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February 14, 2020

The 2021 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application deadline closed on February 7, 2020. KHRC received 26 applications for a total of $13.9 million in LIHTC funding requested.

Some applications also included requests for Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and HOME Rental Development funding. KHRC received requests for almost $9 million in HTF funds, with approximately $2.44 million available. HOME funds requested totaled nearly $4.3 million, with up to $3 million available. KHRC reserves the right to adjust requested HOME and HTF subsidy amounts based on available funding, evaluation of the subsidy amount needed for a project to be viable, and our assessment of best mix of funding sources.

Review application details at the link below. Funding decisions will be announced by May 15, 2020. To learn more about KHRC’s funding criteria, review the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Housing Trust Fund, and HOME Rental Development program pages.

2021 LIHTC Applications Received

February 12, 2020

Eleven nonprofit entities across the state will share more than $1.6 million for families and individuals at risk of homelessness. The awards, made possible through the state’s Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program and funded through the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), helps income-eligible households afford rental subsidies, utility deposits, and security deposits.

“The TBRA program helps Kansans at risk of homelessness achieve housing stability,” said Cynthia Howerton, TBRA program manager. “It’s hard for families to focus on long-term goals like career development or financial planning without a roof over their heads. Stable housing helps families move from economic vulnerability to self-sufficiency.”

Awarded annually, TBRA grants are based on a community’s housing needs, the number of households estimated to be served and the organization’s experience in administering TBRA funding. Public housing authorities and non-profit organizations may apply for grants of up to $400,000.

This year’s award details are listed below. To apply for rental assistance, please contact the provider serving your area.

GRANTEE	AWARD	CONTACT	CITIES/COUNTIES SERVED
Bert Nash CMHC/Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority	$ 80,000	Gallal Obeid 785-842-8110	City of Lawrence & Douglas County
Compass Behavioral Health	$ 80,000	Carla Carveo 620-275-9434	Ford & Finney County
Harvest America Corporation	$400,000	Terri Bookless 913-342-2121	Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearney, Kiowa, Lane, Meade, Morton, Ness, Norton, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Rooks, Rush, Seward, Scott, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Trego, and Wichita Counties
City of Independence, Kansas	$ 90,000	Molly Wright, April Nutt 620-332-2536	City of Independence
Northwest Kansas Housing, Inc.	$150,000	Ruth Deines 785-421-2151	Cheyenne, Decatur, Ellis, Gove, Graham, Logan, Norton, Osborne, Phillips, Rawlins, Rooks, Russell, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego, and Wallace Counties
City of Pittsburg	$100,000	Megan Keener 620-232-1210	City of Pittsburg
Prairie View Inc.	$ 50,000	Megan Thompson 316-284-6400	Harvey, Marion, and McPherson Counties
Riley County Housing Authority	$100,000	Robert Patty 785-776-9294	Chase, Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Geary, Jewell, Lincoln, Marion, Mitchell, Morris, Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Republic, Riley, Saline, and Wabaunsee Counties
Salina Housing Authority	$ 75,000	Suzanne Smith 785-827-0441 x 209	City of Salina
Southeast Kansas Community Action Program, Inc.	$400,000	Janet Swor 620-724-8204	Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Elk, Labette, Linn, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson Counties
Kim Wilson Housing	$80,000	Michelle Fox 913-233-3362	Wyandotte County

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Kansas Housing helps Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. To learn more about the TBRA program, contact Program Manager Cynthia Howerton or visit our website.

February 5, 2020

Eight nonprofit organizations will share more than $150,000 to provide community services to families and individuals across the state. The funding, made available through the Community Supported Block Grant (CSBG) program’s discretionary funds, will support activities ranging from a community gardening initiative in Wichita, to a home repair program in Atchison, to employment services for people with severe mental illness in Garden City.

“We’re so pleased to partner with community organizations across the state as they provide these vital services to Kansans in need,” said Hugh Poole, CSBG program manager. “The life-changing support of the CSBG program helps families move from financial instability to a place of opportunity.”

The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program is a federal initiative that aims to reduce poverty, revitalize low-income communities, and empower low-income families and individuals to become self-sufficient. CSBG works through eight local eligible entities in Kansas to support services and activities that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty. A small portion of discretionary funding is available to partners that offer innovative programs that serve low-income individuals and families.

Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) administers the state’s CSBG funding and oversees the competitive discretionary funding application process.

The recipients of this year’s CSBG discretionary funds are as follows:

ORGANIZATION	SERVICE AREA	AWARD AMOUNT	DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES PROVIDED
ECKAN – Consultancy and Computer Upgrade	ECKAN service area	$15,412	Funding will enable the agency to contract with a consultant to produce a strategic action plan and fund software upgrades to enhance agency capacity to collect and report critical data.
Mid-KS – CAP60 and SHRM training for staff	South-Central Kansas	$13,016	Funding will support training and technology to improve staff performance.
KACAP – Poverty Conference	Statewide	$10,000	Funding will support Kansas Poverty Conference.
Children First – Food Program Playbook	Wichita area	$19,840	Funding will support the creation and publication of Food Program Playbook for use in schools in low-income communities.
Interfaith Housing and Community Services –Housing Assistance Network	Hutchinson area	$30,586	Funding will support expansion of organization’s home repair program.
Compass Behavioral Health	Garden City area	$40,194	Funding will support implementation/expansion of IPS model of supported employment for people with serious mental illness.
Breakthrough	Statewide	$20,370	Funding will support training of three low-income individuals so they can speak to the Kansas legislature and the community about their experiences living in poverty.
Catholic Charities	Wichita area	$10,010	Funding will support employment initiative that reduces barriers to successful employment, providing childcare, transportation, and appropriate clothing for interviews/job placement.

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A self-supporting, nonprofit, public corporation, Kansas Housing helps Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. For more information about the CSBG program, please contact Program Manager Hugh Poole or visit our website.

January 28, 2020

Home is where we start and end our day. In my time with Kansas Housing, I’ve come to realize that home is much more than four walls and a roof. In my travels to the communities that KHRC serves, I’m always struck by the impact that safe, affordable housing creates. The effects of stable housing radiate beyond the families served; they are felt throughout neighborhoods and strengthen communities.

This has been a memorable year for KHRC. In 2019 we renewed focus on our mission and created changes to better serve Kansas communities. Our new, simplified mission states:

We help Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve.

The words have changed, but the heart of our organization has not. The employees of KHRC find solutions to help Kansas address its housing needs. We will continue our work to remove the barriers to safe, affordable housing and never forget that while we provide housing, we serve people.

Please join us as we reflect on all we’ve accomplished together in our 2019 annual report. We appreciate your support and partnership and look forward to unlocking home for Kansans in 2020 and beyond.

Ryan Vincent | Executive Director

January 9, 2020

If someone had told Cyrena Burns a year ago that she would be living in a brand-new, beautiful, two-bedroom duplex by the end of 2019, she would have shaken her head or laughed at them. It was around that time that she had started thinking to herself, “I am never going to stop having bad luck.”

Then, last June, she was taking a friend to work and saw a sign for Prairie View Estates. At the time, she did not have any idea if the new development coming to the north end of Ottawa would be in her budget. She just knew she had to at least try. When she discovered that there were affordable, income-based units available, she let herself begin to believe that just maybe her luck would soon be turning.

Twenty-six years earlier, Cyrena had moved from Overland Park to Ottawa with her husband and two children. In her eyes she had it all–a beautiful home, healthy kids, and a husband with whom she was still in love. Then, after 23 years of marriage and while on deployment, her husband decided he no longer wanted to be married to her. Having recently left a secure job in order to spend more time at home with her son before he graduated from high school, Cyrena began suffering from depression.

This was the beginning of Cyrena’s education on the lack of safe, clean and affordable housing, a combination she didn’t think she would likely be able to ever have again. When the rent on her safe and clean apartment was raised five years ago, she had to move and could only afford a house with floors so soft she thought she was going to fall through. On day two in what she dubbed “the house from hell”, sewage began backing up into the tub and then later, covering the entire first floor. She knew she couldn’t stay. She was eventually let out of her lease and, with no other affordable options available, had to move in with her mom and sleep on her couch. Sometimes, in order to give herself and her mom some personal space, Cyrena would opt to sleep in her car.

She felt desperate.

It was during that state of desperation, that Cyrena noticed the sign for Prairie View Estates, which was being built and developed by the Prairie Fire Development Group in Kansas City, made possible through low income housing tax credits awarded through the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation. On a whim, she called. Having never been on any type of housing assistance, she didn’t fully know what affordable housing really was, but quickly learned she would not need to be on housing assistance to qualify for an affordable unit. “There have definitely been some misconceptions around town. The chatter was that this was just going to be a place filled with drug addicts, but that could not be further from the truth. The people living here are the most giving and kind people. This town has needed a place like this for a long time.”

After being one of the first residents to move into Prairie View last month, Cyrena believes her luck has turned around. She has a home that is not only safe and clean, but she also has an attached garage and wide doors that allow her to easily access every room in her home while using her walker. “This is my start-over,” she said. “I can do this on my own. I can afford my rent, plus enough for groceries. I know I won’t fall because the floors are warped. I know there will be air conditioning. The layout is perfect. They thought of everything. Having my own personal space means the world to me. I feel like I have my dignity back.”

January 9, 2020

Alissa Ice will lead the state of Kansas’ housing development efforts, collaborating with developers and stakeholders to expand affordable housing throughout the state, Executive Director Ryan Vincent announced. As Director of Housing Development, Ice will manage the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit and Moderate Income Housing programs, as well as the Private Activity Bond allocation.

“Expanding Kansans’ access to quality, affordable housing is the central focus of our work,” Vincent said. “Developing housing that serves our state’s most vulnerable citizens is a key component of that access. Alissa’s programmatic knowledge and leadership experience make her an excellent Housing Development leader, and we’re so pleased to welcome her to our team.”

Ice brings more than a decade of housing experience to her new role, including 12 years at the Missouri Housing Development Commission, where she worked with the state’s housing trust fund, the National Housing Trust Fund, and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. She previously served as the City of Lawrence’s Housing Administrator, collaborating with the city’s new housing trust fund and the Affordable Housing Advisory Board to meet the city’s affordable housing goals.

A Kansas native, Ice was born and raised in Newton and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare from the University of Kansas and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. She lives in Overland Park with her husband and two daughters.

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A self-supporting, nonprofit, public corporation, Kansas Housing helps Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. For more information about the corporation’s housing development initiatives, please contact director Alissa Ice at aice@kshousingcorp.org or visit our website.