i https://nam.edu/social-determinants-of-health-101-for-health-care-five-plus-five/
ii https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/national-and-state-housing-fact-sheets-data
iii https://newsroom.uhc.com/community/housing-healthcare.html
Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
David Greer
Director of Communications
During the COVID-19 quarantine, David can be reached at (202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
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Press Releases
5.19.21
Data-driven ”Community Catalyst” initiative in 23 communities convenes partners across sectors to identify and address community and population health needs; 10 of the initiatives are focused on public housing authority partnerships
MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare today announced a community-based initiative, Community Catalyst, that convenes a broad range of community stakeholders to identify and address specific health care needs of members of the community and residents of publicly assisted housing who are often difficult to reach and serve.
UnitedHealthcare is expanding on its long-term collaboration with the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) by engaging public housing agencies (PHAs), federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and community-based organizations (CBOs) in their mutual commitment to serve as a catalyst to close gaps in care, address health equity challenges, and encourage a greater positive health impact in local communities. By blending clinical data with firsthand information from community members to identify health challenges, the initiative formally brings together local partners to develop a collaborative community plan to address needs and track progress and outcomes.
UnitedHealthcare and its partners will analyze claims, health care utilization and local data to identify communities with large racial and health disparities and challenges. Working together, Community Catalyst initiative partners will develop common goals and collaborative interventions that enable each organization to leverage its capabilities to address the local health challenge. These interventions will be customized to the community and may encompass food insecurity and diabetes management programs that can include trauma-informed care trainings, telehealth and virtual care services, multilingual educational materials, and social services wraparound support.
To date, the priority challenges identified include food insecurity, health disparities such as health literacy and maternal and women’s health, behavioral and mental health, homelessness, access to health care, and chronic disease and diabetes management.
“The needs of communities are as diverse as the communities themselves, and in order to best impact health outcomes in communities, we are creating approaches that are rooted in data and also reflect the perspectives of the people that live and work in the community,” said Catherine Anderson, senior vice president of policy and strategy, UnitedHealthcare Community & State. “By working closely with CLPHA, FQHCs, and CBOs, UnitedHealthcare is well-positioned to bring the right partners together to align primary and behavioral health with social needs, creating initiatives that not only improve health outcomes but also provide for equitable care for all.”
UnitedHealthcare and CLPHA announced the first cohort of PHAs with planned programs addressing challenges as identified in: Akron and Columbus, Ohio; Austin and Houston, Texas; and Seattle/King County, Wash. A second cohort of public housing authorities now joining the initiative include: Atlanta Housing Authority, Detroit Housing Commission, Indianapolis Housing Authority, Memphis Housing Authority, and New Orleans Housing Authority.
“UnitedHealthcare's expansion of the Community Catalyst initiative to a second cohort of five additional housing authorities demonstrates the value of public housing authorities to reach low-income families and to provide support services to improve community and population health needs,” said Sunia Zaterman, executive director, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities. “CLPHA and our member public housing authorities are excited to work with UnitedHealthcare in this innovative and large-scale effort to bring together housing and health systems in an integrated approach.”
Additionally, UnitedHealthcare plans to launch similar initiatives partnering with FQHCs and CBOs to address community health needs in: Phoenix, Ariz.; Maui, Hawaii; Baton Rouge, La.; Montgomery County, Md.; Detroit, Mich.; Jackson and Clay counties, Mo.; Hinds, Copiah, and Warren, Miss.; Chester, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Providence and Newport, R.I.
Research shows that 80% of an individual’s health is determined by what happens outside of a doctor’s officei. There are specific local underlying causes that trend in a community and create complex health challenges and barriers for individuals and communities, such as: lack of safe and affordable housing, healthy food and financial stability. In the United States, there are more than 2 million people in public housingii. Nationwide, children in subsidized housing have the lowest rate of enrollment into kindergarteniii.
FQHCs are rooted in local communities and critical to closing access gaps. In fact, 29 million Americans receive care at a FQHC each year, including 1 in 12 people and 1 in 5 people on Medicaid. FQHCs serve approximately 23% of UnitedHealthcare Community & State members at more than 1,300 clinics across the country. They are leading the way when it comes to serving our most vulnerable populations, including serving school-based health centers, military veterans, and homeless and public housing patients.
“UnitedHealthcare has provided ongoing support to our health center so we can better serve members of our community,” said María S. Gomez, president and CEO, Mary's Center. “This initiative is an exciting next step in the journey of collaboration, bringing together the key players in the community to help bridge the gap for people with an array of social and health needs that must be met before we can see a marked improvement in the overall health of our communities.”
This Community Catalyst initiative is one part of UnitedHealthcare’s ongoing efforts to address health equity, promote positive health outcomes and expand access to all. The company is also investing in programs and partnerships focused on food, transportation and social isolation, including $80 million to fight the pandemic and support vulnerable minority populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
CLPHA is a non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis, and public education. Its membership includes 70 of the largest and most innovative public housing authorities across the country, which collectively owns and manages nearly 40 percent of the nation’s public housing stock, administers more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program, and provides a wide array of other rental assistance. CLPHA members also make vital services available to the more than one million low-income households they serve in federally-assisted housing. CLPHA believes housing authorities are foundational to improving outcomes around housing, families, individuals, and communities. Through their Housing Is Initiative, CLPHA helps build a future where sectors work together to improve life outcomes. Housing stability is a critical first step to improve life outcomes for low-income children, families, and seniors; CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that sectors can better meet needs when they work together. Housing Is establishes, broadens, and deepens efforts to align affordable housing, education, and health systems to produce positive, long-term results. Learn more at housingis.org and on Twitter @housing_is.
Contacts
Christina Witz
UnitedHealthcare
952-931-4645
Christina.witz@UHC.com
4.8.21
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
April 9, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) April 9, 2021 – The Biden Administration’s recently announced infrastructure proposal, The American Jobs Plan, includes a $40 billion commitment to recapitalize public housing infrastructure. Applying data from a report by Econsult Solutions (ESI), a private data analytics firm, CLPHA estimates that 440,000 jobs will be created and $76 billion in economic impact generated during the time when the $40 billion in funds are spent.
“Investing in public housing infrastructure offers many economic benefits beyond lifting families out of poverty and preventing homelessness,” said Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA). “The American Jobs Plan is the first to provide the size and scale of resources necessary to repair the crumbling infrastructure of public housing. In return local employers, governments, and industries will benefit from an economic activity that outpaces investment and creation of good-paying construction jobs.”
CLPHA commissioned ESI to evaluate the economic impacts of six public housing authorities (PHAs) in diverse markets across the country. Released in late 2018, “The Economic Impact of Public Housing: Ongoing Investment with Wide-Reaching Returns” found that PHAs generate and induce multiple streams of economic activity benefiting public housing residents and their local communities. For every $1 million PHAs spend on capital investments, $1.89 million in economic activity is generated and 11 full-time jobs are supported. CLPHA applied the American Jobs Plan’s $40 billion for recapitalizing public housing infrastructure with ESI’s economic impact numbers and found the American Jobs Plan will generate $76 billion in economic activity and 440,00 jobs — a nearly 2 to 1 ratio for economic impact generated to dollars spent.
“After decades of chronic underfunding and disinvestment in public housing infrastructure, the American Jobs Plan can be game changing. Local communities have an opportunity to experience the benefits of a robust public and affordable housing system,” said Zaterman. “Whether it is improving life outcomes for low-income families, creating positive impacts in surrounding neighborhoods of well-maintained public housing, expanding local and state tax bases, or spurring regional job creation and economic growth, public housing is a benefit. It is clear from the American Jobs Plan that the Biden Administration is committed to advancing public housing.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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2.9.21
Grants will help PHA residents with immediate and locally defined needs exacerbated by COVID-19
Washington, D.C. (February 9, 2021) -- The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) is pleased to announce the ten recipients of its COVID Resident Support Grants. The recipients are CLPHA member public housing authorities (PHAs) from across the country that will utilize their grants to meet immediate and locally defined needs exacerbated by COVID-19 for projects such as providing residents with essential household supplies, helping households successfully lease affordable units with their housing vouchers, and supplying technology and devices that will help resident children attend virtual school or connect resident seniors with healthcare resources. The recipients were chosen via a competitive selection process, and the robust response to CLPHA’s call for applications demonstrates the need for additional funds to support COVID-19 relief services and supplies for low-income Americans.
“As housing providers for some of the nation’s most vulnerable children, families, and seniors, our members are uniquely positioned to serve the low-income residents in their communities that are hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects,” said CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman. “We are pleased to provide these ten grants that will support PHAs in their efforts to not only keep residents stably housed, but also to provide crucial supplies and resources that will help residents cope with the new normal created by the pandemic."
The grantees are:
- INLIVIAN (Charlotte, NC)
- Elm City Communities (New Haven, CT)
- Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro (Goldsboro, NC)
- Jersey City Housing Authority (Jersey City, NJ)
- Lucas Metropolitan Housing (Toledo, OH)
- Oklahoma City Housing Authority (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Home Forward (Portland, OR)
- Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (Ventura, CA)
- Tacoma Housing Authority (Tacoma, WA)
- Wilmington Housing Authority (Wilmington, NC)
Learn more about CLPHA’s grantees and how they will use these funds to help meet the public health, education, employment, and basic urgent needs of their residents profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic here.
These ten sub-grants are made possible through CLPHA’s grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s (CDP) COVID-19 Response Fund.
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA .
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative
The Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, helps build a future where sectors work together to improve life outcomes. Housing stability is a critical first step to improve life outcomes for low-income children, families, and seniors; CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that sectors can better meet needs when they work together. Housing Is establishes, broadens, and deepens efforts to align affordable housing, education, and health systems to produce positive, long-term results. Learn more at housingis.org and on Twitter @housing_is.
About The Center for Disaster Philanthropy
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s mission is to leverage the power of philanthropy to mobilize a full range of resources that strengthen the ability of communities to withstand disasters and recover equitably when they occur. CDP manages domestic and international Disaster Funds on behalf of corporations, foundations and individuals through targeted, holistic and localized grantmaking. For more information, visit: disasterphilanthropy.org, call (202) 464-2018 or tweet us @funds4disaster.
Statements
7.30.21
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
July 30, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) July 30, 2021 – CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement upon the scheduled end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) nationwide eviction moratorium on July 31, 2021:
“While millions of low-income households are facing the threat of homelessness with the eviction moratorium scheduled to end this week, public housing authorities are committed to using every tool and resource available to keep residents safely housed. Public housing authorities understand that keeping people housed is the most cost-effective approach to prevent homelessness. Evictions are expensive, burdensome, and time consuming, and they increase turnover and vacancy costs for housing authorities. Furthermore, evictions are a soul-crushing experience that impacts every aspect of one’s life and are a significant contributor to long-term unemployment and homelessness.
“Throughout the pandemic, housing authorities have connected at-risk residents with additional support and services, including obtaining emergency rental assistance. The good news is the Treasury-administered Emergency Rental Assistance Program has increased the speed of its fund distribution. We know that more can be done to streamline access to funds by partnering with local housing authorities to help those assisted households in need.
“Congress funded emergency rental assistance programs because they are the most cost-effective measure to avoid the destructive and demoralizing process of evictions and prevent poverty. We urge the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development Departments and the White House to continue to work closely together to distribute emergency rental assistance as quickly and efficiently as possible to stem the tide of evictions.”
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6.17.21
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(Washington, D.C.) June 17, 2021 – The nation's leading advocacy organizations representing public housing authorities have come together to support universal housing vouchers. The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, the Moving to Work Collaborative, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association have released the joint letter below:
"Safe, secure, and stable housing is as essential to America’s social safety net as are Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. Housing stability is central to improving life outcomes and economic mobility for low-income Americans. However, only one in five low-income households that are eligible to receive housing assistance can be served by existing programs due to limited funding. The pandemic has reinforced that rental assistance, such as the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, is critical to ensuring housing stability and managing sudden losses in income. Just as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are structured to be available to all who are eligible, rental assistance must be too. Expansion of the voucher program offers a proven and effective approach to scale universal housing assistance to address housing instability and prevent homelessness in America.
Housing Choice Vouchers are a proven source of permanent housing stability. They are highly effective at providing long-term financial stability to formerly homeless populations and others experiencing housing instability. A recent HUD study found that offering families a permanent housing voucher resulted in greater housing and family stability compared to short-term interventions. Furthermore, a recent study from Columbia University found that expanding housing vouchers to all eligible households could help reduce poverty by 9.3 million people as well as reduce racial disparities in poverty. Vouchers are also frequently paired with supportive services to offer comprehensive assistance to individuals with complex mental and physical health conditions. Public housing authorities are uniquely positioned to aid low-income families in their challenges to regain employment and support children’s virtual learning because of their partnerships with nonprofit and government service providers that focus on education, health, and employment. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies recently reported on the critical role that service coordinators in publicly funded housing have played in providing food and supplies, assisting with technology, and combatting resident anxiety and loneliness. Housing Choice Vouchers are a proven and effective rental assistance delivery system to scale universal housing assistance because they can be quickly distributed through the existing network of 2,200 state and local housing agencies that administer vouchers in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Housing authorities are trusted experts and partners in their local rental markets, have been administering the voucher program for nearly 50 years and are accountable to local and federal oversight and operate with significant public input. With the proper funding, housing authorities have the capacity for a rapid expansion. Housing vouchers power local communities. Landlords, many of whom operate as a small business, understand that the voucher program is a guaranteed, reliable income source and provides the benefit of long-term stability. PHAs have been using the additional funding and regulatory relief provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to expedite administrative processes most often cited by landlords as reasons for preferring unassisted tenants. With this funding, PHAs have also been able to offer incentives and support to increase landlord participation in the HCV program. We must strive to be a nation that believes that all people deserve the security that comes from having a home. Housing Choice Vouchers are the path to achieving this vision." |
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5.11.21
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
May 11, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) May 11, 2021 – CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement supporting the New York City Housing Authority’s call to double the public housing infrastructure investment proposed in the American Jobs Plan to $80 billion:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities urges the Senate Majority Leader to stand firm on his call to double the public housing infrastructure investment in the American Jobs Plan to $80 billion in his meeting today with President Biden, Speaker Pelosi and GOP leadership.
“The New York City Housing Authority deserves its fair share of Senator Schumer’s request since it serves nearly double the amount of residents than any other housing authority, and its housing portfolio is among the oldest in the nation. Decades of chronic disinvestment has driven its unmet capital repairs alone to $40 billion. The $80 billion request enjoys critical support from Congresswoman Nydia Valezquez (D-NY) and the NYC-area Congressional delegation. This investment would also be a significant step to addressing racial inequity, a key priority of the Biden administration.
“As the American Jobs Plan moves through the legislative process, political leaders must guarantee that housing will remain in the infrastructure bill and that the commitment to recapitalize public housing infrastructure be doubled to $80 billion so that the needs of NYCHA and public housing portfolios across the nation are adequately met.”
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CLPHA in the News
6.9.21
CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman was quoted in BisNow’s recent article “Biden's Budget Includes 'Once in a Generation' Investment in Vouchers, Public Housing. Now Landlords Need to Get on Board,” offering CLPHA’s perspective on the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan that would allocate $30 billion the Housing Choice Voucher program and $40 billion to public housing.
“To propose this level of investment in one fell swoop, it’s extraordinary,” Zaterman told BisNow. “There’s now a strong consensus that more could have and should have been done in 2008 and 2009 for reinvestment,” she added. “This $40B [proposal] does not meet the overall need, but it is extraordinary in the level that it raises the funding from our current baseline.”
Read BisNow’s article. (requires free registration for access to the article)
5.12.21
NPR’s Pam Fessler quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman in a story about the challenges of utilizing the $5 billion in emergency housing vouchers included in the American Rescue Plan. Zaterman told Fessler that while balancing landlord, tenant and taxpayer interests has always been hard, the situation is more dire than ever in the pandemic with millions of Americans struggling with rent. “There is a need for all of our members, a crying need, for additional vouchers that are serving a wide range of populations,” Zaterman said.
Sunia Zaterman participated in a recent story on the unique opportunities presented by the new administration to address the nation’s dire affordable housing shortage as part of Fast Company’s Home Bound, a series that examines Americans’ fraught relationship with their homes.
“Our focus now is assembling the tools to give housing authorities more ability to acquire properties and to bring to neighborhoods other types of affordable housing,” Zaterman told Fast Company of CLPHA’s goals to capitalize on this inflection point in the public and affordable housing industry. She added that while the new HUD administration’s more flexible rules help housing authorities create more affordable housing in their communities, the main need facing PHAs and affordable housing providers is more money: “You may have heard this before—money is the key obstacle.”
4.16.21
This week, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman was quoted in The Washington Post's article "In George Floyd’s old neighborhood, Biden’s war on poverty faces a crucial test." The article examines the potential impacts of President Biden's American Rescue Plan on families in poverty through a focus on Houston's Cuney Homes public housing community, where George Floyd lived much of his life before his killing in police custody.
“If we don’t make a difference in individual lives, then we really haven’t done the job yet,” Zaterman said of the Biden plan's antipoverty efforts. “The folks in the community that George Floyd grew up in — that is our test of whether our models, our resources, our impact has hit our target.”
4.9.21
This morning, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal to discuss public and affordable housing issues and President Biden's proposed American Jobs Plan.
Ms. Zaterman answered questions from host Pedro Echevarria and members of the public from around the country, explaining what public housing authorities do, who they serve, and why increasing funding for public housing, vouchers, and other HUD programs is crucial to preserving affordable housing opportunities, strengthening the social safety net, and improving the life outcomes of low income Americans. She also discussed the positive impacts of the American Jobs Plan -- CLPHA estimates that 440,000 jobs will be created and $76 billion in economic impact generated during the time when the $40 billion in funds from the Plan are spent.
4.8.21
Watch CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman LIVE on C-SPAN's Washington Journal on Friday, April 9
On Friday, April 9 from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. ET, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman will appear on C-SPAN's Washington Journal to discuss President Biden's proposed American Jobs Plan, public and affordable housing, and related issues. Read Ms. Zaterman’s statement applauding President Biden’s announcement of the American Jobs Plan here.
You can watch Ms. Zaterman’s interview on the C-SPAN channel or live on C-SPAN's website and ask questions of Ms. Zaterman during the program via phone:
Outside U.S. and Text: (202) 748-8003
Republicans: (202) 748-8001
Democrats: (202) 748-8000
Independents: (202) 748-8002
Viewers can also share their thoughts and questions via email (journal@c-span.org), Twitter, Facebook and text messages (202-748-8003).
Members Making News
7.30.21
HUD recently announced $105 million in available FY21 renewal grant funds to support the salaries of Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program Coordinators who connect participating families to public and private resources to increase their earned income and financial empowerment, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and make progress toward economic independence and self-sufficiency. The FY21 FSS Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) contains important changes from prior years NOFO, as summarized below.
Public housing authorities (PHAs) that were funded in FY20, FY19 or FY18 must apply to Grants.gov for renewal funding under this NOFO by 11:59PM EST August 27, 2021. PHAs that did not meet the minimum number of participants requirement may also apply, because HUD is giving all PHAs a grace period year due to the impacts of COVID-19.
Changes from Previous NOFO
- Maximum Positions: HUD will not use 2020 PIC counts to limit PHAs Maximum Positions. Starting in this FY21 FSS Renewal NOFO, HUD is using a 3-year lookback period for determining PHAs Maximum Positions and will use the highest number of funded positions in the eligibility period, with all part-time positions above the first position rounded up to the next highest number of full-time positions.
- Funding Priority Categories:
- Category 1 will be to fund eligible PHAs the amount last awarded.
- Category 2, if applicable, will increase eligible PHAs part-time position above 1 full-time coordinator from a part-time position to a full-time position (from 1.5 to 2, 2.5 to 3 etc.), unless the PHA submits a Part-Time Loss Acknowledgement letter with this NOFO application.
- Category 3 will be to increase eligible PHA funding, up to the Maximum Award or the amount of PHA-approved Exception Request. If an eligible PHA requests an exception, the PHA should request the total funding request amount for all three categories.
- Salary Comparability Information: In previous NOFOs, applicants were asked to submit salary comparability information with their application. Under this NOFO, salary comparability information is NOT required. Instead, salary information will be taken from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) locality pay data.
- Maximum Funding per Position: The funding formula for Maximum Funding per Position has changed. If a PHA would like to be funded more than the Maximum per Position, the PHA must calculate the new Maximum per Position amount and submit an Exception Request with this NOFO application.
Additional Resources
- Details on an upcoming FY21 FSS NOFO webinar will be posted soon on HUD’s FSS webpage. Click here for more information.
- Click here to review the FY21 FSS Renewal Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
7.28.21
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Minority Health recently spotlighted the District of Columbia Housing Authority success in leveraging partners to increase vaccine uptake in its communities as part of HHS’s COVID-19 Learning Community Chat webinar series. DCHA staffers Hammere Gebreyes, Byron Pugh, Cheryl Robinson, Sheila Lewis discussed best practices delivering vaccination clinics to their residents on-site where they live. In their presentation, DCHA staff:
- Shared grassroots strategies and tactics to impact hard-to-reach communities;
- Presented challenges registering seniors on COVID-19 vaccines; and
- Shared successful outreach to stakeholders as partners—empowering them to educate seniors about COVID-19 vaccines
You can watch the webinar recording or download the recording as an .MP4 file using the link and password below through August 30.
- Recording link: https://hhs.webex.com/hhs/ldr.php?RCID=0cf03489fbe64456a198244ae32d7373
- Password: COVIDlc0720
7.28.21
From the San Antonio Heron:
Late Wednesday, the San Antonio Housing Authority board of commissioners voted Ed Hinojosa Jr., a 17-year veteran of the agency, as president and CEO following a national, six-month search. The appointment could mean a dramatic shift in what type of housing the agency invests in and champions going forward.
Since January, Hinojosa Jr. served as SAHA’s interim leader after David Nisivoccia left to lead the housing agency in Denver. Before stepping into the lead role, Hinojosa Jr. served as SAHA’s chief financial officer for 12 years.
“I am humbled by the appointment to serve SAHA,” Hinojosa, Jr. said in a press release. “I have seen the agency make positive strides in the last few years, but there is so much more work to be done. I am eager to continue the agency’s affordable housing mission that respects the families we serve and demonstrates compassion and empathy to the challenges they are facing.”
Read the San Antonio Heron’s article “Hinojosa Jr. Named President and CEO of San Antonio Housing Authority.”
7.28.21
From the El Paso Herald-Post:
El Paso’s iconic Downtown high-rise – The Blue Flame Building – will soon be re-lit under a new banner, the Housing Authority of El Paso’s HOME (Housing Opportunity Management Enterprises).
“The Grand Opening and lighting of the historic 66-year-old Blue Flame Building… symbolizes the rebirth and reimagining of public housing in El Paso as we know it,” HACEP officials shared.
“It also proudly symbolizes the reintroduction of the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) under its new name, HOME – Housing Opportunity Management Enterprises."
The iconic skyscraper, located at 304 Texas Avenue, will be the site of a Grand Opening Ceremony Tuesday, July 27, 2021, including comments from HOME CEO Gerald Cichon, Mayor Oscar Leeser, Franklin Mountain Investments CEO Paul Foster and other distinguished El Pasoans.
The ceremony will begin a countdown to the re-lighting of the building’s iconic 21-foot plexiglass and steel Blue Flame, for which the building is named, later that evening.
“The historic designation of the Blue Flame Building at both the state and national level is a major win for El Paso,” states HOME Chief Executive Officer Gerald Cichon.
Read the El Paso Herald-Post's article "Iconic Blue Flame Building set to reignite Downtown skyline," featuring HOME (the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso).
7.28.21
From CBS 2 Pittsburgh:
Former Steelers’ Super Bowl champion Jerome Bettis is hoping to “WOW” Pittsburgh with a brand new project.
His foundation, “The Bus Stops Here” is teaming up with the housing authority and Stem Coding Lab for the “WiFi On Wheels” cyber bus.
It’s a mobile computer lab with 10-15 laptops, internet access, and a flat-screen monitor for remote learning.
Bettis says this will be a difference-maker for children and families in Pittsburgh.
“Our mission has always been to bridge a digital divide for the less fortunate inner-city youth in Pittsburgh and in the Pittsburgh area, and the cyber bus is the next step in the journey to complete this mission,” Bettis said.
Read CBS 2 Pittsburgh's article "Jerome Bettis’s ‘The Bus Stops Here’ Foundation Bringing WiFi On Wheels Bus To Pittsburgh," featuring the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh.