WARREN Officials from city and county to collaborate on housing plan

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- City and Trumbull County officials plan to put their heads together to determine if there's a better way to meet the area's housing needs.
Representatives from the city's community development department, Trumbull County Planning Commission, Sunshine Inc. and Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority plan a series of meetings to address housing needs.
The first one is Oct. 27 at community development offices.
"We're going to start talking about what our priorities are in housing," said Michael Keys, community development director.
The information developed will be included in the city's five-year community development plan that must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by the end of 2004.
"We want to make sure we're not duplicating efforts and join in others," Keys said.
The city and county offer a number of housing programs, including rental rehabilitation and first-time home-buyer assistance using HUD-allocated money.
"We're looking at identifying what our housing needs are and where we should be spending our money," Keys said.
Longtime partners
The city, county and Sunshine have been working together on some housing programs for years. The nonprofit Sunshine buys homes in Warren and the county and rehabilitates them. People with low to moderate incomes move into the houses. After 15 years, the residents may take over mortgage payments.
One of the needs the entities have seen is transitional housing, said Keys and Alan Knapp, assistant director of the county planning commission.
"The federal government is gearing toward permanent housing, and obviously, that's the goal, for everyone to have a permanent place to live," Knapp said. "But we've found that we still have a need for transitional housing."
Transitional housing provides accommodations for the homeless or those with mental illness. Services provided with that housing include counseling and job training if available.
Keys said the meetings, which are expected to continue for several months, may be expanded to include other housing agencies in the region.