New Updates on The Edge

Message from PD&R Leadership:
How Housing Matters for Education, Health and Economic Opportunity
How Housing Matters to Families and Communities is an important initiative of the MacArthur Foundation that promotes housing as a basis for education, health, and economic opportunity. Rachelle Levitt, Director of PD&R's Research Utilization Division, describes the past two How Housing Matters conferences cosponsored by HUD, the National Building Museum, and the MacArthur Foundation, and details the upcoming 2016 conference in Washington, DC, which will emphasize cross-disciplinary network building.

In Practice:
Affordable Housing in Central Washington State for Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Finding affordable rental housing can be difficult for the seasonal farmworkers who travel to the state of Washington, the nation's top producer of apples, cherries, and several other crops. To increase the supply of affordable housing for these workers, a partnership between two nonprofits developed Brender Creek with financial assistance from the Washington State Housing Trust Fund. The development provides 200 beds in 4- and 6-bedroom apartments, with 3 to 4 beds per room, for seasonal agricultural workers and their families.

Trending:
Partnering with Philanthropy for Community Impact, An Interview With Natalie Robles
HUD's Office of Economic Resilience and Office for International and Philanthropic Innovation recently released Scaling Solutions: Unleashing the Potential of Public-Philanthropic Partnerships, a report examining the role philanthropy played in HUD's Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI). Natalie Robles, a communications specialist in the Office of Economic Resilience, discusses SCI's place-based approach, and she highlights how organizations can use the report's findings to enhance their own partnerships.

Policy Update:
Reducing Offender Recidivism and Reconnecting Opportunity Youth
A number of programs have emerged in recent years that aim to reintegrate formally incarcerated individuals and at-risk youth into society through the provision of stable housing, supportive services, and education and employment opportunities. Highlighted programs include Returning Home–Ohio and The Burlington Housing Authority's Offender Re-Entry Housing Program, which aim to reduce offender recidivism, and the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions' Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund, which supports initiatives to improve at-risk youth outcomes.

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