"Hats" off to These Folks

MaryAnn Russ, DHA President
and CEO, and MDHA Board Member

Yesterday, I attended the 2014 HATS: Housing Authorities of Texas Symposium held by MDHA Corporate Champion, Strasburger & Price.
The sessions were very informative. It was fascinating to see how many areas of extremely specialized knowledge exist in the area of housing. It was a great opportunity to educate folks about our own specialized area of expertise.

The session led by MDHA's board member and President and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, MaryAnn Russ, was of particular interest. She spoke on "The Power of Public Housing Authorities: How to Address Homelessness in Your Community". As a reader of this blog you already know how instrumental DHA has been in alleviating homelessness in our community.

It was great to see MaryAnn educate folks from other housing authorities on how they can follow DHA’s example. Strasburger made a $100 donation in MaryAnn's honor too! (Stay tuned for another blog post soon with MaryAnn’s tips for housing authorities on how they can help those experiencing homelessness.)

It was also great to hear first-hand from one of the speakers, Matt Marchant, how he and fellow Strasburger attorney, Monica Velasquez, won a motion in court this last Friday, on behalf of City House, in the lawsuit brought against them by a Frisco based HOA. It was an honor to meet both of these folks, who are helping the “good guys.”

The keynote was given by Vanessa Sarria, Executive Director of the Austin-based Community Advancement Network (CAN). Her address, "Our Communities are Changing. Are We?" was not only eye-opening about upward mobility or lack thereof in our communities, but also included important calls for action in this area. Like MDHA, the focus of her organization, is to encourage and spearhead systemic solutions to community challenges.

So, Why Again Should I Give to MDHA on North Texas Giving Day?

Well, by law the only way our community can continue to get almost $17,000,000 of federal funding for housing programs for those experiencing homelessness, is if MDHA continues to exist, nay thrive. And, the federal government foots that very large $17,000,000 bill for those housing programs, but expects the community (that’s you and me!) to fund the much smaller cost of mechanism for getting it, MDHA. Beyond that, just look at what MDHA has accomplished with its partners, a 65% reduction in chronic homelessness, a 1200% increase in permanent supportive housing (PSH - 2000 units now!), and a public investment by DHA in housing 3400 formerly homeless individuals and families at an annual value of $28,000,000, and much much more. And, you know what? You ain’t seen nothing yet. We will add another 1800 units of PSH, and we will end chronic homelessness by the end of 2016; you just wait and see. That is why you should give to MDHA.

Just click here on September 18, 2014: https://northtexasgivingday.org/#npo/metro-dallas-homeless-alliance

or here the other 364 days of the year:
http://www.mdhadallas.org/donate/

76 Fewer Homeless Veterans in Dallas!

Paula Maroney –
 
DHA and the VA issued VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) vouchers to 76 homeless veterans yesterday! Thanks to the Veterans Resource Center for staying open after normal business hours to accommodate the number who attended the event. Plans are to repeat the event on September 18 in order to reach the goal of issuing 100 vouchers this month. Also, a big thanks goes to CitySquare for providing lunch yesterday to the veterans waiting to meet with case workers. This is an example of the Continuum of Care working together to end veterans’ homelessness in 2015!

DHA and the VA Partner to House Vets Experiencing Homelessness

Paula Maroney, Director of Continuum of Care –

Today the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) along with the Veterans Affairs (VA) North Texas Health Care System is hosting an event at the Veterans Resource Center with the goal of housing 100 veterans experiencing homelessness. Early today the waiting room was filled with veterans waiting to meet with VA social workers and have their applications quickly processed by DHA. It is encouraging to see two great organizations working together to help end veterans’ homelessness by the end of 2015.