2005 AGENCY AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS
PROGRAM INNOVATION - AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Four disabled adults who had
lived as a "family" for many years were being displaced. Suitable rental housing was problematic. The Housing Authority (HACSB) working in
conjunction with the parents of the four individuals purchased a four bedroom
home for $830,000 in the local area where the median home prices were greater
than $1,000,000. The HACSB convinced
each of the four parents to donate $100,000 to a 501c3 affiliate of the HACSB,
which in turn purchased the home.
Section 8 vouchers granted to each of the four individuals generate
sufficient rental income to cover mortgage and operating costs.
Mr. Frederick Lamont, CPA, SPHM
Executive Director
Housing Authority of the
Post Office Box 397
Phone: 805-736-3423
Fax: 805-735-7672
Email:
fredlamont@hasbarco.org
CENTRAL YMCA SRO
The YMCA Single Room
Occupancy project is a paradigm for innovative financing and groundbreaking
public/private partnerships. Its
uniqueness lays in the umbrella partnership of government agencies, housing and
supportive service providers under one LCC entity. Ten diverse funding sources were used to
leverage tax credit awards that required the deal be a single housing
project. Three years in the making, the
complex financial package renovated a dilapidated 130,000 square foot building,
and created 180 sorely needed single room occupancy units for homeless men.
Ms. Saundra Johnson
Director
18 The Green
Dover, DE 19901-3612
Phone: 302-739-4263
Fax:
302-739-6122
Email:
matthew@dsha.state.de.us
Since very few living facilities
accept elderly persons with Medicaid assistance, Douglas County Housing
Authority identified a need for specialized housing. The unavailability of
public funding for assisted living lead to securing a private tax exempt bond
issue. The result is Orchard
Gardens Assisted Living, a 56 unit apartment complex that offers retirement
living where life matters, vitality in daily living activity is offered and
peace of mind is a reality. Two on-site
preschool programs offer an intergenerational atmosphere that gives the elderly
a way to bring enrichment into the lives of children as well as their own.
Ms. Joan Bertolini, PHM
Chief Executive Officer
5404 North 107th Plaza
Phone: 402-444-6227
Fax:
402-444-6600
Email: joan@douglascountyhousing.com
While local housing prices
and rents were skyrocketing, and the need for affordable rentals and
homeownership opportunities began to soar even higher, the Madison Housing Authority set forth to
increase the supply of affordable housing by working in conjunction with two
nonprofits to educate perspective first-time homeowners and to develop
affordable for-sale townhouses for them.
Mr. Louis Riccio, PHM
Executive Director
Housing Authority of the
Borough of
Phone: 973-377-0258
Fax:
973-377-5237
Email: lriccio@madisonha.com
HQS INTERACTIVE INTERNET TRAINING
Colorado Division of Housing
(DOH) identified a need to train housing agency staff, landlords, and families
on the requirements of HUD Housing Quality Standards (HQS). Increased information concerning HQS was
necessary to prevent spending federal dollars on substandard housing, to train
staff when turn over occurred and to increase the supply of safe and decent
housing for lower income families. Since
its development in 2002, the HQS site has had 4,331 hits with 2,838 testing
attempts. DOH requires its staff,
contractors and grantees to successfully complete the course and to have their
training certificate on file.
Ms. Kathi Williams
Division Director
Phone: 303-866-2033
Fax:
303-866-4077
Email: kathi.williams@state.co.us
HOUSING JEOPARDY
The Housing Jeopardy game is
used at quarterly staff meetings to educate our staff on a variety of topics,
from Housing categories to Agency categories to Fun categories. The game is played like the televised version
of Jeopardy except that teams are used instead of individual players. We have found it to be educational, a means
of building team spirit and just downright fun!
Mr. Larry A. Loyd
Executive Director
Housing Commission of
Post Office Box 817
Phone: 410-222-6208
Fax:
410-222-6214
Email: laloyd@hcaac.org
ONLINE OUTREACH: HELP IS A DOUBLE-CLICK AWAY
The Housing Opportunities
Commission (HOC) of
Mr. D. Scott Minton
Executive Director
10400 Detrick Avenue
Phone: 301-929-2399
Fax:
301-929-6755
Email: minton@hocmc.org
UPCS INSPECTION PROGRAM
Every housing authority is
required to annually inspect public housing property using the Uniform Physical
Condition Standards ("UPCS") inspection criterion. Two years ago we performed UPCS inspections
using the paper inspection form. With
3,400 units, performing these inspections using paper forms was impractical for
several reasons. We wrote a computer application in-house using a programming
language designed for PalmSize PCs and Microsoft Access 2000. The program meets
all of the UPCS requirements and allows our inspectors to complete a thorough
and time-efficient inspection. Using Access, we are able to generate inspection
reports that are project and unit specific, and identify the criticality of
UPCS deficiencies.
Mr. Frank Aggazio
Executive Director
Allegheny
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: 412-355-8940
Fax:
412-355-8954
Email: franka@achsng.com
PROGRAM INNOVATION – COMMUNITY
REVITALIZATION
The South Mountain
Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy reflects community-driven projects in two
adjacent redevelopment areas in
Ms. Tammy J. Perkins
Director
City of
Phone: 602-534-2825
Fax:
602-534-1555
Email: tammy.perkins@phoenix.gov
In our high cost
Mr. Robert McEwan, RCS
Executive Director
Housing Authority of the
Phone: 925-957-8011
Fax:
925-372-3678
Email: rmcewan@contracostahousing.org
When the
Mr. Kurt Creager
Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 360-993-9500
Fax:
360-993-9595
Email: kcreager@vhausa.com
PROGRAM INNOVATION – PROJECT DESIGN
KENAITZE POINTE SENIOR AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS
Kenaitze Pointe is an embodiment of CIHA's
vision to promote "independence through housing." Recognizing in 2001 that
Ms. Carol Gore
President and CEO
Phone: 907-276-8822
Fax:
907-257-4957
Email: cgore@citci.com
COMMONWEALTH REDEVELOPMENT
Completed in 1985, the
Commonwealth Development is one of the flagship redevelopment efforts of the
Boston Housing Authority to reclaim severely deteriorated public housing
units. The project, completed in
partnership with residents, John M. Corcoran Company, and Tise Wilhelm
Architects, stands today as a model for public housing transformation despite
its completion well in advance of the HOPE VI program. The entire 15-acre site was restructured,
including the reconstruction of 11 buildings, demolition of two high-rise
buildings, integration of a new roadway system, new landscaping, pedestrian walkways
and community buildings. Project density
was reduced from 698 to 392 units, and the design quality has endured.
Ms. Sandra B. Henriquez, PHM
Administrator
Boston, MA 02111-2375
Phone: 617-988-4108
Fax:
617-988-4133
Email: Sandra.henriquez@bostonhousing.org
PARKSIDE PRESERVATION PROJECT
1260 Housing Development
Corporation, the sponsor of the Parkside Preservation Project, rehabilitated
and restored 82 units in 16 buildings in the Parkside National Register
Historic District of Philadelphia.
Eleven of the buildings are 19th century homes overlooking scenic
Ms. Harriet C. Herman
Director of Property Management
Twelve Sixty Housing &
Development Corporation
Phone: 215-557-8484
Fax:
215-557-8447
Email: hherman@pmhcc.org
When the
Mr. Kurt Creager
Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 360-993-9500
Fax:
360-993-9595
Email: kcreager@vhausa.com
PROGRAM INNOVATION – RESIDENT AND CLIENT SERVICES
BITS – BRINGING INFORMATION/TECHNOLOGY TO
SENIORS
To address isolation and
independence issues that face seniors and persons with disabilities who live in
public housing, the City of Phoenix Housing Department
developed computer labs in its senior/disabled
designated housing communities.
The computer labs and the classes enable the residents to learn to use
email
to communicate quickly, easily and cheaply with their
friends and family who frequently reside in other areas
of the country.
The lab and classes also provide persons with limited mobility the tools
necessary to access
information of all types without the need to travel.
Mr. Manuel T. Gonzalez
Housing Director
City of Phoenix Housing
Department
251 West
Phone: 602-495-6945
Fax:
602-534-1214
Email: manny.gonzalez@phoenix.gov
DYNAMIC DOORS –
Salvaging some 200 doors from
an aging and about-to-be-demolished 279 units of the Bluegrass Aspendale housing complex was quite a daunting
undertaking. Yet, an endeavor the
Lexington Housing Authority, the Lexington Arts & Cultural Council (LACC)
and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council was willing to undertake in the Spring of 2003. Doors
from the 66 year-old public housing complex were the focus of the Dynamic
Doors: Portals to Creativity
Project. Using the door as the canvas,
artists expressed their artistic vision using a variety of techniques. The public arts project displayed 126 doors
from mid summer through fall 2003 throughout
Mr. Austin J. Simms, PHM
Executive Director
300 West New Circle Road
Phone: 859-281-5062
Fax:
859-281-5055
Email: simmsa@lexha.org
AFFORDABLE ASSISTED LIVING PROGRAM
Millville Housing Authority
(MHA) has developed and implemented an Assisted Living Program (ALP) in two of
its public housing high-rises. MHA
recognized the need for ALP because of losing many elderly residents to early
admission to long-term care facilities or moving with family's and premature
death due to an increased need for Aid to Daily Living (ADL) services. ALP is based on a home-like, rather than a medical
model to provide housing and provides personal care/ADL and an array of support
services that allow elderly/disabled residents to live independently while
saving the State and Federal Government Medicaid dollars.
Mr. Dale P. Gravett, SPHM
Executive Director
Housing Authority of the City
of
Post Office Box 803
Phone: 856-825-8860
Fax:
856-825-5283
Email: mhaexce@aol.com
GRIOT: CULTURE AND
This program represents a
multicultural, intergenerational model to exchange history and wisdom between
seniors and youth through the art of storytelling. The overarching goal was to create an
environment where youth gain values and character building skills through
exposure to culture and art. Griot, in West African history, is an honorable cultural
tradition where wise and knowledgeable elders share tradition with emphasis on
practical knowledge through music, anecdotes, and poetry to preserve
heritage. Griots
are viewed as wise people whose role is to impart knowledge and culture that
nurtures character building and creative expression.
Mr. George A. Phillips
Executive Director
Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing
Authority
Phone: 216-348-5000
Fax:
216-348-4925
Email: phillipsg@cmha.net
AT YOUR SERVICE
To address isolation and
independence issues that face seniors and persons with disabilities who live in
public housing, the City of Phoenix Housing Department developed computer labs
in its senior/disabled designated housing communities. The computer labs and the classes enable the
residents to learn to use email to communicate quickly, easily and cheaply with
their friends and family who frequently reside in other areas of the
country. The lab and classes also
provide persons with limited mobility the tools necessary to access information
of all types without the need to travel.
Mr. Michael Lyckland, PHM
Executive Director
Warwick, RI 02888-4195
Phone: 401-463-7206
Fax:
401-463-7271
Email: mikel@warwickhousing.org
SUMHAR – AN ACCREDITED
GHA has a large population of
undereducated and unemployed adults who, with adequate training, could move
from welfare to work. GHA constructed an
on-site learning center offering programs in information technology and
medicine. The site has become an
accredited State of Tennessee/Council on
Mr. Kurt E. Tschaepe, PHM
Executive Director
Post Office Box 1923
Phone: 615-452-5600
Fax:
615-452-5601
Email: gallhsg@bellsouth.net