Housing Services for Low-Income People I. TOPIC HOME Line II. LOCATION Central Minnesota III. SUBJECT Housing Services for Low-Income People IV. SUMMARY Low-income residents of Hennepin County, Minnesota, needed more information about and access to a variety of housing services. In January 1992, Community Action for Suburban Hennepin (CASH), a community action agency serving the western suburbs of Minneapolis, instituted HOME Line, a tenant hotline. HOME Line offers low-income residents a single point of contact for direct services or referral to many housing services. HOME Line volunteers provide information about CASH's housing services for low-income people and referrals to the appropriate government agency, financial institution, or other service provider when necessary. CASH added tenant organizing, foreclosure prevention counseling, and first-time homebuyer assistance to HOME Line's services after a start-up period. CASH combines a variety of local, state, federal, and private funding sources to provide housing services to more than 6,000 low-income people a year. V. SUCCESSFUL PRACTICE Using a variety of funding sources and volunteers, established a single point of contact for low-income people to obtain a full range of housing services. VI. CONTACT Sharon Johnson, Executive Director Community Action for Suburban Hennepin (CASH) (A Community Action Agency) 33 10th Avenue South Suite 150 Hopkins, Minnesota 55543 612-933-9639 612-933-8016 (FAX) VII. CASE STUDY The Problem: Low-income residents of Hennepin County, Minnesota, needed more information about and access to a variety of housing services, such as tenant information and advocacy, tenant organizing, and homebuying counseling. While information and services may have been available, low-income people often could not afford the services or did not know where to go for assistance. The Approach Adopted: Community Action for Suburban Hennepin (CASH), a community action agency serving the western suburbs of Minneapolis, instituted HOME Line, a tenant hotline. HOME Line offers low-income residents a single point of contact for direct services or referral to many housing services. How They Implemented The Approach: In January 1992, CASH used a portion of its Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds to set up the hotline. A volunteer from Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) coordinated staffing of HOME Line with volunteers from local law schools and the community at large. Through a contract with Legal Aid, volunteers receive six one-day training sessions per year on tenant-landlord law. HOME Line volunteers provide information about CASH's housing services for low-income people and referrals to the appropriate government agency, financial institution, or other service provider when necessary. Volunteers sometimes accompany tenants to housing court to provide support. Six months after starting HOME Line, CASH added a tenant organizing component to the hotline. When staff record several calls from a particular apartment complex or concerning a particular landlord, CASH helps the residents organize to solve their problems collectively. Legal Aid handles cases that involve legal action against an owner or management company. HOME Line tenant organizers have also been active in cases of Section 8 buildings at risk of converting to market rate rentals. CASH keeps tenant groups informed of proposed changes in the Section 8 status of area buildings. CASH added a foreclosure prevention counseling component to HOME Line in 1992. CASH used CSBG funds to hire a counselor to work with homeowners experiencing financial hardship. Together, they develop plans to prevent their homes from going into foreclosure. CASH also established a loan fund and works with other non-profit agencies to obtain short-term loans and grants for homeowners in crisis situations. The latest service addition to HOME Line is homebuyer counseling for first-time homebuyers. CASH works closely with the 43 cities in its service area to provide assistance to first-time homebuyers, establish goals for maintaining quality housing stock, and promote homeownership. In addition, CASH provides homebuyer counseling to participants in a rent-to-own program run by the county Housing Redevelopment Agency. In addition to CSBG funds, CASH uses several other funding sources to keep HOME Line operating. Area cities provide funding through the Community Development Block Grant program and the state provides funds through its Housing Finance Agency. The Fannie Mae Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also provide funds. These additional funds allowed CASH to hire two more foreclosure prevention counselors. HOME Line's volunteer staff bring diverse backgrounds to the program and include experience such as real estate, banking, mortgage lending, law, and housing advocacy. The staff also includes low-income tenants and home owners for the knowledge and experience they have to offer. Results: CASH serves more than 6,000 low-income residents a year through its HOME Line services. In addition to the thousands of individual cases handled, tenant groups organized through HOME Line were able to gain additional protections for tenants from the state legislature. Because of the broad reach of its housing services made possible by HOME Line, CASH has been able to identify trends in housing issues. CASH undertook a study of the availability of apartments for Section 8 certificate holders in its service area. The study found that the Section 8 housing stock was severely diminished. The report has received attention from both the media and policy makers. VIII. KEY WORDS Community Action Agency Community Development Block Grant Community Services Block Grant Foreclosures Homebuying Housing Housing Counseling Landlords Legal Aid Section 8 Tenants Volunteers ref: homeline.doc