Louisiana Habitat for Humanity State Support Organization , a 501(c)3, non-profit corporation, was organized in 2005 by the sixteen Habitat for Humanity community affiliates in Louisiana.

Our mission is to strengthen the foundation of every HFH affiliate across the state of Louisiana and expand their potential to help others by increasing access to resources, facilitating communication between affiliates and the community, and providing statewide leadership toward the creation of thriving communities that support healthy families.

Louisiana HFH works toward the elimination of substandard housing in Louisiana through the following goals:

• Diversified Funding: Develop diversified sources of funds, in-kind donations, services and other resources, and distribute these equitably to affiliates.
• Advocacy: Develop, promote and coordinate statewide activities to increase public awareness of the work of Habitat for Humanity in Louisiana and to monitor legislation, programs and regulations related to housing and community development which impact affordable housing.
• Organizational Development: Facilitate networking and sharing of expertise, information, technical assistance and other resources with and among Louisiana Habitat for Humanity affiliates.
• Strategic Partnerships: Develop statewide collaborations and partnerships that create opportunities for Habitat for Humanity affiliates at a local level.

News Release:
Habitat for Humanity of Louisiana State Support Organization intends to file application to HUD for Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) for $8,435,700 to build 130 homes in 6 Louisiana communities, New Orleans, Mandeville, Covington, Lafayette, Breaux Bridge, Monroe.  Read summary below.

Application for Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 funds – American Reinvestment & Recovery Act of 2009

Applicant: Habitat for Humanity of Louisiana
Web Address: www.habitat-la.org

Web Addresses for Additional Information:
www.habitat-nola.org
www.habitatstw.org
www.habitatlafayette.org
www.hfho.org
www.habitat.org
NSP Contact Person: Sue Chenevert

Address: 460 North 11th Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Telephone: 225-389-0088
Fax: 225-389-0085
Email: [ email ]
Statement of intent: Habitat for Humanity of Louisiana (HFH LA SSO) intends to make an application for Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) funds to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) will participate in the application as a co-applicant.  Awarded NSP2 funds will be used in activities that will rapidly arrest the decline of targeted neighborhood(s) that have been negatively affected by abandoned, foreclosed, or vacant properties.  HFH LA SSO’s application will be statewide in scope, and will utilize the services and capacity of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West, Lafayette Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity of Ouachita to complete NSP2 activities within their communities.

All NSP2 funds will be used to benefit individuals whose income does not exceed 80% of Area Median Income.  At least 25% of NSP2 funds will be used for purchase and redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed-upon homes and residential properties to house individuals and families whose incomes do not exceed 50 % of area median income.  

Amount of funds: NSP2 funds will be awarded through a national competition in which eligible applicants will compete for up to $1.93 billion.  HFH SSO will apply for $8,435,700.00, and will utilize these funds through the predetermined affiliates listed above.  Funding will be split:
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity:  $5,040,000.00
Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West: $1,260,000.00
Lafayette Habitat for Humanity: $1,260,000.00
Habitat for Humanity Ouachita:  $   630,000.00
Habitat for Humanity Louisiana SSO:  $245,700.00

Target geography: Habitat for Humanity of Louisiana will be targeting 14 census tracts:

New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (Tracts 14.01, 14.02, 17.22, 17.23, 23, 27, 75.01 & 75.02):
Tracts 14.01 and 14.02 lie in the Upper 9th Ward, above the Industrial Canal.  They are contiguous and are roughly bordered by Florida Ave. and N. Dorgenois to the north, Montegut St. to the west, N. Derbigny St. to the south and N. Poland Ave. and Mazant St. to the east.  Revitalization through the work of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) has already begun in this area including the Baptist Crossroads program, which, when completed, will total 300 homes and Musician’s village with 70 homes already completed and 12 under construction.  NOAHH owns another 90 lots in this area for which construction is planned in the future.

Tracts 17.22 and 17.23 are also contiguous and are a part of New Orleans East, an area of the city that was completely devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  The tracts are bordered by Dwyer Rd. to the north, I-10 to the west, Chef Menteur Hwy. to the south and Read Blvd. to the east.  This area has also already been the focus of revitalization efforts by the NOAHH, which has partnered with the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets to build 20 homes for low income families, 12 of which have already been completed.

Tract 23 lies in the St. Roch neighborhood near the fork of the eastern convergence of I-10 and I-610.  It is bordered on the north by I-610, on the southwest by a series of streets in steps that roughly parallel Florida Ave., on the south, mostly by I-10 and Law St. and on the east by Peoples Ave.

Tract 27 is located in the 7th Ward.  N. Claiborne Ave. forms the northern border and St. Claude Ave. the southern.  St. Bernard Ave. is on the west and Elysian Fields on the east.

Tracts 75.01 and 75.02 lie one above the other in the Holly Grove neighborhood.  They are bordered on the northwest and northeast sides by Monticello and Palmetto streets. respectively.  Highway 90 provides the southwest border, and the southeast border runs roughly parallel to Leonidas and Joliet Streets.

Since the 1960’s, New Orleans has seen an outmigration that has lowered the population from a high of over 625,000 to approximately 430,000 in July of 2005 (Pre-Katrina). (US Census 2000, American Community Survey and Greater New Orleans Data Center)   Much of this loss can be attributed to the relocation of major industries (especially the oil and gas industry) and the opening of suburbs with subsequent white flight.  The overall trend has left an already poor city poorer.  The result has been an increase in crime, a generally depressed real estate market (with some affluent neighborhoods excepted), a lower tax base with resulting diminished city services and a failing school system.  

Hurricane Katrina’s impact on an already struggling community was profound.  80% of all housing suffered some degree of damage.  Inadequate or nonexistent flood insurance coupled with delays in state assistance has slowed rebuilding of residential and rental housing.  The bright spot, to the extent that there is one, is that New Orleans was generally spared much of the negative impact of subprime mortgage instruments and the resulting foreclosures.  The overall delinquency rate in Louisiana is 9.1%, and it is safe to assume that the rate in New Orleans is the same or higher.  In the state, 1.19% of loans are in foreclosure and again, New Orleans is probably somewhat higher than the state average.  The greatest source of foreclosures and resulting vacancy and decay has come from unpaid property taxes and property abandonment.  Overall, 34-70% of properties in these neighborhoods have been abandoned.

All of the above tracts are in working class neighborhoods with residents who are employed primarily in the service sector.  40% of homeowners are cost burdened and 21.8% of residents are below the poverty line.  Large numbers of residents who are unemployed or underemployed may not be represented in unemployment statistics.

Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West (Tracts 406.03 and 412.06):
Tract 406.03 is located in the Southern portion of Covington and is bounded by Highway 36 on the North, Highway 59 on the East, Interstate 12 on the South, and the Bogue Falaya River on the West.

Tract 0412.06 is in the northern portion of Mandeville and is bounded by Interstate 12 on the North, Highway 59 on the East, Highway 190 on the South and West.

The proposed target areas are economically distressed areas that have been hit hard by the economic downturn.  In tract 0406.03, 8.9% of households earn below 30% of AMI, and in tract 412.06, 3.19% of households earn less than 30% AMI, at or below the poverty level.  Overall rate for at or below 30% AMI for St. Tammany Parish is 11.2%.  10.2% of households in the Parish earn at or below 50% AMI, and 16.6% earn up to 80% AMI, while 19% earn up to 100% AMI.  Of these households at or below 50% AMI, 25% are moderately or severely cost burdened (spend over 30% of monthly income on housing expenses).  Our focus area encompasses a particularly at-risk population, which has been hit extremely hard by the foreclosure crisis and the increased cost of homes since Hurricane Katrina.  The average fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $949.00 per month.  The average cost of a home is currently $224,263.00.  As a result of this, local businesses in the target area suffer from a lack of skilled workforce due to a lack of affordable housing in the parish.  

Lafayette Habitat for Humanity (Tracts 9, 2 & 205):
Tract 2 encompasses the McComb-Veazey neighborhood and is located southeast of downtown Lafayette, bounded roughly by the Evangeline Throughway on the southwest and Surrey Street to the northeast.  

Census Tract 9 is located northwest of downtown Lafayette, bounded on the north by I-10, on the south by Gilman Rd., on the west by University Ave., and on the east by St. Antoine St.  

Both tracts are highly vulnerable to the effects of the economic downturn, with a majority of the residents having household incomes at less than 50% AMI (55.7% for tract 2 and 66.8% for tract 9).  In addition, both tracts have aging housing stock:  93.1% of housing units in tract 2 are more than 40 years old, and 30.4% are more than 70 years old; 71.1% of units in tract 9 are over 40 years old.

In St. Martin Parish, Census Tract 205 is targeted, specifically the area within the Breaux Bridge city limits.  57.2% of households in this tract are cost burdened (spending more than 30% of household income for housing expenses), with 35.7% of residents having incomes less than 50% AMI.  Housing stock is also aging, with 40.2% of units more than 40 years old.

Habitat for Humanity Ouachita (Tract 6):
Census Tract 6 is in the Booker T. Washington neighborhood and is bordered by the railroad track, Airport Ave., and Hwy. 80 to the north, Martin Luther King Dr. to the west, Milhaven Rd to the south.  The eastern boundary is a line that is east of and roughly parallels Chennault Park Dr.

The need for Neighborhood Stabilization in this neighborhood is evident with 235 structures identified as blighted by the city’s Code Enforcement Division. The area is plagued by an increasing number of vacant lots, deteriorating or dilapidated houses, and adjudicated properties. In Census Tract 6, 46.3% of families earn incomes below the poverty line and 69.8 % of residents earn below 50% of the area median income.  Another 23.4% earn up to 80% of the area median income.  56.2% of home owners are moderately or severely cost burdened (spend over 30% of monthly income on housing expenses) and 22.1% of renters are cost burdened.  The average fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $622.00 per month.  The median sale price of a home is currently $115,000.  The unemployment rate in Monroe is at 7.5%, which is up 1.5% from December of 2008.

The neighborhood is served by several Monroe Transit System routes and is conveniently located to a regional mall, two community centers (one with a pool), and a public library.  Habitat for Humanity of Ouachita has build one new Habitat home in this census tract and 12 homes in Census Tract 7, which is adjacent to this Census Tract 6.

To ensure that the NSP2 program focused on the most in need communities, HUD provided two “need scores” at the census tract level, one that is based on the estimated number and percentage of foreclosures and another that combines estimated foreclosure rate with vacancy rate. HUD assigned each census tract a score from 1 to 20, with 20 being census tracts with the HUD-estimated greatest need. At a minimum, Habitat for Humanity of Louisiana’s proposed target geography must score an average of 18 using the higher of the two indices for each census tract being targeted. The proposed census tracts listed above have an average needs score of 18.29.  

Use of funds: The NSP2 application identifies the following program activities that will be carried out with NSP2 funds:
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity: $5,040,000.00 for 80 Single Family Residential Units
Purchase and rehabilitate homes and residential properties that have been abandoned or foreclosed upon, in order to sell or redevelop such homes and properties (no less than 20 units)
Demolish blighted structures (no more than 5 units)
Redevelop demolished or vacant properties as housing (no more than 60 units)
Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West: $1,260,000.00 for 20 Single Family Residential Units
Purchase and rehabilitate homes and residential properties that have been abandoned or foreclosed upon, in order to sell or redevelop such homes and properties (no less than 5 units)
Demolish blighted structures (no more than 5 units)
Redevelop demolished or vacant properties as housing (no more than 15 units)
Lafayette Habitat for Humanity: $1,260,000.00 for 20 Single Family Residential Units
Purchase and rehabilitate homes and residential properties that have been abandoned or foreclosed upon, in order to sell or redevelop such homes and properties (no less than 5 units)
Demolish blighted structures (no more than 5 units)
Redevelop demolished or vacant properties as housing (no more than 15 units)
Habitat for Humanity Ouachita: $   630,000.00 for 10 Single Family Residential Units
Purchase and rehabilitate homes and residential properties that have been abandoned or foreclosed upon, in order to sell or redevelop such homes and properties (no less than 3 units)
Demolish blighted structures (no more than 5 units)
Redevelop demolished or vacant properties as housing (no more than 7 units)
Habitat for Humanity Louisiana SSO: $   245,700.00
Administration

Public comment: Public comment will be accepted from July 4th, 2009 through July 13th, 2009.  
A summary of the Application may be viewed at the websites listed above.  Written comments on the application for NSP2 funding may be submitted to www.habitat-la.org or by email at  HYPERLINK "javascript:sendMailTo('org','habitat-la','sue');" [ email ].  Comments may also be sent by mail to: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LA SSO, 460 NORTH 11TH STREET, BATON ROUGE, LA 70802.   A summary of the proposed plan will be available for review at HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LA SSO, 460 NORTH 11TH STREET, BATON ROUGE, LA 70802 between the hours of 9:00 AM TO 3:00 PM.  Comments will also be accepted in person at that same address on July 13TH, from 9:00 AM TO 3:00 PM.
All comments will be reviewed and taken under consideration. A summary of all comments received will also be included in the final application submitted to HUD.
References:
Louisiana Housing Finance Agency  (LHFA) Housing Needs Assessment (2009 projection)
LHFA Housing Needs Assessment 2008
HUD SOCDS CHAS Data Book 2000