Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, March 3, 2016
Caldwell, Liberal West Coast Mayors, Hope to Exploit Homelessness for Federal Megabucks
By News Release @ 12:41 PM :: 4483 Views :: Homelessness

WCAM Seeks Federal Support to Address Housing Affordability & Homelessness

News Release from City and County of Honolulu March 2, 2016

Mayor Kirk Caldwell is part of the West Coast Alliance of Mayors which issued this press release today:

In an effort to address crises in housing affordability and homelessness in their cities, the West Coast Alliance of Mayors on Wednesday asked federal leaders to increase funding for affordable housing, homeless assistance, and other initiatives by nearly $450 million.

“While we celebrate the economic recovery of the past several years, we recognize that recovery has not benefited everyone equally,” says the letter from mayors of 10 large West Coast cities. “Increasingly, our most vulnerable residents are being left behind, as their incomes remain stagnant while housing prices dramatically increase.”

The West Coast Alliance of Mayors (WCAM) was formed in December 2015 during the first-ever West Coast Mayors Summit. Mayors from Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Eugene convened in Portland for two days to discuss pressing issues affecting each of their cities: homelessness, housing affordability, and climate change.

West Coast mayors envisioned WCAM as a bipartisan coalition working to convene, collaborate and share — convening to raise awareness about common issues; collaborating to solve mutual problems; and sharing and implementing best practices. Their first agenda item is elevating the importance of homelessness and housing in their communities and among their federal delegations. Mayors from San Diego, San Jose, Honolulu, Sacramento and Oakland have joined the founding members of the alliance.

On Wednesday, WCAM made specific asks of their federal delegations and the U.S. Congress Appropriations Committee:

  • Fully fund President Obama’s Tenant-Based Rental Assistance budget proposal;
  • Fully fund President Obama’s proposed Homeless Assistance Grant budget proposal;
  • Increase funding for the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program by $75 million, and the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program by $200 million over the current appropriation level;
  • Increase Community Development Block Grant funding by 20 percent above the current appropriation, to $3.65 billion, and commit to restoring the grant funding to the 2001 appropriation level ($4.4 billion) by 2020;
  • Increase HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding by 20 percent above the current appropriation, to $1.14 billion, and commit to restoring HOME to the 2004 appropriation level ($2 billion) by 2020.

The asks continue WCAM’s work pushing for more resources to confront pressing crises. In January, WCAM presented a resolution at the United States Conference of Mayors annual meeting that urged their national colleagues to mobilize, asking the federal government to provide the local tools and necessary funding for cities to address affordable housing crises and support services that prevent and end homelessness.

“We are committed to ensuring that all families in our communities have access to healthy, safe, and affordable housing,” the WCAM mayors say. “Increasing federal funding to rental assistance and affordable housing development is the highest priority of the West Coast Alliance of Mayors. We need the assistance of Congress and the President in order to achieve meaningful impacts in our communities.”

Read the WCAM Joint Appropriation Letter

Read the WCAM resolution at U.S. Conference of Mayors

Read about the creation of West Coast Alliance of Mayors

-END-

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT