New Updates on The Edge

Message from PD&R Leadership:
German Delegation Visit to HUD
In the leadership message, director of PD&R’s International and Philanthropic Affairs Division Cynthia Campbell discusses the division’s memorandum of cooperation with their counterparts in the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building, and Community, and partnerships with other German entities. The division has enjoyed this memorandum of cooperation since 2019, and in November 2021, it welcomed representatives from that organization and the German Corporation for International Cooperation to Washington, D.C.

In Practice:
Safe Affordable Housing Aids Addiction Recovery in Downeast Maine
Opened in 2020, Safe Harbor Recovery Housing is the first affordable housing and substance abuse recovery facility to serve Washington County, Maine. The development, which has 5 units, is located in the 2,000-person town of Machias and serves women recovering from substance abuse and their children. Safe Harbor is based out of a former domestic violence shelter, which was converted at a cost of $150,000. As of early 2022, Safe Harbor has served a total of 13 women and 13 children.

Research:
DC Flexible Rent Subsidy Program: Findings From the Program’s First Year
A new HUD-sponsored study, conducted by the Urban Institute and a research team in Washington D.C.’s Office of the City Administrator, examines the experiences of participants in the first year of a shallow rent subsidy pilot program. The program, which began taking applicants in December 2017, provided flexible rental subsidies to 102 eligible families in Washington D.C. Eligible households were extremely low-income with at least one child and at least one employed parent.

Spotlight on PD&R Research:
Affordable Homeownership in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan HMA Despite Rising Home Sales Prices
The latest article in a series focusing on HUD’s Comprehensive Housing Market Analyses examines the Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan housing market area (Grand Rapids HMA). A 4-county HMA with an estimated population of 1.08 million, the Grand Rapids HMA experienced employment decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, but had recovered approximately 80 percent of lost jobs by June 2021. The home sales and rental markets are both tight.

International & Philanthropic:
US-EU Exchange: Advancing the Transatlantic Economic Recovery With Building Renovation and Clean Energy Solutions
In its latest update, International and Philanthropic Affairs Division program analyst B. Aaron Weaver discusses the US-EU Exchange, which was established to address climate emissions and energy consumption in the building sector. From June 2021 through January 2022, the Exchange held five webinars on the subject. Three of these virtual events have featured HUD experts. Additionally, the US-EU Exchange has published Glossary of Terms: Energy Efficiency and Building Policies in the EU and US and plans to publish additional reference material in the future.

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