We're still accepting nominations for Vermont's 2010 Housing Hero Award.

For eight years, Vermont's Statewide Housing Conference has celebrated the achievements and service of individuals by recognizing them through the award.

The conference committee's seeking nominations of individuals whose leadership, vision and actions have brought about positive and lasting change in the way their community or the state regards housing.

Read more about the criteria and make your nomination online.

Jonathan Chaffee, Executive Director of the Lebanon Housing Authority (LHA), received Twin Pines Housing Trust’s (TPHT) 2010 Housing Hero award.

TPHT gives the award to those who go above and beyond normal effort to provide for the basic human need of clean, safe and dignified shelter.

LHA operates Romano Circle, a 30-unit apartment complex built in the 1970s, and the newly opened Romano Place: 16 energy-efficient townhouses and apartments adjacent to Romano Circle.

A recent report by Rutgers University, entitled "No End in Sight:  The Agony of Prolonged Unemployment," describes the pervasive nature of unemployment among people who lost their jobs during the recent recession.

The report is based on a national survey of 900 people who were unemployed in August 2009. Participants were then re-interviewed six months later in March 2010.

The study found:

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) is asking organizations to sign a letter to be sent to The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

The letter urges the Commission to adopt the principle that lower income people should not be harmed by its recommendations, and emphasizes smart investments to help low income people will strengthen the economy and the nation.

In June, NLIHC joined more than 100 national organizations in signing the letter, which was organized by the Coalition on Human Needs.