that my office is vigorously enforcing federal laws related to combating housing discrimination and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities. FHEO furthers the rights of persons with disabilities by:
Carrying out the Department’s enforcement of disability rights laws, to ensure that people with disabilities have the full protection and opportunity promised by law.
Filing and investigating Secretary-Initiated cases on behalf of persons with disabilities who experience discrimination in housing-related matters. As recently as today, HUD announced that it is charging a Chicago-area housing developer and owner with housing discrimination for designing and constructing apartments that fail to meet the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act.
Developing guidance to bolster enforcement of the ADA integration mandate and Olmstead decision.
Hosting quarterly meetings of the HUD Disability Task Force with leaders from the disability community to discuss issues of concern to the public.
Achieving the ADA’s mandate for community-based and integrated living opportunities for people with disabilities through affordable and accessible housing.
Fostering affordable and accessible housing by training builders, architects, developers, code officials over the past seven years on accessible design and construction requirements in the Department’s Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST program. The program’s technical assistance center has advised over 21,000 customers with accessible design and construction questions since its inception.
Conducting investigations and on-site reviews to ensure ADA compliance in housing programs operated by state and local governments. Where deficiencies are identified, HUD seeks voluntary compliance through the creation of more accessible units and takes necessary enforcement action to ensure equal access to HUD-funded housing for people with disabilities.
Participating in the HUD/HHS Partnership to bolster enforcement of ADA compliance by agency partners and grantees, and to support State and local government’s efforts to meet their obligations under the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision.
These are a few of the efforts that HUD has undertaken to further the goals of the ADA. To eradicate discrimination and to enhance housing opportunities for all, the time to act is now.
April Tey Brown, Public Affairs Specialist, HUD’s Office of Public Affairs
I come from a long line of service members so it was no surprise to my family when I decided to join the U.S. Air Force at the young age of 19. For six years, I proudly served my country on active duty. I traveled around the world and made some amazing friends. It was a wonderful experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world! As a veteran, I make it a point to know and understand all the benefits that are available to veterans.
Today, Secretary Donovan and Veteran’s Affairs Secretary Shinseki announced that 5 communities near military installations will be provided with a total of $15 million under HUD’s Veteran’s Homelessness Prevention Demonstration Program (VHPD). Through the combination of housing, health care and employment services, HUD, VA and Labor will explore new and innovative interventions to help prevent homelessness of service members returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
VHPD will target veterans who meet the eligibility criteria and provide short- or medium-term rental assistance. This includes security deposits, utility payments and case management. The program will also offer community-based supportive services appropriate for veterans and their families, including child care and family services.
VHPD also supports the Obama Administration’s far-reaching and ambitious strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Last month, Donovan and 18 other federal agencies unveiled Opening Doors, an unprecedented federal strategy to end veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to end homelessness among children, families, and youth by 2020.
Letha Strothers, Web Manager, HUD’s Office of Public Affairs
According to our local newspaper, I may have been one of only a few people in the Washington, DC area who felt the 3.7-magnitude earthquake that shook our neighborhood one day last week. I awoke suddenly and in a fog early in the morning and felt the house shaking. I heard rain too, so “thunder,” I thought, sleepily. But why is it going on so long and under the house?
By morning I’d forgotten all about it, but later that day I learned that the region had experienced an earthquake, a rare occurrence in our parts. So, while I went on with my day unfazed by the incident, I thought of other people who have suffered the devastating effects of natural disasters—people who can’t forget all about it by morning.
Earlier this week, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to 53 counties in Nebraska and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe storms, flooding and tornadoes last month. That is just one of many examples of disaster assistance HUD has provided over the last year all over the country.
More information about how you might be able to get help from the U.S. Government before, during and after a disaster is available at DisasterAssistance.gov.
Our guest blogger today is Colette S. Sutton, Summer Intern in HUD's Philadelphia Regional Office
Neumann Senior Center in the Fishtown Neighborhood of Philadelphia
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Neumann Senior Center in the Fishtown Neighborhood of Philadelphia to celebrate HUD’s 50th anniversary of Section 202. Neumann Senior Center was rehabilitated in 2006 from what used to be St. Mary’s Hospital and later Neumann Medical Center. The project was funded by a $10,544,200 mortgage from HUD under the Section 202 housing program benefiting low-income senior citizens. This visit comes just days after HUD announced more than $550 million in grants for the low-income elderly and persons with disabilities. More than $21 million of that total will come to Pennsylvania.
While visiting the center, I had the pleasure of hearing one of the residents, Marie Brooks, talk about her experience at Neumann Senior Center. Ms. Brooks’ experience is unique because she was the first resident to live in the housing center. She explained how she lived there for 3 days with just the managing crew, wondering if others were going to join her. She does not have to worry about being all alone anymore because all 69 units are full, housing 73 residents total.
Left to right: Marie Brooks, resident; Randall Sheetz, Chief of Asset Management, HUD's Philadelphia Regional office; Maria Bynum, Region Three Public Affairs Officer, Tracy Richardson, staff member at Neumann Senior Center
The Neumann Senior Center has allowed the residents to focus on other things in life besides stressing over necessities. Ms. Brooks, along with other residents, are able to worry less about how they are going to get their next meal or keep a roof over their head, and worry more about how they are going to decorate their door in the their yearly door competition or what game to play in the common areas.
The best part of the Neumann Senior Center is the roof top terrace. The residents have a breath taking panoramic view of the Philadelphia skyline. I would pay a million dollars to be able to see a view like that every day from my own house. Maybe one day I’ll be as fortunate as the residents to be able to enjoy such a facility.
My visit to the Neumann Senior Center put in perspective the lives positively affected by HUD’s Section 202 housing program. HUD's money is helping those people in need. With the recently announced grants, hopefully there will be more places like Neumann Senior Center and more people benefiting like Ms. Brooks.
Panoramic view of the Philadelphia skyline from the roof top terrace at Neumann Senior Center
Secretary Donovan, recently spoke with Bryant Rousseau from the Architectural Record to discuss the stimulus package, his focus on planning, and the opportunity for architects to play a larger role in transforming communities.
The worst environmental disaster in our nation's history threatens the Gulf Coast and the families who live there. Stopping the oil spill and containing its damage is the top priority of the Obama administration and the country alike. But of all the lessons to be drawn from this tragedy, perhaps the most important is that we can't afford to let the next generation be held hostage to energy sources from the last century.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at HUD’s 2010 LGBT pride month celebration. It was a wonderful setting to not only recognize those within the HUD family who have worked so hard to ensure equality in the federal government and in American communities, but also to reflect on all we’ve accomplished under the leadership of President Obama and the work that still remains ahead of us to tackle together.
A Year of Progress at HUD
I joined in this annual celebration to make sure that our LGBT community not only recognizes that they are welcome at HUD – but are acknowledged as essential to everything we do. At HUD, we not only want the unique differences every employee brings to the workplace – we absolutely need them if we want to create change in communities nationwide. That’s why, over the past year, we’ve worked hard to usher in a new day of diversity and inclusivity here at HUD.
When we celebrated LGBT pride month last year, I said that I wanted to make HUD the most welcoming, inclusive, and respectful workplace environment in the Federal government – and we’ve worked to deliver on the promise.
HUD’s Diversity Council is up and running, chaired by our Deputy Secretary Ron Sims. The Council has adopted a charter and will soon have a website, which will serve as a one-stop place for HUD employees to find information and resources about the work of all our agency’s affinity groups.
HUD’s Exploratory Task Force has examined extending federal benefits to the LBGT members of the HUD family. As of June 1st, thanks to the leadership of President Obama and OPM Director John Berry, the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program now officially includes same-sex domestic partners. This means that HUD employees will now be able to plan for their future—and their partner’s future—with more security.
This summer HUD will establish a formal process for employees to report LGBT discrimination complaints.These revisions to HUD’s current Equal Employment Opportunity process, which will include Alternative Dispute Resolution, will give members of our LGBT community who believe they have been subject to discrimination an avenue to pursue their grievances and seek redress.
I am proud of these developments not just because they will make a difference for HUD’s LGBT employees, but also because to create change in the federal government and the communities of America, we must start with a culture of inclusiveness here at HUD.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan at HUD's LGBT Pride Month Celebration.
To combat discrimination against LGBT individuals outside HUD, we first must understand its nature and extent. That’s why this year HUD announced the first-ever national study of national study of LGBT housing discrimination. In preparation to launch this innovative effort, Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic hosted a three-city listening tour to hear directly from members of the LGBT community how best to design the study. In addition, Assistant Secretary John Trasviña took the listening tour to Spokane, Washington. Deputy Secretary Sims also hosted an LGBT stakeholder roundtable during his visit to HUD’s Honolulu field office in early June. And for the first time HUD will host a session on housing discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation at the annual National Fair Housing Policy Conference.
And today HUD publically announced a new FHEO guidance memo to staff directing them, when responding to LGBT-based housing discrimination, to carefully assess whether or not there are any avenues to pursue a case through the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act does not cover sexual orientation or gender identity but, for instance, discrimination against a man who is suspected of having HIV/AIDS because he is gay could be discrimination based upon a perceived disability, which is covered by the federal Fair Housing Act. And we are now considering discrimination based on gender identity to be gender discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Earlier this month HUD issued the LGBT Civil Rights Threshold General NOFA, which now requires grant applicants seeking funding to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals. This NOFA applies to all HUD’s competitively awarded grant programs for FY 2010, totaling $3.25 billion in all.
And it’s not just new rules and regulations. We are also ensuring our programs take account of the needs of the LGBT community.
So, it’s been a watershed year for HUD when it comes to fighting for inclusion, diversity, and equity for HUD families and the families we serve. But, this is by no means the end of our struggle to ensure that all American families—regardless of age, income, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation—have access to the choice and opportunity.
The truth is that America’s diversity is America’s greatest strength.
That’s why in all that we do at HUD—be it in our workplace or the communities we serve—we must continue to ensure that every family has the opportunity to thrive and prosper.
![[Logo: Making Home Affordable]](/hud2009/images/making-home-affordable_short-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Logo: Recovery.gov]](/portal/page/portal/HUD/Images/recoverylogothumb.jpg)
![[Logo: Recovery.gov]](/portal/page/portal/HUD/Images/fhalogo.jpg)
![[Logo: Preserve America]](/portal/page/portal/HUD/Images/preserve_am_logo_small.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Logo: Fair Housing Equal Opportunity]](http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/Images/fheo100.gif)
![[Logo: Fair Housing Equal Opportunity]](/portal/page/portal/HUD/Images/ginnie_logo.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Logo: HUD.gov/open]](/portal/page/portal/HUD/Images/opengov_badge_v7.jpg){kind=icon}