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
(202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
*Please let us know if you are working on deadline.
To view all of CLPHA's press releases, click here.
To view all of CLPHA's press statements, click here.
You can subscribe here to our biweekly newsletter, events invite list, and topic specific newsletters. You can also follow us on Twitter at @CLPHA. Or, send us an email with your interests and we would be happy to add you to our press lists.
Thanks again for your interest in CLPHA!
New Funds Will Develop and Sustain Public Housing Authority Initiatives to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Low-Income Households
WASHINGTON (November 25, 2019) – The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, a housing advocacy organization and leader in efforts to improve life outcomes for low-income individuals and families, announced today that it has been awarded $300,000 from The Kresge Foundation to deepen connections between public housing authorities and their postsecondary education partners.
The three-year grant enables CLPHA to build on work that began last year, in partnership with The Kresge Foundation, to convene cross-sector housing and education partners who are collaborating to improve postsecondary achievement for students served by public housing authorities, including residents and housing insecure college students.
“Last year we showcased how these two sectors are working together to improve educational outcomes for low-income households. With generous funding from The Kresge Foundation, we will help more cross-sector partners develop and sustain their work,” said CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman. “As a national organization representing 70 of the largest public housing authorities in the country, CLPHA is well-positioned to identify promising innovations and facilitate peer-learning among those doing the work with the goal to scale successful initiatives that can be replicated nationally. We are very grateful to The Kresge Foundation for its multi-year support of our work.”
With the funds, CLPHA, through its Housing Is Initiative, will establish a leadership institute for a cohort of public housing authority staff and their partners who demonstrate the experience and capacity for postsecondary collaboration. In addition to virtual meetings aimed at institutionalizing their cross-sector work, members of the cohort will travel for in-person site visits to learn about the different projects in the field.
“By supporting stronger partnerships between housing authorities and postsecondary stakeholders, CLPHA’s leadership institute will help increase college access and success for both public housing residents who have postsecondary aspirations but need support to realize their dreams, and current college students, whose housing insecurity threatens to derail their educational progress," said Bethany Miller, program officer with the Kresge Education Program.
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 Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grant, loan, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change. For more information visit kresge.org.
###
For Immediate Release: July 2, 2019
CLPHA, Housing Experts Discuss Potential Dangers of HUD’s Proposed Housing Assistance Family Rule
A recording of the call is available HERE.
Washington, DC - Earlier today, immigration and housing experts gathered to address concerns regarding a recently proposed rule by the Trump administration that cruelly targets immigrant families to prevent them from receiving federal housing assistance. Experts discussed how the rule, which would affect about 25,000 households, would cruelly impact families of mixed-status.
The rule, the experts noted, would force families apart as they struggled to keep their current housing threatening many with homelessness, including the 55,000 children who are either U.S. citizens or otherwise eligible for housing benefits and who would be separated from their families
Below are quotes from today’s speakers.
Doug Guthrie, President and CEO, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, said, “If this proposed rule change were to go through it would be devastating for Los Angeles families with mixed immigration status. It would impact as many as 11,600 individuals in assisted housing the majority of whom are young children who are American citizens and it would cost the housing authority millions of dollars. This would likely result in thousands of people becoming homeless at a time when homelessness is already a crisis in Los Angeles.”
Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, noted, “HUD’s proposal would force mixed status families to decide between a roof for some, or homelessness for all. This is antithetical to the mission of public housing, which is to provide safe, affordable housing to very low-income families. Instead, this proposal would exacerbate crisis levels of homelessness, divert scarce resources from already underfunded public housing authorities, and instill fear and distrust while doing nothing to make our communities safer or better off.”
Diane Yentel, President and CEO, National Low Income Housing Coalition, added, “The cruelty of Secretary Carson’s proposal is breathtaking, and the harm it would inflict on children, families and communities is severe,” said National Low Income Housing Coalition President and CEO Diane Yentel. “Tens of thousands of deeply poor kids, mostly US citizens, could be evicted and made homeless by this proposal, and – by HUD’s own admission – there would be zero benefit to families on waiting lists. This proposal is another in a long line of attempts by the administration to instill fear in immigrants throughout the country. We will not stand for it.”
Arianna Cook-Thajudeen, Bank of America Legal Fellow, National Housing Law Project, said, “The National Housing Law Project opposes this proposed rule because it would have a detrimental impact on the housing stability of millions of families. The federal housing programs in particular serve as a lifeline for many families who are one step away from homelessness. What the Administration is doing is through this proposal is ruthless and reckless. We urge everyone to submit comments to HUD to oppose this rule by July 9th.”
Tory Gunsolley, President and CEO, Houston Housing Authority, remarked, “The current system works. Undocumented occupants are not receiving federal subsidies. The proposed regulations, on the other hand, would cause a needless increase in homelessness and cost the federal government more money. The proposed regulation would force HHA to be an extension of immigration enforcement, a role that does align with our mission to provide safe, affordable housing. It simply doesn't make sense to implement.”
###
The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.
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 and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
Public Housing Authorities, Community Colleges, College Access Partners Collaborate to Eliminate Barriers to Postsecondary Success
New Report and Recommendations from the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities Highlight Innovative Cross-Sector Collaborations to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Public Housing Residents and Housing-Insecure Students
Featuring Partnerships in Chicago, Columbus, Los Angeles, Louisville, Tacoma
WASHINGTON (May 16, 2019) – A new report released today from the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA), with support from The Kresge Foundation, showcases the work of five pioneering public housing authorities (PHAs) that are successfully collaborating with postsecondary institutions and local nonprofit organizations to increase college access, retention, and graduation rates for current public housing residents and college students who are experiencing homelessness. “Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success: Cross-Sector Collaborations to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Students Served by Public Housing Authorities,” identifies key elements of effective cross-sector collaborations and offers a series of recommendations to policy makers, PHAs, and philanthropic foundations seeking to scale, replicate, and invest in partnerships between housing and education organizations.
“The trailblazing public housing authorities featured in our new report, along with their postsecondary partners, are redefining the traditional role of public housing in their communities to reach beyond four walls and a roof,” said CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman. “With combined expertise from the housing and education sectors, two profoundly siloed systems, the partners are breaking new ground to implement targeted interventions that would not be possible without cross-sector collaboration. By documenting the successes, challenges, and future plans of the five partnerships, “Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success” is an instruction guide to practitioners, policy makers, and philanthropy seeking new cross-sector solutions to serve low-income families.”
The report elevates 11 findings from a November 2018 convening in Washington, D.C., where partners from the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), City Colleges of Chicago, and One Million Degrees, and the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) and Tacoma Community College discussed their work to provide financial support and housing opportunities for residents and housing insecure college students; the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) and partner Southern California College Access Network (SoCal CAN) detailed their program to facilitate the college application and enrollment process among young residents, and the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and partner Columbus State Community College, and the Louisville Metropolitan Housing Authority (LMHA) with partner Family Scholar House explained their dual generation approaches to ensuring young parents can graduate with a degree.
“Housing insecurity and homelessness can create tragic off-campus barriers to student persistence and success,” said Bethany Miller, program officer with the Kresge Foundation’s Education Program. “But solutions-driven partnerships, including those highlighted in CLPHA’s recent analysis, between postsecondary institutions, government agencies and departments, nonprofit social service providers and public housing authorities can tear down those barriers, ease the anxiety of housing insecurity and help more students persist and succeed in college. We support this work because increased educational attainment among students with limited means is the key to breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty and increasing socioeconomic mobility.”
To announce the release of “Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success: Cross-Sector Collaborations to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Students Served by Public Housing Authorities,” CLPHA will host a press conference TODAY, May 16, 2019 at 2:30 PM ET during CLPHA's annual Housing Is Summit in Washington, D.C., a two-day meeting devoted to developing and sustaining cross-sector partnerships. The brief press conference will be followed immediately by an on-the-record panel discussion featuring executives engaging in postsecondary partnerships. See below for more details about the press conference and panel, which will both be webcast live at http://bit.ly/2URfFlK.
“Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success” also includes an overview of the federal policies that support and limit postsecondary achievement for students served by PHAs, and profiles of the five partnerships.
Chicago Housing Authority, City Colleges of Chicago, One Million Degrees
“The Chicago Housing Authority is proud to support thousands of residents through CHA scholarships and the Partners in Education program with City Colleges of Chicago,” said Cassie Brooks, assistant director of education for CHA. “In pairing grant aid with individual counseling and holistic student supports from One Million Degrees, we continue toward the goals of increased academic achievement and, ultimately, self-sufficiency. We thank the Kresge Foundation and CLPHA for collaborating with public housing agencies, highlighting resident successes and bringing resident post-secondary programs to the forefront.”
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Southern California College Access Network
“The increasing complex college-going process requires students and families today to be well versed in the academic requirements, financial options, and application procedures,” said Alison De Lucca, executive director of the Southern California College Access Network. “The Southern California College Access Network is deeply grateful for the partnership we’ve forged with the Housing Authority for the City of Los Angeles to provide one-on-one college advising at the housing sites. For our students, the pathway starts with a conversation, followed by consistent guidance from a skilled college access counselor. As students are admitted to college with solid financial aid packages and the support they need to succeed, a strong message is being sent to all residents that college and career aspirations are within reach. This cross-sector collaboration demonstrates the readiness and need for continued college access support in place-based settings.”
Louisville Metro Housing Authority, Family Scholar House
"The long-standing partnership Louisville Metro Housing Authority has with Family Scholar House has helped hundreds of parents provide a better life and future for their children,” said LMHA Executive Director Lisa Osanka. “More importantly, this partnership is helping to break the generational cycle of poverty and ensuring that more Louisvillians are able to participate in the economic opportunities that exists throughout our community."
“The partnership between Family Scholar House and Louisville Metro Housing Authority has helped make real the dreams of families who have been in need of the stability that is rooted in safe, affordable housing. For our single parents, pursuing dreams of college graduation and new careers begins with a place for them and their children to call home,” said Cathe Dykstra, president and chief executive officer of Family Scholar House. Stronger and more stable families mean stronger and more stable communities.”
Tacoma Housing Authority, Tacoma Community College
“THA’s partnerships with Tacoma Community College and the University of Washington-Tacoma to house homeless or near homeless students is an excellent investment,” said Michael Mirra, executive director of the Tacoma Housing Authority. These students are determined, but without housing their prospects are poor. The degree they seek is a key to their adult prosperity. And since most of them are parents, this is also an investment in the lives and prospects of their children. That makes these partnerships a very good use of scarce housing dollars.”
What: Press Conference and Panel Discussion Announcing CLPHA’s New Report
“Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success: Cross-Sector Collaborations to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Students Served by Public Housing Authorities”
When: TODAY, May 16, 2019, 2:30 PM ET
Who: CLPHA, The Kresge Foundation, Postsecondary Partners
Press Conference Speakers
Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
Bethany Miller, Education Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation
Michael Mirra, Executive Director, Tacoma Housing Authority
Alison De Lucca, Executive Director, Southern California College Access Network
Additional Panelists
Jennifer Thomas Arthurs, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles
Cassie Brooks, Assistant Director of Education, Chicago Housing Authority
Erica Walker, Director of Student Development Projects, City Colleges of Chicago
Where: CLPHA's Housing Is Summit
1616 Rhode Island Ave, NW
2nd Floor, Room B
Washington, DC 20009
Webcast Link: http://bit.ly/2URfFlK
RSVP: Jenny Werwa, jwerwa@clpha.org
MEDIA CONTACTS:
CLPHA: Jenny Werwa, jwerwa@clpha.org, 202-638-1300x120 / 301-641-5557
Kresge: Kelly Leon, ksleon@kresge.org, 248-643-9630
CHA: Molly Sullivan, MSullivan@thecha.org, 312-786-3344
Family Scholar House: Cathe Dykstra, dykstra@familyscholarhouse.org
LMHA: Christi Lanier-Robinson, clrobinson@lmha1.org, 502-609-9141
SoCal CAN: Alison De Lucca, alison@socalcollegeaccess.org, 818-742-5583
THA: Brandon Wirth, bwirth@tacomahousing.org, 253-448-2790
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 and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative to better insect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
###
|
(Washington, D.C.) October 1, 2021 -- Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement urging Congress not to cut proposed funding for public housing and rental assistance in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill:
“The transformational Build Back Better Act, proposed by President Biden and currently moving through Congress, will significantly expand the nation’s social safety net by providing safe, quality, and affordable housing to millions of low-income and marginalized families. The $90 billion in expanded rental assistance, $80 billion to preserve public housing, and $37 billion investment in the national Housing Trust Fund that passed the House Financial Services Committee in mid-September represents a significant step forward in federal funding for public and affordable housing. These funding levels are appropriate and justified as they finally make up for generations of chronic neglect and underfunding. For this reason, as negotiations about the size of the reconciliation bill move forward, CLPHA urges Congress to retain the funding levels for expanding rental assistance, preserving public housing, and investing in the nation’s Housing Trust Fund.
“Public and affordable housing has suffered under persistent disinvestment for decades. This has left public housing authorities unable to complete capital improvements, which has helped contribute to the loss of 400,000 affordable homes since 1990. Currently only 1 out of every 4 families who are eligible to receive a Housing Choice Voucher are able to access the program because of a lack of funding. This inadequacy of federal resources not only perpetuates the cycle of poverty, but also costs the American economy about $2 trillion every year in lower wages and productivity because of a shortage of affordable housing in major metropolitan areas.
“CLPHA thanks Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, and Senate Housing, Banking, and Urban Chair Sherrod Brown for championing housing throughout their careers and during the negotiations over the Build Back Better reconciliation process. Now Congress must commit to fully funding public and affordable housing at the levels in the House Financial Services Committee bill.”
|
||
|
(202) 550-1381
|
||
|
|
||
|
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
||
|
(Washington, D.C.) September 14, 2021 -- Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement supporting President Biden’s nomination of Arthur Jemison to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): “The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) congratulates Arthur Jemison on his nomination to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Jemison brings deep experience to the assistant secretary position in community development and public housing, including experience with the Boston Housing Authority, a CLPHA member.
We look forward to working with Mr. Jemison to ensure that the vision of President Biden and Secretary Fudge for improving public housing through recapitalizing the public housing portfolio, expanding the Housing Choice Voucher program, addressing systemic racism, and empowering cross-sector partnerships to improve the outcomes for low-income families becomes a reality. CLPHA will strongly support Mr. Jemison throughout the confirmation process.”
Media Contact: David Greer, CLPHA; dgreer@clpha.org, (202) 550-1381 |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
||
|
CLPHA Working with Biden Administration to Speed ERA Fund Distribution (Washington, D.C.) August 27, 2021 -- Statement from CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman on the Supreme Court's blocking of the CDC's eviction moratorium:
“As mission driven organizations public housing authorities believe that keeping residents housed is the most effective policy for the families, communities, and public health safety. Housing authorities continue to take a multitude of steps to keep their residents housed, including connecting residents with legal and relief resources, streamlining the income recertification process, operating rent relief programs, creating partnerships with community service organizations, and so much more. “The most effective lifeline available to tenants and landlords are the significant funds in the Emergency Rental Assistance Program that Congress passed in two tranches late last year and in the first quarter of 2021. CLPHA is working closely with the Biden administration by providing recommendations that will expedite emergency rental assistance as swiftly as possible.” |
|
||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
||
|
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
||
In Affordable Housing Finance's article "Turning Point for Public Housing," CLPHA' Executive Director Sunia Zaterman says of the massive capital needs backlog facing public housing authorities that “[t]he handwriting has been on the wall. The funding levels were not sustainable."
Zaterman adds, "We have lost about 10,000 units a year from underfunding," but that "[t]he number of public housing units lost may have slowed to about 8,000 a year, thanks to RAD, in the last couple of years.”
With RAD, says Zaterman, “[w]e have achieved proof of concept,... We could have the portfolio totally recapitalized in 10 years.”
Read Affordable Housing Finance's article here.
Vancouver, WA newspaper The Columbian quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman about the disastrous effect President Trump's budget proposal would have on pubic and affordable housing in their article "Trump’s budget would cut social safety nets:"
"The administration wants us to think beyond investing in bricks and mortar, and instead think about investing in people. This budget does neither of those things. The disinvestment in housing and supportive services is a disinvestment in our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including the 2.2 million low- and very low-income families, children, elderly and persons with disabilities who are served by public housing. Congress has previously rejected draconian budgets that shred our safety net, and we call on them to do so again."
Vancouver Housing Authority (VHA) Executive Director Roy Johnson, who contributed comment for the story, explained how Trump's proposed budget would negatively impact the individuals and families served by VHA. Johnson told the paper that losing public housing funding would result in 114 planned units losing subsidy, including Caples Terrace, an under-construction project in Vancouver for homeless youth and youth aging out of foster care slated to open in July, and two other public housing projects the housing authority hopes to start at the end of 2019.
Read Zaterman's full statement on Trump's proposed 2020 budget
Scotsman Guide, a resource for mortgage originators, quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman about how President Donald Trump's proposed FY 2020 budget will affect affordable housing in their article "2020 budget: How does it affect the mortgage industry?":
“The administration wants us to think beyond investing in bricks and mortar, and instead think about investing in people. This budget does neither of those things,” said Sunia Zaterman..."The disinvestment in housing and supportive services is a disinvestment in our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including the 2.2 million low- and very low-income families, children, elderly and persons with disabilities who are served by public housing."
Read Zaterman's full statement on Trump's proposed 2020 budget
In yesterday's article "Trust in Public Housing at Stake Over Looming Government Shutdown," YES! Magazine quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman and CLPHA members Kurt Wiest, Bremerton Housing Authority Executive Director, and Mark Gillett, Oklahoma City Housing Authority Executive Director, on how another government shutdown could continue to sow mistrust in public housing authorities (PHAs) and HUD.
Zaterman, who noted that landlords could shy away from participating in voucher programs if there is concern that PHAs will not pay them, asked, “Just the prospect of payments not being made will have a very disruptive impact—will the federal government contract be honored?”
Wiest stressed the importance of PHAs maintaining a good rapport with landlords. “We work really, really hard to have good relationships with local landlords. And if there’s the slightest hint that they won’t get their subsidy payments as promised, it erodes trust,” said Wiest. “And this program operates on trust.”
Gillett added that if PHAs cannot pay their landlords, there could be dire consequences for tenants. “There is a provision in the law saying if a housing assistance payment isn’t paid, it shouldn’t be grounds for eviction,” Gillett said. “But it’s never been tested.”
On January 31, HUD, the City of New York, and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced an agreement to address longstanding issues at the housing authority’s properties. The agreement establishes specific requirements and milestones for property improvements and establishes a federal monitor who will be selected by HUD and the Southern District of New York, with input from the city.
On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio appointed Kathryn Garcia, the city’s sanitation commissioner, to succeed Stanley Brezenoff as interim chair until a permanent head of the authority is selected.
Brezenoff, who also serves on CLPHA’s Board of Directors, called the job as NYCHA’s interim chair and CEO, “one of the toughest and most rewarding jobs in America.” In Tuesday’s press release announcing his successor, Brezenoff said, “I will leave this interim role knowing that we are putting NYCHA in very capable hands. I am confident that Commissioner Garcia is the right person to continue our efforts to improve the quality of lives for residents, and preserve public housing for generations to come.”
From the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's website:
In 2023, MPHA started a partnership with Twin Cities R!SE (TCR) to connect MPHA families with career development resources to help residents gain meaningful employment and/or advance in their career, building on MPHA’s successful family housing program. Through this partnership, residents, like Latendra Prince and Audrey Reed, are gaining new skills and reaching their career goals.
MPHA and TCR have made it easy for residents to learn about and sign up for the program. After a family has lived with MPHA for a month, agency staff connect with them to provide information about the new, voluntary TCR programming. When residents express interest, MPHA staff connect them with TCR to get enrolled in their career training program. The TCR program consists of an initial 8-week training course covering both career skills training and personal empowerment, ongoing one-to-one support on applications and interviewing while searching for a job, followed by lifelong access to resources and support through their Career Club.
From the Housing Authority of Kansas City, MO's press release:
The Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri announced that it named Ms. Nona Eath as its new Executive Director effective March 17, 2025.
Ms. Eath was selected after an extensive national search. Ms. Eath is currently the Senior Vice-President for Property Management Operations for the District of Columbia Housing Authority in Washington, DC. Ms. Eath has over 14 years of executive management experience having work at five other housing authorities including DCHA. Ms. Eath earned a Master of Business Administration in Management degree from Amberton University in Garland, TX and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Strategic Management degree from University of North Texas in Denton, TX.
“I am excited to be selected as the new Executive Director for the Housing Authority of Kansas City, MO (HAKC). My excitement stems from a commitment and the opportunity to serve the families of HAKC. In addition, I believe in a willingness to develop and maintain strong partnerships with the Board of Commissioners, City of Kansas City, MO, community partners and other stakeholders. I am anxious to lead a strong team of professionals with a dedication to serve the Families of HAKC.” Ms. Eath said.
Ms. Eath will succeed Mr. Edwin Lowndes who is retiring after over 29 years at the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri including the last 24 years as the Authority’s Executive Director.
Deth Im, Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners for the Housing Authority said that Ms. Eath was selected because “she has the experience and credentials needed to lead the Authority at a time when affordable housing is such a critical part of our community. Her knowledge of affordable housing is critical to the Authority in providing affordable housing to very low-income families in Kansas City.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said "I am pleased to welcome Ms. Eath to Kansas City and our community and appreciate her commitment to supporting our ambitious goal of creating 10,000 new affordable homes for Kansas Citians by 2027. Kansas City continues to be a place where all can live, thrive, and build a family. We will continue to hold the Housing Authority to high standards in ensuring all who need access to housing vouchers can utilize this tool to ensure they have a safe, affordable place to call home."
The Housing Authority provides public housing to over 1,700 families and provides housing assistance to over 7,500 families through the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Funding for both the public housing program and the Voucher program are provided by the Federal government through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
From News on 6 Oklahoma City:
"Plans to decrease homelessness with new housing are underway as the Oklahoma City Housing Authority (OCHA) works to close the affordable housing gap many people face.
OCHA recently received more than 10 million dollars from The Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS 4). This money is just one part of five allocations over an eight to 10-year period going toward different housing projects throughout Oklahoma City.
One of many projects in the works is the revamp of an empty motel on East Reno Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue.
The plan is to revamp it into affordable housing.
“One of the things that we really believe in is that it's not just one part of the city or one neighborhood that needs to be at the forefront of affordable housing development or trying to end homelessness, that really all neighborhoods should be a part of the solution,” said Gregory Shinn, Assistant Executive Director of Development and Revitalization for OCHA."
Read News on 6's article "Oklahoma City Housing Authority taking the lead on the fight against homelessness."
From News on 6 Oklahoma City:
"Plans to decrease homelessness with new housing are underway as the Oklahoma City Housing Authority (OCHA) works to close the affordable housing gap many people face.
OCHA recently received more than 10 million dollars from The Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS 4). This money is just one part of five allocations over an eight to 10-year period going toward different housing projects throughout Oklahoma City.
One of many projects in the works is the revamp of an empty motel on East Reno Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue.
The plan is to revamp it into affordable housing.
“One of the things that we really believe in is that it's not just one part of the city or one neighborhood that needs to be at the forefront of affordable housing development or trying to end homelessness, that really all neighborhoods should be a part of the solution,” said Gregory Shinn, Assistant Executive Director of Development and Revitalization for OCHA."
Read News on 6's article "Oklahoma City Housing Authority taking the lead on the fight against homelessness."
From CBS News Sacramento:
"Seven families are settling into their new homes in Oak Park after months of hard work thanks to a unique partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
"Every day we have somewhere to go home that feels good," said Phuong Ngo, a first-time homeowner.
Saturday's event celebrates a 10-home revitalization project in Oak Park aiming to help families get ahead by achieving their dream of homeownership.
"One of the things we heard today, were kids saying they never had a backyard. Well, now they have somewhere to go outside and play," said LaShelle Dozier with the Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency.
These families didn't just move in, they put in over 500 hours of work helping build the homes they now own.
In partnership with Habitat for Humanity, they're starting off with a 30-year zero-percent interest mortgage with the goal of stability and new opportunities."
Read CBS News Sacramento's article "Families settle into new Oak Park homes thanks to partnership with Habitat for Humanity."