VHFA Executive Director Maura Collins joined Housing Vermont and Addison County Community Trust (ACCT) in Bristol last week to celebrate the redevelopment of Pleasant Hills. The complex offers 16 affordable one and two bedroom-apartments for seniors in a village setting. The project received the majority of its funding from federal tax credits and loans awarded by VHFA.

Executive Director Maura Collins announced that Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) has hired Megan Roush of Northfield and Bill Schrecker of Burlington as Development Underwriters.

Roush comes to VHFA from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, where she served the past four years as a Vermont Housing Loan Specialist and Public Information Officer. Roush is a graduate of Saint Michael’s College.

Bill Schrecker previously served as Family Shelter Coordinator for the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS). Prior to that, he worked as a research analyst at the Reinvestment Fund, a Philadelphia-based community loan fund. Schrecker is a graduate of Boston College, the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University.

In our increasing complex system of government, housing is one of few policy areas that is still largely decided at the local level. Resident input can have a significant influence on the number and types of homes that are built in a community. However, a study of local governments in Massachusetts reveals that people who participate in planning and zoning meetings often do not match the demographics of their communities as a whole. The study suggests that this lack of representation has contributed to the affordable housing crisis that America is currently facing.

The Vermont Balance of State Continuum of Care (VT BoS CoC) is now accepting proposals for new or renewed projects to be funded by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) as part of the FFY2019 CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability.