For Immediate Release Tuesday, February 25, 2014 Contact Sarah Bascom, sarah@bascomllc.com, 850.294.6636 Celina Parker, celina@bascomllc.

com, 850.443.9965

Sadowski Coalition & Statewide Affordable Housing Advocates Call on Legislature to Use Housing Trust Funds for Housing
Florida Home Matters Report 2014 Released: Data Supports Need for Full Appropriation of Housing Trust Funds for Housing Tallahassee, Fla. Members of more than 25 statewide organizations, representing diverse interests from industry and business, faith-based groups, low-income advocates, advocates for the elderly, local governments, and growth management, from the Sadowski Housing Coalition, today held a press conference to call on the Florida Legislature to appropriate all the housing trust fund monies for housing in FY 2014-15. Sadowski Coalition members highlighted the recent history of trust fund sweeps, which cannot be justified, as there is no longer a budget deficit and there is an enormous need for affordable housing throughout the state. The Florida Housing Coalition released Home Matters for Florida Report 2014 at the press conference, in support of a national Home Matters initiative to educate the public and policymakers about the value of housing when it comes to health, education and the economy. The full report is available at: http://bit.ly/1o3hTqP. Jaimie Ross, president of the Florida Housing Coalition, answered the question about Floridas housing need: Florida has the nations third-highest homeless population, including veterans and families with children. More than 900,000 low income hardworking families, elders and disabled Floridians living on fixed incomes pay more than 50 percent of their incomes for housing. Ross continued that affordable housing saves taxpayer dollars and increases taxpayer revenue. And that if the Florida Legislature uses the projected revenue in the state and local housing trust funds for affordable housing in FY 2014-15, it will create more than 27,000 jobs and more than $3.4 billion in positive economic benefit. Providing affordable housing to Floridas vulnerable populations and those in need is important to our economy and the overall well-being of our state, and most importantly, it is the right thing to do, said Senator Bill Montford (D-Tallahassee). That is why we need to appropriate all of the housing trust fund monies for housing this fiscal year. There are so many deserving people in need of help that I cannot in good conscience keep accepting applications when I dont have the SHIP funds needed to help thes e good people, said Phyllis Moore, State Housing Initiatives Partnership administrator of Gadsden County. I have applications that Ive (MORE)

SADOWSKI HOUSING COALITION PAGE 2 accepted since 2011 of close to 200 families, elderly and disabled people in need. That is why I am here today asking the Florida Legislature to help these deserving Floridians. The SHIP trust fund was set up for this purpose and we need it now more than ever. We know that affordable housing benefits low-income families and creates jobs and economic development, said Ron Lieberman, president of the Florida Home Builders Association, who is a member of the Sadowski Coalition. Those are two distinct benefits, but you cannot really separate them from each other. That is why we need the State and Local Housing Trust Funds to be appropriated for housing. There is plenty of work to do to upgrade our housing stock and plenty of people who still need jobs. And right now, when we are on the cusp of an economic recovery, is the perfect time to keep the momentum going by using the housing trust funds for housing. Ultimately, the strength of Floridas economy comes from its workforce, said Leticia Adams, director of infrastructure and governance policy for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, who is a member of the Sadowski Coalition. If our workforce at all income levels can find a safe and affordable place to live near their places of employment, Florida will retain its competitive edge going forward. For all these reasons, we believe there is an urgent need to use all the state and local housing trust funds for housing. Investing in Floridas affordable housing will go a long way to shape the economic prosper ity of our state and all Floridians. The more money that is swept from SHIP, the more money that is swept from the homeless so on behalf of the interests of the homeless, I urge the legislature to appropriate all the SHIP monies for SHIP, said Susan Pourciau, executive director for the Big Bend Homeless Coalition and board member of the Florida Housing Coalition and the Florida Coalition for the Homeless. The SHIP program itself has been used to build and rehab permanent supportive housing for the homeless now it may be able to provide additional monies directly to the Continuums of Care under Senate Bill 1090, filed last week by Senator Latvala, money that is sorely needed to address the crisis of homelessness in Florida. The main housing trust fund program, SHIP, has been used at the local level for everything, from preventing homelessness to helping thousands of Floridians get into sustainable first-time homeownership, said Trey Price, public policy representative for the Florida Realtors , who is member of the Sadowski Coalition. We have seen the SHIP funds swept for many years when the state was in economic recession and the legislature was looking everywhere for funds to balance the budget. But, this year is different. There is no budget deficit and we have an enormous need for affordable housing throughout the state. In attendance to support the call to use housing trust fund monies for housing were representatives of the 25 statewide Sadowski Coalition organizations, in addition to those speaking, including Habitat for Humanity, Florida Legal Services, United Way of Florida, Florida Association of Counties, Florida League of Cities, Florida Coalition for the Homeless, 1000 Friends of Florida, Florida Regional Planning Councils, The Green Building Coalition, LeadingAge, Florida Catholic Conference, and Florida Impact. For more information on the Sadowski Coalition, please visit www.sadowskicoalition.com or follow @SadowskiFL on Twitter. ###