AMHERST — A discussion that will bring together experts on affordable housing trusts is scheduled for Wednesday.
Affordable housing trusts create, preserve and support housing for low- and moderate-income families.
Members and staff of existing trusts, communities exploring creating trusts and representatives from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and Franklin County Council of Governments will be on hand for the event, which will be presented by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.
The sorts of activities trusts can handle include:
supporting developers to build affordable housing,
preserving affordable housing with expiring affordability restrictions, and
investing in programs such as down payments and rent assistance.
The evening will begin with a tour of Butternut Farm, 12 Longmeadow Drive, at 6 p.m., before moving to the Pole Room at Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, for a Trust 101 session, at 6:45 p.m.
Starting at 7:45 p.m., a roundtable discussion will allow participants to share their experiences and ask questions with their regional planning staffs and personnel from the partnership.
A light dinner will be provided by the partnership, with funding from the Kuehn Foundation.
Those interested in attending should RSVP by Monday to Shelly Goehring at SGoehring@mhp.net.