NE advocates for the homeless, special needs groups launch effort to build 10,000 dwellings (2024)

Seven of the structures in the Omaha tiny house village for former homeless people were built by budding construction workers at Metropolitan Community College. The Cottages project, managed and owned by the Siena Francis House, was among projects showcased during a two-day workshop for groups that aim to build affordable housing dwellings for populations with special needs across the state. (Courtesy of Arch Icon Development)

LINCOLN — From North Platte to Omaha, advocates representing towns across Nebraska converged in the Capital City this week to launch the Herculean task of building thousands of new residential units for the state’s hardest-to-house populations.

Teams from 10 nonprofits were selected by state officials largely for their expertise in serving the chronically homeless, including those who are mentally ill, have been formerly incarcerated or have struggled with domestic violence.

Over the next several months, the group will gather to hear about funding sources and best practices nationally for developing permanent housing for those populations in need of supportive services.

In the end, each participating community is to have developed their own detailed housing proposal that offers tenants access to support such as counselors, a food pantry and rent assistance — components seen as key to keeping people off the streets and away from a lifestyle that in the long run can be more costly to the public.

The workshops, to continue into next year, are perhaps the most visible effort so far to grow out of the Nebraska Strategic Housing Council, which was formed in early 2023 to, in part, produce 35,000 new and affordable housing units by the end of 2028. That goal was outlined in an unprecedented housing study and report compiled by various state voices and spearheaded by the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority.

NE’s economic future depends on it

The NIFA-led coalition remarked then that Nebraska’s economic future hinges on solving its “housing crisis.” Another overarching goal was to cut the state’s share of low- to- moderate-income households paying more than 30% of their earnings for rent from about 44% to 33%.

Of the 35,000 affordable units to be added, about 10,000 are to target households earning less than $22,000. That subset includes elderly residents and others on limited incomes, as well as the chronically homeless population that otherwise likely would be sleeping in cars, under bridges and in tent camps while bouncing between temporary homeless shelters.

The difficulty of creating the right formula and financial package to reach such special populations is what brought the group of about 60 people to the kickoff, two-day workshop sessions led by a NIFA-funded contractor, BeauxSimone Consulting.

The consultant, which was awarded a $100,000 contract to provide two years of technical assistance, has crafted a “toolkit” that is the basis for the workshops and that has led to successful supportive housing projects elsewhere in the country.

“This is a huge inflection point — the identification of multiple groups, in multiple geographic areas across the state, stepping up to take concrete action,” said NIFA executive director Shannon Harner.

She said the seminars will not be a “one and done.”

The expectation is that the group will pilot the toolkit practices in Nebraska and pass lessons on to other communities that can multiply the number of dwellings across the state.

Participating nonprofits will have access to technical assistance beyond the workshops, said John Turner of NIFA. They’ll learn more about and have opportunities to apply for the NIFA-administered low-income housing tax credit program and other funding sources.

“We recognized that if we were going to accomplish such a heavy lift … we needed a more intensive strategic approach,” he said.

Some cities have started plans

Some participants in the workshops are ahead of the pack in planning housing developments. At the end of the workshop series, each is to present a comprehensive plan to peers and possible funding sources.

Turner said that for several participants, momentum began with the announcement a couple of years ago that federal American Rescue Plan Act funding would be available for projects focused on the chronically homeless. Lincoln recently announced an award. Yet to come, Turner said, are awards for Omaha and rural communities.

In North Platte, for example, leaders of The Connection homeless shelter already have a blueprint for a $13.7 million, 40-unit rental complex they hope to finance largely with NIFA low-income housing tax credits.

Judy Pederson, a Connection board member who was at this week’s workshop, said the proposed complex marks the first permanent supportive housing project in the city.

She and colleagues wanted to participate in the pilot program to learn more about successful practices.

“To make sure we do it right,” she said.

Currently referred to as Connection Apartments, the proposal comes as North Platte officials have been preoccupied with providing workforce housing to support a multimillion-dollar processing plant, Sustainable Beef, projected to open next year and employ 875 workers.

Meanwhile, Pederson said, many lament the lack of rental housing aimed at people whose needs don’t fit a traditional shelter but still require a level of extra onsite support.

“So we’re building our own,” she said.

While the project’s proposed duplexes and multi-level apartments will be separate and apart from the organization’s homeless shelter, residents would have access to similar support services aimed at boosting them into independence.

The proposed housing project is to feature a garden, a playground and proximity to a hospital and the local Walmart’s retail jobs.

Unique technical assistance

In Grand Island, leaders of the Hope Harbor shelter already have acquired land for their proposed affordable housing project.

Liz Mayfield, executive director, said the corner of the city block occupied by the homeless shelter became available, and Hope Harbor bought it.

The organization envisions a three-story apartment building that would offer some market-rate apartments as well as subsidized housing for residents in need of supportive services.

“This is new for us,” Mayfield said, adding that the nonprofit to date has only operated the homeless shelter.

The number of units, she said, will depend on the financing the group can assemble.

From the workshops, Mayfield expects her team to gain unique technical assistance and insight from like-minded organizations from across the state.

“The hope is that we all get really good at what we do and share with others,” said Mayfield.

BeauxSimone’s Katie Symons led the workshops, which Tuesday and Wednesday were held at a conference center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center on Children, Families and the Law. The sessions included visits from officials of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Nebraska Homeless Assistance Program and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Local real estate developers also spoke to the group about supportive housing projects, as did experts that have carried out such projects.

Tiny house village

Linda Twomey, executive director of the Siena Francis House, and developers from Arch Icon, for example, spoke about the Cottages, a tiny-house village project built in the north downtown area of Omaha.

The 50 stand-alone homes, each about 250 square feet and equipped with a kitchen, bedroom-living area and covered porch, are one example of a permanent supportive housing project.

Financing came primarily from the federal low-income housing tax credit program administered by NIFA. The tiny houses were designated for formerly homeless people who have thrived in other shelter programs and were ready to take the next step toward independence.

The $8.2 million project is only a half-block from the Siena Francis House campus, and therefore close to transportation, counseling and other shelter services. An onsite case manager is available to help connect residents to community or support services, including job and rental assistance.

Residents are responsible for rent and likely qualify for government subsidies or vouchers where they pay 30% of their income for rent.

Next up for the pilot group is another two-day session in September that focuses on various funding streams available for low- to moderate-income rental projects.

“It gets more and more fine-tuned until, at the end, each team has a really clean ask and fully realized housing plan,” said Turner. “It’ll be nice to watch it all come together.”

No tally yet on new units, but housing council makes strides, NIFA director says

A coalition of Nebraska government and community organizations began meeting in early 2023 to address housing challenges they said threatened the state’s economic future and competitiveness.

Armed with a housing assessment, the so-called Nebraska Strategic Housing Council, led by the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority, identified priorities to tackle by the end of 2028.

“If we don’t ensure enough affordable and attainable housing, Nebraska will not only lose out on billions of dollars economically, it will also lose the people that call it home,” said the council.

Among key problems noted by the council: 44% of Nebraska households who earn $75,000 a year or less are housing-cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, reducing funds for necessities and contributing to the economy.

Two top priorities it identified: reduce the 44% of housing cost-burdened households to 33% or less; and produce 35,000 housing units affordable to low- to middle-income tenants.

Committees were named to work on four pillars, or areas of concentration. Those focus areas: expanding financial support and incentives for housing; education and policy; expanding workforce housing; and developing 10,000 affordable dwellings for those earning $22,000 or less, with special concern for elderly, disabled, chronically homeless and other populations with special needs.

Shannon Harner, executive director of NIFA, said the council did not yet have an accurate account of how many of the 35,000 affordable units have been produced.

She said the committee was reviewing various data sources and had yet to settle on a single “source of truth.”

However, the council has developed the first phase of a public “dashboard” intended to show the growth of housing units overall in cities and counties in the state. She said the council plans to build upon that as a way to track progress.

“Lots of work has been done on the ground,” Harner said.

For example, the first of four two-day sessions were held this week to help nonprofits develop rental housing for populations with special needs. That is part of the pillar aiming to develop 10,000 units for households with incomes under $22,000.

In addition, she said, the policy committee has pushed for legislation tweaks that expand and make better use of state funds for rural and workforce housing.

A “toolkit,” or guide, has been created by yet another pillar of the council to help communities increase housing supply.

Originally published on nebraskaexaminer.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.