Celebrating a “Win” for Affordable Housing
CCH collaborates with many nonprofits in its effort to bring quality services and programs to our communities and push to increase the supply of affordable housing for all community members. One of those nonprofits is East Bay Housing Organization (EBHO). They build coalitions with community leaders, congregations, and networks to seek and promote housing solutions.
We are proud to stand beside EBHO and work with community leaders to bring attention and needed support to initiatives that result in more affordable housing. In fact, we recently celebrated a victory in the City of Walnut Creek, where the City Council passed a measure to increase the housing impact fee on new developments from $15 to $18 per square foot with an annual increase based on the construction cost index starting January 2018. The additional funds generated will supplement resources for affordable housing and preservation, thus creating a sustainable funding pipeline.
Starting in 2012, I started attending meetings with EBHO and concerned citizens who were ready to make a consistent, relentless effort to engage City leaders encouraging them to support this proposal. Today it’s great to say, “We did it!” With patience and persistence, positive and effective change is reachable.
Sincerely,
Don Stump, President/CEO
Will Proposed Tax Credit Reductions Hurt Affordable Housing?
You won’t be surprised that on going cuts in the federal budget proposed by President Trump continue to punish our citizens who need and deserve support from their government. The affordable housing industry continues to be hammered from multiple angles in Washington DC.
One of the most recent examples is related to the push to reduce the IRS tax code and cut the corporate tax rate in half. This move will reduce federal income by billions of dollars and reduce investor interest in the tax credit program which is currently the primary funding tool for affordable housing. When banks corporate tax rate is reduced by 50% you can generally predict that participation in the tax credit housing program will likewise fall by half. This means that an historical annual investment of $14 billion could fall to $7 billion. In 2015, 110,000 units of affordable housing were produced in the country. If this number decreases by half, then America’s families could lose the production 55,000 units per year.
For CCH, these scary numbers translate to seniors without housing, seniors living in their kid’s basement, and seniors being pushed into homelessness.
The answer? The government at all levels – Federal, State, County, & City – must recommit themselves to supporting our country’s seniors. Without this core value and deep level of commitment, seniors, and indeed all of us, face some frightening days ahead.
We thank you for your continued support of our mission to provide affordable quality housing in caring communities. Your donations make it possible for us to pour our energy to helping more seniors find More Than a Home.
Sincerely,
Don Stump, President/CEO
PS – We are hosting a major celebration in Oakland, CA. on September 23. We hope to have 250 people playing games and helping to raise funds for the CCH mission at a “Casino Royale Charity Event”. Want to come? Want to sponsor a senior to attend? Click here to visit our website for info and a way to donate!
Read more »
A Faith-based Approach to Affordable Housing
In recent weeks, I have been invited to share the CCH mission and our approach to affordable housing by both industry associations and local media (Station KZSC 88.1FM). I would like to take the opportunity to share a recently published article and the radio podcast with you. In both the June 2017 issue of LeadingAge Magazine, and in a radio talk show I was excited to share the major role the Disciples of Christ has played in the broad field of affordable senior housing. CCH has enjoyed 57 years of opportunities to work with Disciple churches as well as Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Sikh and many other denominations. You will not be surprised to see that America’s church community has historically played a role in serving the needy, and especially seniors of modest income.
The radio show, Universal Grapevine, produced by Bruce Bratton, is an interview program now in its 11th year. During the show, we spoke about our faith-based roots and how we have grown over the years to expand our mission to eight states and 58 communities. Below are links to the sources. I hope you take a moment to check them out.
Sincerely,
Don Stump, President/CEO
Click here to access the LeadingAge Magazine Article.
Click here to access the radio interview with Bruce Bratton.
PS – We are hosting a major celebration in Oakland, CA. on September 23. We hope to have 250 people playing games and helping to raise funds for the CCH mission at a “Casino Royale Charity Event”. Want to come? Want to sponsor a senior to attend? Click here to visit our website for info and a way to donate!
Read more »
Sounding the Alarm
As you have likely heard, the White House has recently shared their proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget. As a provider of affordable housing, I was most dismayed by the lack of sufficient funding in key areas critical to our mission and the needs of our vulnerable population.
It is more critical than ever to get involved and communicate with our legislators about the shortcomings of this budget and to push for their support. Through this links below I offer more information and an easy way to make a BIG difference.
LeadingAge Vice President of Housing Policy Linda Couch, has written an excellent analysis of the proposed budget and it’s potential impact on senior housing. In essence, the proposed budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would cut funding by more than 15% compared to HUD’s enacted funding level for fiscal year 2017.
In addition, annual rental subsidies and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly could experience devastating cuts while possibly eliminating Community Development Block Grants and the National Housing Trust. The end result will likely leave more seniors with even fewer options for decent housing at a time they need it the most. There’s never been a more important moment for you to speak on behalf of older adults who have often contributed so much to our communities and our economy. I humbly ask you to consider clicking on the link below to help us protect affordable housing at this critical moment. In this modern age of technology, LeadingAge has made this incredibly easy. On behalf of tens of thousands of seniors, I thank you for our consideration and support.
Click here to access the online form.
Sincerely,
Don Stump, President/CEO
Read more »
CCH Welcomes New Vice President of Real Estate Development
We are excited to introduce our new Vice President of Real Estate Development Nicole Ennix. Nicole was raised in the East Bay but most recently has spent 10 years working in Washington D.C. focusing on affordable housing development, real estate planning, and economic development.
Nicole joined CCH in April of 2017. She has 20 years of experience in real estate development, affordable housing, construction administration, project management, economic development and legal matters. As a former practicing attorney, Nicole has a demonstrated ability to anticipate and resolve problems swiftly and independently transforming strategic plans into successful solutions. She is an expert communicator and negotiator who excels at problem-solving and completing projects on time and under budget. Nicole spent 12 years of her career as a Project Manager and Owner’s Representative for multi-family and affordable housing development projects during the pre-development, land development and construction phases.
As V.P. of Real Estate Development, Nicole is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all aspects of housing development, including but not limited to feasibility analysis, entitlements, funding applications, due diligence, contract negotiations, construction management, and turn over to occupancy. She also serves as a member of the Housing Development Committee. She holds a Masters degree in Real Estate Development, as well as a Juris Doctorate degree, and she is an active member of the California State Bar.
She has a broad range of practical working experience which is a perfect fit for CCH and our plans to further the mission and grow the organization.
Funding Affordable Housing in California: A 40 Year Challenge
I have worked at CCH for 38 years and the state of California has always had a hard time finding a dedicated source of funding to pay for desperately needed affordable housing. Historically the solution has been to pass a one-time bond measure which establishes a large pot of money which may last 2-3 years and then runs dry. Read more »
7th Annual CCH Charity Event for Senior Housing
Save the Date – September 23, 2017
This year’s celebration of the mission and accomplishments of CCH will have a new look and feel. Join us for the Casino Royale with a Texas Hold’em Tournament in the beautiful and historic Oakland Rotunda.
We will transform this architectural wonder into a grand casino with games of chance and skill. Play the night away and redeem your chips for chances to win valuable prizes. There will be beverages, food, music, and dancing. Bring your friends. Impress your clients. Dazzle your associates. Enjoy a night of fun for a good cause, our mission: Providing Affordable Quality Housing in Caring Communities.
SPONSORSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES
Click here for a listing of sponsorship opportunities at all levels. There is even a Table Sponsor Level for individuals eager to contribute to the success of this event.
For more information or to inquire about sponsorships or the event, call Tom Hyland, Director of Philanthropy and Stewardship at (510) 746-4171.
Unveiling our New Employment Video
At CCH, we build caring communities one resident at a time. Our teams of community and corporate staff live the mission of providing affordable quality housing every day. CCH is deeply grateful to our colleagues who commit their talents, creativity, skills and energy to serving the greater good. On that note, we have put together a video that brings that message to life. If you know anyone who loves to work with seniors and wants to help build a caring community with CCH, please send them our way.
CCH Service Coordinators, Tipping the Scales for Residents
Service Coordinators serve as conduits between our CCH residents and local nonprofits that provide a myriad of services to low income seniors. Coordinators also help residents understand documents such as bills or statements which often convey critical information or deadlines affecting services or subsidies they receive. Recently one of our coordinators, Kerensa Doss, helped a resident in dire circumstances. The journey speaks to the supportive role our staff play in the lives of our residents.
If you could buy peace of mind for $18.90, would you do it? Sounds simple doesn’t it? Yet, it was anything but easy for a low income senior resident living in affordable housing when she notified by the Napa County Health and Human Services she was required to pay $630 for critical services when her total income is only $1300 per month.
In January 2017, Jefferson Street Senior Housing Service Coordinator Kerensa Doss was approached by one of our residents who received the notice stating she would now be charged $630 for her In-Home Support Service (IHSS). Prior to this letter, this expense had been paid by the county. The resident is an 80+ year old woman with very limited mobility who depended on IHSS to take her to medical appointments, clean her home and help her grocery shop. Of course, she was devastated.
Often, the cost of IHSS is covered by the county unless the recipient earns above a baseline amount which is calculated individually based on reported income and other factors. Income above their baseline requires the recipient of the services to pay a share of the cost for said service. Upon conferring with the IHSS case worker, Kerensa learned that according to records the resident would once again be eligible of IHSS if her health care insurance costs exceeded $106. In January her payment had dropped from $106 to $87.10. The solution seemed simple which was to call the insurance provider, in this case, Kaiser Permanente and add a vision and dental plan. However, regardless of the number of additional services added, the cost to this senior resident was never more than $87.10 but, at the time, the reason was unclear. When Kerensa spoke to Kaiser Member Services which said they could not explain why there appeared to be a cap on the resident’s insurance deductible.
As the first month into the investigation occurred, the resident borrowed money to pay the $630 for critical services. Kerensa managed to secure Meal on Wheels services so she at least had food but time was ticking.
While searching her files, the resident discovered a letter from December 2016 from Social Security which stated she qualified for a low income assistance program. She had checked the box requesting more information but never received further details. Unbek
nownst to her, she had been automatically enrolled in Social Security’s low income assistance program. To convolute and compound the issue, in this same letter, Social Security had offered to deduct the cost of her insurance automatically from her Social Security check in an effort to make her life easier. It would be one less check that she would need to write and track.
Kerensa persisted and found a staff person in the Kaiser Enrollment Department in the state of Missouri whose system enabled them to confirm a cap on insurance charge for low income residents in Napa County. They stated this was the result of a negotiated agreement between Social Security and Kaiser. Anyone 65 years or older with certain income levels pays the same $87.10 fee regardless of the number of services. Ultimately, this resulted in “Share of Cost” Medi-Cal fees for this resident. Kerensa received a clue when she called the Medi-Cal Financial Assistance department and they told her they could see that some entity was somehow paying for a portion of the resident’s fees.
Yet, this negotiated cap was not visible to either Napa County Health and Human Services or Kaiser Member Services.
At this point, into the second month of investigation, the resident could no longer pay for IHSS and struggled terribly to care for herself. The situation had become dire.
Every participant from Social Security, the County of Napa and Kaiser Permanente earnestly sought to help the senior resident but their income assistance programs and lack of transparency among the participants surprisingly caused her to now become ineligible for desperately needed IHSS.
So Kerensa attempted to terminate participation in the Social Security healthcare assistance program but doing so would have caused the resident to lose the substantial subsidy she needed to pay for high-cost prescription drugs. Moreover, if she pulled out of the program, she’d now pay hundreds of dollars rather than tens of dollars for her medication. Thus, she decided to stay in the program. The only way to restore the IHSS was to seek an additional dental and vision plan through AARP, despite already having this coverage through Kaiser. As she was currently paying $87.10, she consequently added another $26 to her healthcare expense which now made her eligible for receive IHSS at no cost to the resident.
Two months later, the resident now has the needed support back and has been credited money she had paid for IHSS. The resident shared, “I can now sleep at night and have time to worry about my children again.”
As for Kerensa, she is a real hero as are all Service Coordinators who spend their valuable time helping residents navigate the dizzying labyrinth of programs processes that make up Social Service. Kerensa comments, “Be persistent. Presume state and company employees on the other side are doing their best. Look at the problem from different angles. Ask for documents that may seem unrelated because they may be the missing puzzle piece. Finally, have lots of patience.”
Legislative Bills Supporting Affordable Housing
As I read through the headlines these days, I was excited to learn about a couple of new legislative bills that are circulating through the California State Capitol which may provide for more affordable housing. I wanted to make our partners and local folks aware of this development in hopes we can build more support for its passage. Read more »