The 2016 Tri-State Housing Summit plans to build upon successes while returning to the place where it all began.The event is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, and is hosted by the not-for-profit North East Community Action Corporation in cooperation with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, the Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials and the Tri-State Development Summit.It will be at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, site of the first housing summit in 2005. A complete itinerary is being developed.“We have some exciting developments to discuss and we look forward to showcasing the housing progress we’ve made in the Tri-State region during the last year,” said NECAC Deputy Director for Housing Development Programs Carla Potts, who first developed the idea of bringing together regional housing stakeholders. “Our goal is to continue building upon the foundation we’ve set.”Topics to be addressed include an update on NECAC’s Tiny Homes and Aspire Partnership Prison Homes programs and its Healthy Homes Initiative. There will also be presentations on Southeast Iowa’s adaptive re-use of buildings for apartments and Two Rivers’ housing counseling efforts.Additional partners include the Tri-State Development Summit, NeighborWorks America and Rural LISC.The event is an outgrowth of the Tri-State Development Summit, a group formed after the Flood of 1993. Ten regional conferences have been held since 1996 in an effort to discuss common issues and solutions in 35 Missouri, Illinois and Iowa counties. Housing is one of the steering committees that meets and reports to the larger group.Last year’s Tri-State Housing Summit, held in Fort Madison, Iowa, was an overwhelming success. Almost 80 housing representatives heard about programs that are under way or planned in the three states and got a chance to tour a former middle school that was being turned into an energy-efficient apartment complex.Potts looks forward to a return to Canton.“We have grown and expanded our reach a great deal since our first housing summit there in 2005,” she said. “We are developing cutting-edge programs and services that will allow more people to become homeowners, fix existing houses and create new opportunities for older structures.”More information is available by calling NECAC at 573-324-6622.NECAC