HousingWorks RI today released its Special Report: The Complete Approach to Funding Affordable Housing. The report looks at the high housing cost burdens facing Rhode Island renters and how a state budget appropriation to support affordable rental housing can address these cost burdens and promote economic growth.

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This week's Providence Business News features a guest column written by HousingWorks RI executive director Nellie M.

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Congressman James Langevin this week will visit Omni Development Corporation's Turning Point II development, where he will talk about the impact of sequestration on housing programs. The Congressman will also gather feedback from members of the affordable housing community regarding their concerns about cutbacks in affordable housing.

Turning Point II is proposed to be rehabilitated as 13 efficiency apartments for homeless veterans. The Congressman will discuss how the sequestration, on top of other cuts to Federal Housing programs, will make it more difficult for developments such as these to move forward.

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The Urban Land Institute Terwilliger Center for Housing recently hosted Housing Opportunity 2013, their 5th annual housing conference.

Nearly 300 real estate and community development professionals from across the globe gathered in Seattle for the event, which explored a range of housing issues.

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The U.S. Census Bureau offers free training opportunities to give participants a jump-start on getting the statistics needed for writing business plans, grants, research papers, community revitalization proposals, and many other important purposes. Courses are available online, through webinars and in person around the Washington, D.C. area, or in a location near you.

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HousingWorks RI today released its analysis of foreclosures in Rhode Island for Q4 2012. The report looks at the number of foreclosures in each of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns and offers regional comparisons.

Quick Glance Findings:

• Q4 2012 saw an 11.2 percent drop in the number of residential foreclosure deeds filed in Rhode Island compared to Q4 2011, and a 36 percent decline from Q4 2009, when data was first readily available.

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For many, owning a home is part of living the American Dream but new data reveals that this aspiration is out of reach for the average Latino household living in Rhode Island. The Latino Policy Institute (LPI) at Roger Williams University and HousingWorks RI released an infographic today that shows 71 percent of Latino households in the state are renters, compared to 39 percent of the state’s overall renter households.

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An interesting article by Richard Florida on TheAtlanticCities.com points to how high housing costs are affecting blue-collar workers in knowledge-based metros. Florida is Co-Founder and Editor at Large at The Atlantic Cities, and

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Funding opportunities are available to qualified community based organizations through LISC Rhode Island. Both the Citizens Bank Growing Communities Initiative and the Neighborhood Development Fund (NDF) are accepting applications.

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Twenty-twelve was an exciting year for affordable housing in Rhode Island. Early in the year, Lincoln Chafee became the first Rhode Island governor to include on the ballot a $25 million housing-bonds issue to finance planning, development and construction of long-term affordable homes in the capital budget. And House Speaker Gordon Fox and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed and their colleagues in the General Assembly demonstrated their longstanding support of affordable housing in Rhode Island by ensuring that the housing bond would be put forth to voters as Question 7 on the November ballot.   

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