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November 6, 2020

TOPEKA – Nonprofit organizations and local governments across the state received a funding boost to prevent and respond to homelessness, thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The funds, made available through the federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program, will support individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. Kansas received the additional ESG funding to address heightened needs surrounding the COVID pandemic.

“Home has never been more important,” said Ryan Vincent, Executive Director of Kansas Housing. “Home has always been a place of shelter, but in the midst of the pandemic it’s become so much more. Home now provides our virtual workplace, our marketplace, our children’s classrooms, and our online gathering space for worship services, community meetings, and social events with family and friends. We’re so pleased to distribute this crucial funding to preserve access to home for our most vulnerable Kansans.”

Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the ESG program supports local service partners that work to prevent homelessness and assist people experiencing homelessness. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) serves as the state’s ESG program administrator. Grant awards help fund emergency shelters, rapid rehousing services, street outreach, homelessness prevention strategies, and more.

The supplemental CARES Act ESG funding will support local government entities, nonprofit organizations, and community mental health centers across the state. Funding will provide housing and community services including emergency shelter operations and administration, domestic violence shelters, behavioral health services, and rental and utility assistance for Kansans at risk of eviction. Service partners applied for funding through a competitive application process. Complete award details are available online.

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Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) is a self-supporting, nonprofit, public corporation committed to helping Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. KHRC serves as the primary administrator of federal housing programs for the state of Kansas.

October 30, 2020

State officials will commission Kansas’ first comprehensive study of housing needs and resources in more than 20 years, Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers announced. The state’s Office of Rural Prosperity, in conjunction with Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), the state’s housing finance agency, is releasing a Request for Proposal (RFP) soliciting bids from qualified firms to develop, conduct, and deliver the assessment.

Kansas has not conducted a major housing study in decades, resulting in a dearth of data on existing housing resources and current and projected needs. The Office of Rural Prosperity’s Housing Work Group, an interagency team of state leaders led by KHRC Executive Director Ryan Vincent, identified a housing needs assessment as a crucial first step in addressing the state’s housing needs and priorities, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

“In order to address our state’s shortage of quality, affordable housing, we need to first analyze the research, then assess resources, and finally make recommendations,” Lieutenant Governor Rogers said. “Accessing this vital housing data will help state leaders determine what the needs are and how best to tackle them.”

Respondents should be prepared to explore current and long-term housing trends and needs throughout the state, provide detailed analysis of communities and populations in need, conduct a thorough review of existing housing stock, and identify barriers to access and development. Successful respondents should have experience conducting comprehensive state or federal housing assessments, be able and willing to carry out the proposal’s full scope of work, and have a demonstrated understanding of applicable federal and state statutory requirements. Proposals are due to KHRC by Monday, Nov. 30, with the selection announced on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The final statewide housing needs assessment shall be delivered to KHRC by Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. Review the request for proposal for more details.

Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) helps Kansans access the quality, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. Codified at K.S.A. 74-8901 et. seq., KHRC is a public corporation and independent instrumentality of the state. KHRC serves as the state’s housing finance agency (HFA), administering essential housing and community programs to serve Kansans. Learn more about KHRC’s core values, programs, and services online.

Governor Laura Kelly and Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers created the Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP), a nonpartisan initiative established in part to ensure that rural Kansas is heard and represented in the statehouse. The ORP aims to streamline rural policy while focusing on the issues that matter to rural Kansans. During the ORP’s 2019 and 2020 statewide listening and action tours, housing was brought up by leaders in every region of the state as a vital component of recruiting and retaining workers, families, and entrepreneurs to help rural Kansas thrive.

October 21, 2020

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced a $35 million statewide relief initiative to keep Kansans in their homes. Tenants and landlords experiencing financial hardship as a result of the COVID pandemic may receive up to $5000 in rental assistance per tenant household. The Kansas Eviction Prevention Program (KEPP), funded through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, authorized by Governor Kelly’s Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Taskforce, and administered by Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), serves tenants and landlords who have missed paying or collecting at least one rent payment since April 1, 2020, due to the COVID pandemic.

“Home has never been more important,” Ryan Vincent, KHRC Executive Director, said. “Our homes have always provided shelter, but in the midst of the COVID pandemic, home has become our virtual workplace, classroom, marketplace, and gathering space. This program will protect Kansans’ access to home when it is needed most.”

Through the KEPP program, landlords and tenants apply for up to $5000 per household to cover delinquent rental payments dating as far back as April 1, 2020. Payments will be made directly to the landlord, who must agree not to evict the household for nonpayment of rent or to charge late fees for the months KEPP assistance is received.

The economic impact of the pandemic has left many Kansans unemployed or underemployed, uncertain how they will pay rent. While moratoriums provide temporary protection from eviction, rent continues to accrue each month, leaving tenants unsure how they will pay arrears, and leaving landlords without monthly income to pay bills and manage maintenance and upkeep. Data indicates that 117,000-155,000 Kansas households (30-44% of all rental households) will be at risk of eviction in the coming months due to COVID.

Program funds are limited, and applications will be processed in the order received. Tenants and landlords should apply as soon as possible to increase their likelihood of receiving assistance. Visit kshousingcorp.org to learn more and apply online, or contact kepp@kshousingcorp.org for assistance.

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June 18, 2020

Gray two-story house — The Taylor family home in Paola.

Louisburg-based loan officer Lauri Orscheln holds a fondness for all of her clients, but helping first-time buyers achieve the dream of homeownership occupies a special place in her heart. “Homeownership to me is one of the most important things, something we are so privileged to be able to have,” she said. “Every first-time customer that ever closes is incredibly grateful and getting a great start.”

One of those customers is Nicole Taylor, a Paola mom of five who moved her family into their forever home this February.

“I’m a single mom with five kids–four teens and a 6-year-old–so family life is crazy and hectic,” Taylor said. She stays busy as a social worker, placing children in need of care with loving relatives and keeping them out of the foster care system.

“I was married and had a daughter in 2001, got divorced shortly after, and became a foster parent to adopt so my daughter could grow up with a sibling,” Taylor said. “From there I ended up adopting four kids.” Taylor’s family includes her biological daughter, now 19, and a 14-year-old daughter who joined the family at age 3 and was adopted in 2012. In 2015 she adopted three siblings: a 16-year-old boy and 13- and 6-year-old girls.

“When I was doing foster care I ended up putting myself back through college and got my degree in 2018,” Taylor said. “During that time I lived with my parents and we all helped each other out—I worked full-time, and they watched the kids while I was in night school. After graduation, I rebuilt my credit and got things situated so it could be my kids and me.”

Once Taylor started looking for a home she connected with Orscheln and learned about Kansas Housing’s First Time Homebuyer (FTHB) Program, an initiative that helps eligible buyers purchase their first home by providing down payment assistance. To qualify, applicants must be first-time homebuyers or not have owned a home in three years and have a median income at or below 80 percent of their county or metro area. Homebuyers must make an investment of 2 percent but no more than 10 percent of the sale price from their own funds. The program allows participants to apply for a zero percent interest loan in the amount of 15-20 percent of the home’s purchase price. The loan is forgiven if the buyer remains in the home for 10 years.

“I know it sounds too good to be true, but it really isn’t,” Orscheln said of the program. “First-timers can easily make that monthly payment, but when you’re trying to scrape together a down payment and all the first payments, that’s very hard.”

Orscheln has worked with the FTHB program for more than a decade, shepherding at least 10-12 Kansas buyers through the program each year. Her typical customers are young families just starting out, or individuals ready to embark on solo homeownership. “If they can afford a $100,000 loan payment and you can expand that to a $115,000 house, you can give them such a better home,” she said. “It’s phenomenal the difference that can make in the quality of home they can buy.”

Taylor agrees. “The program is excellent because you can get a little more house for your money,” she said.

She found the right home for her family last July, learned about the FTHB program and made an offer that fall, and finally closed and settled in this February. “The kids like it, they’re happy here,” Taylor said. “Before we lived five miles out in the country. We were constantly running back and forth four to five times a day for activities. Now we’re in the middle of town, kids can walk to dance class, and we always have random teens stopping by.”

For Taylor, the program is about more than just the physical space she can provide for her children. It’s about the example she sets. “My mom has talked about how she has raised a strong, independent woman,” she said. “I’m out here buying a house on my own, just me. My kids think it’s great. I’m trying to be a good role model, someone for them to look up to. No matter what you have going on, you can do this. Anything’s possible.”

For Orscheln, the value of the program ripples beyond the homebuyers themselves to benefit the entire community.

“I think homeownership in general just betters every town,” Orscheln said. “When people own their place they have pride in ownership, they make it look good, they spend money on it. It’s the core value for making communities better.”

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To learn more about Kansas Housing’s First Time Homebuyer Program, visit our website. Homes in Johnson County, Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, and Wichita are ineligible for KHRC’s First Time Homebuyer Program. These areas administer their own federal HOME funds, which may or may not be used for homeownership assistance.

June 15, 2020

Dear friends, partners, and colleagues,

Recent events, from the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color, to the death of Black citizens at the hands of law enforcement, to the resulting public outcry and unrest, are painful reminders that a legacy of segregation, discrimination, and racism is still deeply embedded in the communities where we live, work, and serve. In this moment of national reckoning, we know we need to focus not just on how these injustices make us feel, but what we can do to change them.

A year ago, our team embarked on a soul-searching effort to better define who we are, what we do, and why our work is important. Part of that process involved identifying the core values that we strive to uphold each day, and that we turn to in these moments of crisis and uncertainty:

Thorough: We are focused on a long-term solution over a quick fix.
Transparent: Our work is behind the scenes, but open to all.
Nimble: Needs and goals change. So do we.
Collaborative: The challenges we face are too big to face alone.
Compassionate: The dignity and worth of those we serve influence every decision.

These values were the guiding principles used in crafting our team’s mission: We help Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. Embedded in these words is our conviction that all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status, deserve the safety, security, and dignity of home.

Beyond defining our values and mission, our efforts included tangible changes to ensure that our work is transparent and that our services are accessible to the Kansans who need them most:

We changed our outreach strategy, inviting more partnership, more collaboration, and more public engagement.
We developed a Code of Ethics to guide our work, established a confidential process for stakeholders and community members to report potential wrongdoing, and appointed an Ethics Officer to handle concerns.
We revamped our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and committed to welcoming the team’s guidance as we explore staff training and development opportunities, examine our recruitment practices, and reflect on how we can better administer our programs with integrity, equity, and compassion.

We’re proud of the efforts we’ve undertaken so far, but we know they’re not enough. This moment in our nation’s history illustrates that we all need to do more to dismantle the traditions and institutions that privilege some while disadvantaging others.

Our nation’s housing history is scarred by a legacy of racism. Much of the inequality we witness today can be traced, in part, to discriminatory housing practices. At the same time, we also recognize that expanding access to home and crafting equitable housing programs and policies can provide valuable opportunities to address historic injustices and correct course. In fact, similar unrest in response to discrimination in the 1960s led to the creation of some of the first state housing agencies. Promoting affordable and equitable housing opportunities has been and remains a catalyst for healing. As we look ahead, we’re committed to seeking diverse perspectives in drafting our guiding policies and programs, to collaborating with communities that have historically been left behind, and to administering our programs with a goal of helping to close the opportunity gap, not widen it.

Moments like this demand that we pause, reflect, and commit to doing better. We’re reminded that the landmark Fair Housing Act, which guides our work today, was passed during a dark period in our country’s struggle for equality and civil rights, following the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Advocates, activists, and leaders banded together to ensure that Dr. King’s legacy lived on, even in the midst of unspeakable grief and sadness. Fifty-two years later, we know that work is not finished, and we remain committed to that vision. Our work to unlock home for Kansans is more important than ever, and we pledge to continue it.

– Ryan Vincent
Executive Director

May 15, 2020

Nine Kansas communities will receive a collective 263 additional housing units, thanks to funds awarded through the state’s competitive housing development application process. The planned initiatives include new and rehabilitated homes in communities ranging from Great Bend to Gardner, Hays to Hutchinson. Housing designed for families represent the majority of planned units (207), while the remaining 56 will be designated for seniors.

“A lack of quality, affordable housing is one of our state’s biggest barriers to growth and prosperity,” Ryan Vincent, Executive Director of Kansas Housing, said. “Each of these 263 homes brings us a step closer to ensuring that all Kansans have access to the safe, affordable, quality housing they need.”

The funding, made available through the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the federal HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), and the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), provides incentives to developers, nonprofit organizations, and communities that commit to developing quality, affordable housing. LIHTC incentives totaling $2.9 million represent the majority of this round’s funding. Offered annually for a 10-year term, the awards represent a total of $29 million in tax credits over the course of the next decade to support affordable housing across the state.

Complete award details are available online.

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