"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.

How About You Pick on Someone Your Own Size?!

Remember when you were a kid, and a bully picked on a kid much younger than him? You probably said in an indignant voice, "Hey! How about you pick on someone your own size?" That is what I (David Gruber) want to say to a few of my fellow Frisco residents in this infuriating story from the Dallas Morning News about a homeowners association in Frisco suing our partner, City House: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/frisco/headlines/20140905-suit-seeks-to-block-homeless-youths-from-frisco-neighborhood.ece

One of the wonderful programs City House has is a housing programs for teens and young adults, experiencing homelessness. These single gender groups live together, learn valuable life skills, and learn or work in the community, all under the supervision of a trained adult, who lives with them. They have been running this program in Plano, with nary a negative comment, for years now.

They identified a need for this program in Frisco too, and have already put in a lot of time and money into opening such a home in Frisco for young women. Now, instead of moving the young women into the home, they must contend with a lawsuit from the homeowners association, where the home is located, who seek to block them from moving the young women in. Fortunately, MDHA Corporate Champion, Strasburger & Price, has stepped up to the plate, and is representing them. We, at MDHA, wish City House and Strasburger & Price the best of luck in defeating this lawsuit.