The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus published an opinion piece today by former VHFA Board of Commissioners Chairman Richard White.

In the piece, titled "State conservation board's work is essential," Richard writes, "It is no accident that Vermont ranks last in the country in the rate of foreclosure or that the 2004 study of Vermont's housing nonprofits had high praise for the system that Vermont has built over the last quarter century.

"Our local banks engaged in responsible lending, and regional housing agencies have provided homeownership counseling and foreclosure intervention work for years.

Today VHFA bids farewell to Staff Accountant Sara Hoehn, who's soon returning to the Lone Star State.

Sara's time with the Agency was brief, but we appreciate the good work she did while she was here.

Good luck, Sara!

We're pleased to announce our first "Platinum" sponsor of the 2010 Vermont Statewide Housing Conference:

• Winooski Housing Authority

Platinum is the highest level of sponsorship commitment for the event.

Two other organizations have signed on to sponsor the event, as well:

Yesterday the National Alliance to End Homelessness published its official recommendations to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and HUD to end homelessness.

Here are some key points:

For veterans:

• Deploy 60,000 units of permanent supportive housing, targeted to veterans experiencing chronic homelessness (30,000 already in the pipeline);
• Provide prevention and rapid rehousing services to 250,000 veterans per year;

For families: