Action Center    Legacy (housing)

Action
Contact your Members of Congress to urge the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement Legacy.  Dial the capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected to your Senators and Representatives.  Make a donation to provide Grandfamilies Housing for those impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

Background
Three provisions from the Legacy bill were signed into law as part of the American Dream Downpayment Act that address affordable housing for grandparents raising grandchildren.

• Opportunities to create national demonstration projects within HUD’s Section 202 program to develop housing specifically for grandparents and other relatives raising children.  HUD will develop a competitive application for groups around the country to apply to develop housing based on the concept of the Grandfamilies House in Boston, the first housing in the country built specifically for grandparents raising grandchildren.
• Training and education for front line workers who, through no fault of their own, may be misinterpreting policies that affect the families.  Custody issues should be one of the major foci of this type of training.  Key to this discussion will be clarification that grandparents are not required to have legal custody of children to qualify as “family” for certain government assisted housing programs.  This training and education will be accomplished through HUD.
• Conducting a national study of the housing needs of grandparents raising grandchildren.  

Connect
Share the results of your outreach at our Message Forum.  You will be prompted to login by providing a username and password.  If you are a first time visitor, registration is free, quick, and easy.

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