News Magazine of the UW Department of Communication
By Julian Martin
With the country in the midst of a dire housing meltdown and economic recession, the role of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has become more significant than in any recent decade. Through regional director John Meyers, HUD has had a profound effect on housing in the Pacific Northwest.
Since Meyers’s induction in 2001, the local housing administration has championed efforts to assist with housing, recently resulting in the Pacific Northwest becoming the nation’s foremost region in ending homelessness.
While eliminating this problem in America may seem at first to be an impossible vision, for Meyers this formidable task is instead viewed as an achievable goal. In 2003 Philip F. Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, first unveiled a radically new plan to end chronic homelessness through the implementation of nationwide 10-year plans.
The unprecedented strategy emphasizes finding permanent housing as a way to end homelessness. Beginning with Columbus, Ohio Bush administration officials have since urged mayors and county executives around the country to adopt similar initiatives.
“Columbus has since nearly eliminated homelessness,” said Paul Carlson, Regional Interagency Homeless Coordinator.
The ICH liaison has worked closely with Meyers over the last several years and noted that the regional director has guided HUD in becoming a leading agency on the fight against homelessness in the area.
“While there are 340 plans around the country, the highest saturation of 10-year plans is in the Northwest,” said Carlson. “HUD’s role in this has been very important.”
Carlson said there have been visible results in locations from Spokane to Tacoma, including a 39 percent decrease in homelessness in the Tri-Cities.
“In the Northwest, cities have seen big results,” said Carlson. “Portland is a standout example, and Wenatchee, Spokane and Port Angeles have also seen decreases.”
While the money to operate services assisting the homeless comes from a variety of sources, funding to operate housing facilities comes directly from HUD.
While the plan to eliminate homelessness has become one of the policies of the Bush administration, the department has faced significant budget cuts in recent years.
“The work done by HUD to increase the commitment to ending homelessness has had an important effect,” said Rachael Myers, director of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance in an e-mail. “But without adequate funding for affordable housing, it will be hard to succeed at ensuring that hard working people can pay the rent and still afford basic necessities like food and medicine."
While the world’s attention will be given to the historic inauguration of president-elect Obama in January another important transition will be occurring in Seattle – the appointment of a new HUD regional director. As the only politically-appointed position in the housing department for the region, Meyers’s term is directly linked to the Bush administration.
“I have no idea what the philosophy of the new administration will be,” said Meyers. The level of commitment to the implementation and funding of ten-year plans will depend directly on the approaches of the new Obama-appointed HUD secretary and regional director.
“I’m guardedly optimistic about the next administration,” said Carlson.
Although according to a recent New York Times article Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. has been considered for the position of HUD secretary, there has yet to be any official announcements as to who will head the housing department.
The regional director first became involved with the Bush administration after working on the late Rep. Jennifer Dunn’s, R-Wash, re-election campaign. After serving as the “pointman” for Dunn, he was asked to be the executive director for Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign in Washington.
When offered the opportunity to head either the Small Business Administration or HUD for the region, Meyers chose the latter. “Here at HUD the position holds a little bit more authority,” he said.
Besides the aforementioned attempt at eliminating homelessness in the region, the regional HUD office oversees other areas related to housing, including the enforcement of federal fair housing laws and rental assistance programs.
“I don’t think I will have a legacy, but I’m hoping people will know I fought for them and made a difference,” said Meyers.
Related information:
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The HUD Web site
City of Seattle Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness
Interagency Council on Homelessness
Committee to End Homelessness in King County
The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance
