In case you missed it! Here's the July edition of Affordable Housing Matters on WFOY Radio - St Augustine 102.1 FM, AM 1240, and at 1021news.com.
Bill Lazar, Executive Director of St. Johns Housing Partnership along with former state legislator Frank Williams discussed housing topics including a proposed housing agency for St. Johns County.
Williams is a former six-term member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing Bradford, Clay, and St. Johns Counties from 1972-1984. He also served as Chairman of the Board and Interim President of Community State Bank and most recently has been advocating a dedicated housing agency for St. Johns County.
Listen to Affordable Housing Matters on the First Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m.! The next live show will be on August 5th.
Don't miss Affordable Housing Matters on Friday morning, July 1st at 8:30 a.m.!
Join Bill Lazar, Executive Director of St. Johns Housing Partnership along with former state legislator Frank Williams as they discuss housing topics including a proposed housing agency for St. Johns County on First Friday: Affordable Housing Matters on WFOY Radio - St Augustine 102.1 FM, AM 1240, and at 1021news.com on Friday, July 1st at 8:30 a.m.
Williams is a former six-term member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing Bradford, Clay, and St. Johns Counties from 1972-1984. He also served as Chairman of the Board and Interim President of Community State Bank and most recently has been advocating a dedicated housing agency for St. Johns County.
Listen to Affordable Housing Matters on the First Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m.!
Congratulations on your retirement, Kevin Gay!
“Kevin Gay is retiring after leading the non-profit for the last 23 years. He's given thousands of ex-offenders a second chance through his organization.”
St. Johns Housing Partnership is a partner of Operation New Hope and their St. Johns County Ready4Work office is located in our building. We're a big believer in second chances.
www.firstcoastnews.com
Kevin Gay is retiring after leading the non-profit for the last 23 years. He's given thousands of ex-offenders a second chance through his organization.Thanks so much for sharing and for being a great community partner!
We Feed, Inc is feeding kids hot lunches this summer! 😎We Feed Kids is back in action tomorrow American Legion Post194 in St Augustine 12p-1pm if you have kids that are in need of a hot lunch please come by and get a plate. Located at 1029 Pearl St, St Augustine FL 32084!! See you tomorrow 6/27/22 #engagingthecommunity Made possible to you by
Casey Woosley
Bailey Insurance Group
Bantam Chef
Sonnys BBQ
SEA Community Center
American Legion Post 194
BRoudys Liquors
Murray Brothers Golf Group
Flagler College
Flagler Athletics Department
St. Johns Housing Partnership thank you for sharing ❤️❤️🙏🙏
Join Bill Lazar, Executive Director of St. Johns Housing Partnership along with former state legislator Frank Williams as they discuss housing topics including a proposed housing agency for St. Johns County on First Friday: Affordable Housing Matters on WFOY Radio - St Augustine 102.1 FM, AM 1240, and at 1021news.com on Friday, July 1st at 8:30 a.m.
Williams is a former six-term member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing Bradford, Clay, and St. Johns Counties from 1972-1984. He also served as Chairman of the Board and Interim President of Community State Bank and most recently has been advocating a dedicated housing agency for St. Johns County.
Listen to Affordable Housing Matters on the First Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m.!
Awesome!
Tune in!
Great things happen when a community works together!
"The organization was started in 2021, when Pastor Laverne March and her husband Elder Richard March decided to make a difference in the community by painting one house at a time, but the beautification project has since expanded to include much more than painting.
The organization has had great success and collaborates with several community groups including Grace United Methodist Church and Compassionate St. Augustine."
West King Street is Getting a Facelift Thanks to Take Pride in the West Side
www.westaugustinenewsconnection.com
Take Pride in the West Side Beautification Project in West Augustine in St. Augustine Florida
Our Executive Director Bill Lazar will be a panelist at the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida's Nonprofit Works: A Conference to Engage and Inspire on Thursday, June 23rd at the Florida Blue Conference Center in Jacksonville.
He'll be one of the speakers on the Resilient Future Panel. Registration information is available at the link.
Nonprofit Works 2022 - Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida
nonprofitctr.org
Nonprofit Works: A Conference to Engage and Inspire Nonprofit Works is the signature annual conference of the Nonprofit Center. Each year we strive to push the boundaries of learning and practice with...We can't wait!
St. Johns Housing Partnership was able to impact yet another homeowner in need through the volunteer support of the Creekside High Engineering Club!
Our client, Ms. D, is an elderly woman who lives alone. Creekside built her ramp in 2019 and at the time, her deck was not in need of repair. She recently contacted us about rotten boards so we enlisted the help of Creekside to build a new one!
Thank you Kevin Davenport and the Creekside High Engineering Club for your continued support and the impact you have on the lives of others! Notice that their shirts say “Live Generously”!
We have three people in need of ramps. Please consider a donation of any amount at sjhp.networkforgood.com/projects/98955-how-can-you-help-sjhp-help-our-community
"I was in a situation that I had no experience with and was searching for honest guidance, Kelsey delivered without judgement of my circumstance which is sometimes hard to find."
Miss H. was let go from her job in January 2021 due to COVID and fell behind on mortgage payments soon after.
She was already in a forbearance plan that was ending June 1st and didn’t know how to take the first step to find out her options. Her lender referred her to us and we were able to assist her in getting back on track with her mortgage.
She was approved for a COVID Relief Partial Claim Plan, and is able to resume her monthly mortgage payments!
Many thanks to NCRC and HUD for funding us to help this Flagler County homeowner. Our HUD Certified Counselors are available to help people explore every option and our services are free.
At St. Johns Housing Partnership, we help people stay in their homes and rebuild lives! If you or someone you know is in danger of losing their home, please call us at (904) 819-1266.
Please consider a donation of any amount to help us prevent foreclosure driven homelessness at sjhp.networkforgood.com/projects/89841-foreclosure-prevention
A Juneteenth Dedication Ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 18th from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, 102 Martin Luther King Ave.
The event will "commemorate the sacrifices that local Civil Rights activists made in St. Augustine and celebrate the emancipation of enslaved peoples across America. The dedication ceremony will include a public unveiling of the F.W. Woolworth counter, currently on display at the LMCC, and a formal proclamation from the city. After the ceremony, guests are welcome to visit the museum’s exhibits."
www.lincolnvillemuseum.org/events-schedule/juneteenth-open-house
Wise words from our Executive Director Bill Lazar!
New homes and communities make all the headlines. Not the lack of affordable housing in Northeast Florida that negatively impacts the local economy and makes life for diligent workers and families that much harder.
Stable, decent-quality and affordable housing is critical for our communities and the overall economy. Housing instability can impede workers’ ability to secure and maintain employment.
Housing costs (rent or mortgage) should be around 30% of your income. When you are paying closer to 50% of your income for housing, you are one step away from a crisis.
Persons who live in affordable housing tend to be more stable, long-term employees because they do not need to move so often and face difficulties coming to work regularly.
We have first responders, law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel who must live out of the county they serve due to not being able to find affordable housing. The same holds true for hospital and medical workers.
Businesses benefit by having a stable employee population because it reduces employee turnover and related costs in training new employees. It also reduces problems associated with lack of dependability as to whether enough employees will show up to work.
You have seen the signs. Help wanted or worse – closed or reduced hours. The local restaurant, hospitality and retail industries are facing the same dilemma. They are unable to find and keep employees and their doors open.
Even the construction labor force is dwindling in this robust housing boom. Builders and developers are in their chosen field to make money. No one questions that fact.
State and local government policies should encourage affordable housing, including programs that provide incentives for private sector developers and builders to build affordable housing (for example, providing density bonuses or other regulatory relief if they include a certain number of affordable housing units in their projects).
This can be an important way to grow the economy and contribute to the overall prosperity of the entire community.
Local governments, builders and community leaders have the capacity to influence and increase affordability. The challenge is assembling the ingredients to make more affordability happen quickly.
Sounds easy enough.
But those in power and who have access to funding and legislation to ease the burden on the workforce must be held accountable and become engaged in finding a solution.
The ugly truth is if their constituents don’t need it (or understand it), it’s not a priority or sense of urgency. Northeast Florida has millions of federal dollars in COVID relief funds. Some should be allocated for affordable housing.
Let us develop meaningful, measurable goals and strategies that promote the development of affordable workforce housing to meet local needs and monitor progress toward meeting those goals.
Another challenge is real estate investors are buying land and homes that could be earmarked for affordable housing.
But deals by institutional investors and home flippers have helped push up U.S. house prices by more than 20%, according to a Moody analysis. They have hurt the ability to provide affordable housing.
The Jacksonville MSA that includes St. Johns County had one of the biggest surges in investor buying resulting in some of the biggest price gains in the nation according to CoreLogic.
It’s time to support nonprofit agencies, government funding and public/private partnerships to preserve or develop additional housing for low- and moderate-income households. They need both starter homes and affordable rentals.
One way is the donation or sale of property to nonprofit housing agencies to pave the way for much-needed affordable housing.
Bill Lazar is executive director of the St. Johns Housing Partnership in St. Augustine. The nonprofit SJHP creates and maintains safe, clean, affordable housing and offers a variety of services including housing counseling. Contact him at blazar@sjhp.org
Guest column: Don't overlook economic development benefits of providing affordable housing
www.staugustine.com
First responders, law enforcement, fire and rescue personnel must live out of the county they serve because they're unable to find affordable housing.Read the entire post!!
Our Executive Director Bill Lazar serves on the Affordable Housing Advisory Council for FHL Bank Atlanta. Their 2021 Annual Report was recently released.
“The report details the positive impact of the Bank’s products, services, and knowledge-sharing activities on the communities served by our members. Please view the report to learn more about our 2021 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) products and initiatives and how the Bank, our members, and housing partners are helping communities prosper.”
corp.fhlbatl.com/files/documents/ahac2021/index.htm