What We Do
For the past 35 years, RHLS has supported Pennsylvania nonprofit
providers and policy makers by:
- Providing quality legal and technical assistance to non-profit
organizations, community-based groups, and resident groups
engaged in developing housing and economic opportunities
for lower income persons and in revitalizing their communities
- Identifying critical community
development policy issues
- Crafting policy recommendations
to maximize the preservation and production of affordable
housing
- Facilitating more comprehensive community development
- Disseminating
relevant policy information throughout Pennsylvania and,
when appropriate, nationally
What We Have Accomplished
RHLS has initiated numerous programs and changes in housing
policy development and related resource allocation to help
community-based groups create new housing and support services.
Notable examples include:
- Assisting in the planning, financing and development of
nearly 40 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects,
worth over $200 million, since the federal LIHTC program
was started in 1986, becoming one of the nation's foremost
experts in the use of this important tax credit
- Opening an office in Pittsburgh in 1997
- Spearheading a first-of-its-kind statewide
homeownership program which was further developed to include
a component to re-develop mixed-use properties http://www.phfa.org/hsgresources/hcp.aspx
- Securing
a set-aside for nonprofit organizations receiving low-income
housing tax credits for the financing of affordable housing
development projects
- Designing a unique bridge loan program
to increase development of affordable housing in Pennsylvania
- Promoting
employment opportunities for low-income individuals through
innovative, community-driven economic development activities.
For more information, please see review our Highlighted
Projects
- Helping to institute a system for addressing “tangled
title” problems common in low-income communities
- Assisting
in the creation of Philadelphia LawWorks to facilitate pro
bono lawyer referrals for nonprofits and small businesses
- Creating the HEMAP Help Center, an on-line
interactive service to assist families at risk—through no fault of
their own—of losing their home due to mortgage foreclosure
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