Last week President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act.

The new law, which became effective May 20, provides protections for tenants living in foreclosed properties.

A White House release pertaining to the law says, "One of the often overlooked problems in the foreclosure crisis has been the eviction of renters in good standing, through no fault of their own, from properties in foreclosure.

Vermont Rural Ventures' $30 million award of federal stimulus money was covered in this morning's Burlington Free Press.

You can read the article online.

Vermont Rural Ventures (VRV) will receive $30 million to develop affordable housing and help stimulate economic growth in Vermont.

The funds, in the form of New Market Tax Credits (NMTC), result from the recently-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

VRV estimates it'll fund six to 12 housing and economic development projects in Vermont as a result of the tax credits.

"The potential benefit from the New Market Tax Credit funding is enormous," said VHFA Executive Director Sarah Carpenter.

A new study reports that providing permanent supportive housing for people in rural Maine is less expensive than serving people while they're homeless.

That conclusion is similar to the one VHFA reached in our May 2008 publication "The Costs and Benefits of Assisting Vermont's Chronically Homeless" (841KB; PDF).

The Maine study, which followed 163 people, found a 57 percent cost reduction for mental health services over a 6-month period.