SLIHC offers a number of programs and projects that serve its members and the broader community.
Property Acquisition Program
Thanks to a 2002 $75,000 grant from the Washington Mutual Foundation, along with $10,000 in other SLIHC funds, SLIHC offers its members a "Housing Opportunity Fund" to purchase land and/or build the infrastructure for the development of affordable housing. The revolving loan fund has been used to purchase land for 12 homeownership units and to pay for the infrastructure costs for 12 homeownership units. The fund was most recently used to support the development of 33 low-rent apartments in the Hillyard neighborhood.
Trainings
SLIHC partners with the Landlord Association of the Inland Northwest to offer Washington State Landlord/Tenant Law trainings for property managers, and works with the City and County of Spokane to provide other trainings related to affordable and fair housing.
Industry representation
SLIHC represents the nonprofit, affordable housing industry by serving on several local and state committees that recommend or make decisions that affect affordable housing. These include the City of Spokane Multi-Family Project Selection Committee, the City of Spokane Housing Advisory Work Group, the Spokane Regional Continuum of Care Interim Steering Committee, the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance Board and Legislative Committee, and the Wash. State Dept. of Commerce Housing Trust Fund Policy Advisory Team.
Additionallly, SLIHC members represent our local industry on the Wash. State Housing Finance Commission Board. SLIHC also testifies at city and county consolidated plan hearings, and other hearings related to affordable housing. SLIHC collaborates with other local organizations and initiatives, including the Spokane Homeless Coalition.
In 2007, SLIHC served on an Ad Hoc Affordable Housing Task Force, convened by the Mayor of the City of Spokane, to meet the challenge of finding new homes for 200 downtown displaced residents, and to develop long-term solutions to the shortage of affordable housing. The nonprofit, public and for profit communities worked together to assist virtually every displaced persons to secure a new home.
In 2008, SLIHC participated in two very important regional planning processes:
1) A task force to revise our Spokane Regional 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness drafted The Road Home, a 2008 update of the plan, which provides revamped strategies and action steps to reduce homelessness. In addition to serving as a critical local planning tool, The Road Home fulfills state and federal requirements to develop plans to reduce homelessness.
2) A Regional Affordable Housing Task Force, convened to address the long-term availability of affordable housing, completed a Report detailing recommendations and actions to tackle the broader scope of affordable housing issues, challenges and opportunities.
Because of these regional planning successes, our community is poised to strategically maximize resources to expand housing options and opportunities for our community’s individuals and families who are homeless and who have limited incomes.
The two planning efforts revealed common principles and aims:
--Local governments will collaboratively lead our community in homeless reduction and affordable housing planning.
--Partnerships between government, the business community, philanthropic organizations, nonprofit organizations, education institutions, and faith-based organizations are essential.
--We will communicate affordable housing’s positive impact on our community’s economy and quality of life.
--We will regionally coordinate homeless and housing planning and funding. As a start, The Road Home specifies that three existing homeless advisory committees will be blended into a Regional Homeless Coordinating Council, and that the community will explore the establishment of a single regional housing advisory group to coordinate regional priorities and funding recommendations.
The Road Home and the Report have been approved by area elected officials.
Rental surveys
The Consortium conducts a semi-annual rental survey of low income rental housing to provide an update of the number of affordable rental units, unit types and unit vacancies. The collected information assists SLIHC members to determine their housing development goals. To obtain our most recent survey, contact Cindy Algeo at 325-3235 or at .
Housing forums and tours
SLIHC sponsors an annual affordable housing tour and housing forums for housing providers, local, state, and federal elected officials, and the broader community.
The SLIHC Report
The Consortium publishes a monthly newsletter, the SLIHC Report, that contains the latest news on local, state and national affordable housing topics and issues. You can download our most recent issues from the "newsroom" section of this web site. Contact us at to be placed on our newsletter mailing list.
OneStopHousing.org OneStopHousing.org is a comprehensive, web-based housing locator that effectively and efficiently connects people with listings of available affordable housing.
The website has been operating since July 2006, and draws over 4,000 searches monthly. Computers are stationed at key community locations to ensure easy access by housing consumers. The locations include all Spokane Public Library and Spokane County Library District branches, the Coalition of Responsible Disabled, the YWCA, the Northeast Community Center, the Spokane Housing Authority, Goodwill Industries, the Womens' Hearth, The Salvation Army, Spokane Valley Partners, and Community Frameworks. The service is free to rental seekers, service agencies, and landlords.
The project is administered by SLIHC and staffed by Terri Mayer, our Housing Coordinator. Terri is marketing the program to landlords to ensure a broad listing of rental units, instructing housing seekers and agencies to use the site, and providing ongoing user support to landlords and rental seekers.
OneStopHousing offers several benefits to the greater Spokane Community.
1) Units lease more quickly. One landlord reports that he received 20 phone calls from OneStopHousing searchers.
2) Units with special features are more effectively marketed, because they can be described in virtually unlimited detail.
3) Due to the detail provided, rental seekers are more likely to find "good fit" housing, which stabilizes families and reduces tenant turnovers.
4) The data base includes housing inventories of subsidized rentals and rentals affordable to people up to 60 percent of Area Median Income, furthering Fair Housing goals by offering a broad range of housing opportunities.
5) Landlords now have a central place where they can compare and contrast their rental properties with others, which can assist landlords to be more competitive and at the same time provide quality homes for people seeking safe, affordable housing.
6) Each landlord/property manager is able to set up their own account and is able to post listings and revise unit information.
7) Community-wide, OneStopHousing provides valuable data that helps to determine affordable housing needs, including the number of units listed (vacancy rate), an accurate account of units that are actually available, and the number of agency accounts (shows the number of agencies involved). It is also used to provide an inventory of local affordable and subsidized housing rentals, eliminating the need to distribute lists of housing.
To support the Project, SLIHC has secured commitments of funding from Kiemle & Hagood Real Estate Co. and the Spokane Housing Authority, and has received support from the City of Spokane Human Services Dept. the Spokane County Housing and Community Development Dept., the Inland Northwest Community Foundation, and myscreeningreport.com.
A 2007 grant from the City of Spokane Human Services Department funded an enhancement to the OneStopHousing project, which assists persons with rental barriers to find housing.
Graduates from Transitions' Responsible Renter Program are able to directly search for landlords/property management companies that are willing to consider them as potential tenants. The RRP is a renter education curriculum, specifically directed to households with rental barriers. It seeks to address the household’s past rental issues by helping them understand their responsibilities, repair credit, create a workable budget, understand rental procedures, become familiar with their rights, and how to communicate effectively with landlords/property managers.
Spokane County-Wide Affordable Housing Inventory
Commissioned by the Spokane Housing Authority, the City of Spokane, and Spokane County, SLIHC recently completed an electronic inventory of subsidized, supportive and affordable rental housing located in Spokane County. All total, nearly 350 properties and over 8,000 rental units are included in the inventory. A number of reports can be generated, including the number of units located in each jurisdiction within the County, the financing used to develop the units, the structure types and the housing types. For additional information, contact Cindy Algeo at 509-325-3235.
Current News & Items:OneStopHousing.org (read more)
