FAQ
What is workforce housing?
Workforce housing applies to all income levels within our workforce. A household’s total housing costs, according to federal guidelines, should be no more than 30% of the household’s income. By this standard, a significant number of Monadnock Region residents cannot afford to lease an apartment or purchase a home. Our housing market has lagged in the production of new units and, therefore, existing units have increased in price/cost so significantly that a large number of our workforce cannot afford to live in them.
How is Heading for Home staffed?
Susy Thielen is the part time Heading for Home coordinator who manages and supports the Coalition. She is available for public presentations to communities, planning boards, zoning boards, developer groups etc.
What is the organizational structure for Heading for Home?
A Board of Directors oversees the activities and sets policy for the Heading for Home Coalition. In addition, there are committees structure overseeing areas such as fund-raising, guidelines, community outreach, stewardship of land, legislative and policy issues.
Who are the members of the Board of Directors?
The following individuals are current members of the Board. Organizational affiliations are for identification purposes only.
Gordon Leversee, Dean of Science, Keene State College, Chair
Ellen Avery, Community Liaison, Monadnock United Way
Jill Batty, Chief Financial Officer, Cheshire Medical Center
Joyce Clark, Interior Design
James Duffy, Keene City Council
Christine Greenwood, Hampshire First Bank
Curt Hiebert, Executive Director, Keene Housing Authority
Zack LeRoy, Panel Pros
Tim Maney, Connecticut River Bank
Ron Massucco, MARKEM
Charles Michal, Weller & Michal Architects Inc.
Steve Pro, Steve Pro Land Development Services, LLC
Susan Newcomer, Workforce Development Coordinator, Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce
Matt Suchodolski, Southwest Region Planning Commission
Keith Thibault, Development Director, Southwestern Community Services
Barri Wyman, Marketing/Communications Assistant, Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene
Ad Hoc Members:
Ramona Branch, Marketing Specialist
Advisory Members:
Rhett Lamb
Is Heading for Home a 501c3 tax exempt organization?
Currently Heading for Home has a tax-exempt status through the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce and has plans to apply for tax exempt status once the Board of Directors and Committee structure has solidified.
What is the relationship between Heading for Home and the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce?
Heading for Home is a separate organization for which the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce will provide fiscal agency. This means that, for a nominal fee, the Chamber will provide administrative support, i.e. accounts payable and receivable, payroll and possibly space for staffing.
How is Heading for Home funded?
Heading for Home is a voluntary organization funded by donations of its members. The commitment will be for three years and is based on the number of employees employed by each company. Heading for Home plans to establish a set of goals and objectives by which we can measure progress which will give us a clear understanding of what to do after three years.
How did Heading for Home begin?
This is an editied version of the original article from the Monadnock United Way October 2004 Access newsletter.
Housing is a critical for a vital economy. Workforce housing should be affordable, available and suitable for all workers, regardless of income group, with the emphasis on available and affordable.
By any standard, the Monadnock Region has not produced enough housing to satisfy the demand of its workforce in either the rental or owner-occupied housing markets. Any employer in the Monadnock Region will testify that recruiting new employees is made more difficult because affordable and available housing just isn’t there.
So, what does the Monadnock Region do to address this problem? The Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce convened a Workforce Housing Task Force in 2003 to examine the growing lag in housing production and a growing disparity in area wages and housing costs throughout the region. Area finance and business leaders, Keene State College, Antioch New England Graduate School, Monadnock United Way, the Keene Housing Authority, Cheshire Housing Trust, Southwestern Community Services, and Southwest Regional Planning Commission joined together as Heading for Home: A Workforce Housing Task Force to explore this problem and find a solution. The Task Force determined that the Monadnock Region needs a unified and consistent voice to progress toward a solution to our workforce housing problems.
The Task Force invited anyone who was interested to join them in a day of learning and communication at Heading for Home, a Housing Summit on Friday, November 19, 2004.
An excellent panel of speakers brought attendees up-to-date on the current state of housing in the Monadnock Region and the State of New Hampshire. The keynote speaker was Russ Thibeault from Applied Economic Research who spoke to: Housing Trends You HAVE To Know About. David Haney from Bank of America and the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority offered Housing: A Perspective. Jeff Porter from the Southwest Planning Commission presented a just-completed Regional Housing Needs Assessment, which addresses the specific conditions that existed in the Monadnock Region at that time. Also, a distinguished panel presented How Housing Supports and Challenges a Community’s Well-being.
The presentations were followed by an open conversation about Working Together as a Coalition. Planners were optimistic that all present recognized the need for action, and that Heading for Home: A Regional Housing Coalition can serve as a useful tool for community action.
The mission of Heading for Home: A Regional Housing Coalition will be fulfilled through information sharing and awareness building, bringing into sharper focus the economic and community impact of imbalances among housing stock, housing costs, wages, job growth, employee retention, and the need for environmentally responsible housing development. The coalition hopes to attract a broad range of businesses and individuals to help improve the atmosphere encouraging the market to respond to the needs of our communities.