7/17/2012

Having joined the state-run Keep Your Home California program, the Fresno Housing Authority (FHA) will offer mortgage counseling to help low- and moderate-income homeowners remain in their homes. FHA counselors “will answer questions, determine initial eligibility, [and] help with the application process.”

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the New York Police Department are holding training sessions across the city for NYCHA Resident Watch volunteers to learn how to observe a crime scene, interact with victims, and diffuse volatile situations.

In an expansion of its Neighborhood Network Program which aims to promote economic self-sufficiency, the Houston Housing Authority has partnered with Houston Community College to offer public housing residents free post-secondary training, including adult literacy classes, ESL and career readiness and placement classes.

The San Francisco Housing Authority is teaming up with the Department of Public Works to offer on-the-job training for public housing residents, giving them the chance to make a difference while making money. This pre-apprentice program is the first of its kind in the community and aims to enable participants to secure employment as union laborers or gardeners after graduating.

The popularity of City Harvest’s Brooklyn Mobile Market has prompted a move to a larger space in the parking lot of NYCHA’s Tompkins Houses. City Harvest has been giving away fresh fruit and vegetables to NYCHA residents and community members since 1982.

The Denver Housing Authority is partnering with the Colorado Renewable Energy Society and Urban Farmers Collaborative to transform an entire city block into Denver’s Sustainability Park, which will serve as “a blueprint for healthy communities and sustainable development.”

The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee is reducing flooding and pollution of Lincoln Creek and Lake Michigan by incorporating new storm-water controls called bio swales into the transformation of its Westlawn community.

By rebuilding and enlarging the existing clubhouses at their Spiritwood Manor and Hidden Village communities, the King County Housing Authority is significantly expanding its partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue to offer more programs that help low-income children succeed in school. The redeveloped facilities will include classrooms, multipurpose activity rooms, computer labs, and art rooms.

The Long Branch Housing Authority and executive director Tyrone Garrett have been called in by HUD to provide the oversight and training needed to set nearby Asbury Park Housing Authority back on track.

The latest issue of HACLA Voice highlights recent accomplishments and news from the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, such as designation of its Section 8 Program as a “High” Performer and the opening of a library for low-income youth.

In late June, the Long Branch Housing Authority hosted an event to celebrate the accomplishments of the HUD-VASH program in New Jersey. More than 300 successful participants were honored at the ceremony, and these veterans had an opportunity to meet representatives from partnering agencies, which included the Housing Authorities of Camden, Jersey City, Long Branch, New Brunswick, and Paterson.