New Updates on The Edge

Featured Story:

Message from PD&R Leadership:
The White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities and the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to federal/local partnership
The White House Council for Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) is one of many initiatives designed to address community challenges such as disinvestment and racially concentrated poverty through changes in the way the federal government partners with communities, empowers local decisionmakers to work across silos to achieve common goals. Executive Director of SC2 Patrick J. Pontius discusses SC2's progress since its launch in 2012, as well as future plans for the initiative.

Research:
A Picture of Disability and Designated Housing
A study recently released by PD&R, A Picture of Disability and Designated Housing, explores the status of available and accessible housing for HUD-assisted households with disabled members and compares the profile of this population with the larger population of disabled U.S. residents. The study, which finds that 78 percent of disabled renter households in the United States do not receive HUD housing assistance, also considers the implications of these findings for HUD policy and data resources and offers recommendations for future research.

In Practice:
Tribal Housing for Elders to Age in Place in Alaska
The Yukon-Koyukuk Elder Assisted Living Facility offers nine accessible one-bedroom units for tribal elders in Yukon-Koyukuk, a remote, rural region in central Alaska with few roads connected to the rest of the state. The assisted living facility was made possible by a consortium of five tribal councils that came together to improve collective competitiveness for funding to build housing for aging seniors who previously had to travel 150 miles to access assisted living services.

Policy Update:
Who Counts? Identifying Native American Populations
Obstacles to obtaining accurate data for American Indian and Alaska Native populations, such as logistical and cultural barriers, can impact the financial aid distributed to tribes by HUD and hinder the development of evidence-based policy. Improving access to accurate data on these communities, e.g., through partnerships between external investigators and tribal communities, is essential to better understanding their needs.