Fourteen nonprofits are honored for their work in supportive housing for homeless people. WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fannie Mae Foundation, in collaboration with the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness, today announced the 2007 Maxwell Awards of Excellence finalists. Fourteen nonprofit organizations are recognized for their work in the field of housing for homeless people. At a January 2008 awards ceremony, four final award winners will be announced. Each Maxwell winner receives a $75,000 grant to continue work in the field of supportive housing for homeless individuals and families. Each runner-up will receive a $10,000 grant. "These organizations have done outstanding work in the field of creating new housing opportunities for homeless people," said Peter Beard, executive director of the Fannie Mae Foundation. "Supportive housing for the homeless is an essential part of the fight to end homelessness in our country. These organizations are all doing important work in that struggle," said Bob Hohler, executive director of the Melville Charitable Trust. The following organizations have been selected as finalists: In the homeless families category: -- Avalon Housing, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan -- East Liberty Development in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- Mercy Housing Lakefront in Chicago, Illinois -- Umpqua Community Action Network in Roseburg, Oregon In the homeless youth category: -- AEON in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- Common Ground in New York, New York -- La Casa Norte in Chicago, Illinois In the homeless veterans category: -- Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless of Brevard County in Cocoa, Florida -- The Connection Fund in Middleburg, Connecticut In the chronically homeless category: -- Avesta Housing Development Corporation in Portland, Maine -- Boley Centers, Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida -- Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in Denver, Colorado -- Downtown Emergency Service Center in Seattle, Washington -- Skid Row Housing Trust in Los Angeles, California Organizations from across the country submitted applications for projects that were placed into service during 2004, 2005 or 2006. These applications were evaluated on the basis of creativity in addressing local housing needs, quality of design, originality and innovation in financing and affordability, and success in implementing the project. Winners were selected by an independent advisory committee for having produced the best examples of supportive housing. Maxwell Award winners' case studies will be posted on KnowledgePlex (http://www.knowledgeplex.org/) and the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness (http://www.endlongtermhomelessness.org/). Created in 1988, the Fannie Mae Foundation's Maxwell Awards program seeks to encourage and recognize the outstanding work of nonprofit organizations that develop and maintain affordable housing in urban, metropolitan, and rural communities across the country. The awards are named in honor of David O. Maxwell, who retired in 1991 after 10 years of service as chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae and chairman of the board for the Fannie Mae Foundation. DATASOURCE: Fannie Mae Foundation CONTACT: Chrissie McHenry of Fannie Mae Foundation, +1-202-752-1297 Web site: http://www.fanniemae.com/ http://www.knowledgeplex.org/ http://www.endlongtermhomelessness.org/

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