The LHA is pleased to announce that the agency has been designated a High Performer by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for 2018. The Section 8 Management Assessment Program is designed to evaluate the Authority annually on the critical administrative functions of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.  The agency received a 97% score, which is on par with last year’s score.

Performance measures evaluated by HUD include waiting list selection procedures, rent, quality control and inspections, annual examinations, leasing, and family self-sufficiency programs, among others.

This score is a testament to the dedication and collaborative efforts of the agency’s employees, who strive for excellence daily to provide efficient, quality, housing and supportive services for our residents.

The timing of this announcement could not be any more perfect, as the agency will embark on a retreat this week entitled “Building Success.” “Building Success” will be an ongoing,  group effort to address critical areas of operation including: customer service, data-driven decision-making, and service delivery, to better equip the agency to adapt to the housing challenges of the future.

Click here to view the full scorecard.

Barbara Bond, resident of North Common Village from 1944-1948, took a tour of her childhood home yesterday. Barbara spent the morning walking the common, sharing stories, and pointing out defining features, including the smoke stack and boiler room, which always fascinated her and her siblings as children. She was also able to visit the very apartment she lived in, sitting on the window sill where she used to look out to the street. The apartment is currently being prepared for a new resident, but yesterday it was the perfect place to reminisce.

Barbara was interviewed during her visit for a visual historical exhibit to be showcased at the Mercier Center at a future date. The visual exhibit will be an LHA video featuring the stories of residents throughout the decades to build a deeper connection between our past and present. The exhibit will be accompanied by a history of the LHA throughout the years, LHA artifacts, and noteworthy biographies.  A soft public unveiling is anticipated for this ongoing, living history sometime this spring.

Thank you Barbara for sharing your story!

Are you a former resident of Lowell Housing Authority interested in telling your story?  Contact Andrew Rocha, at [email protected] or call 978-364-5311.

The LHA kicked off the agency’s next 5-Year planning process this month with a different approach to considering the future. In the spirit of embracing the values of the agency which focus on data driven decision-making and collaborative approaches to operational management, the LHA sought input from staff through a formal survey to evaluate important topics for future discussion. Select staff representing all departments of the agency will be attending a retreat entitled “Building Success,” which will help the agency formalize plans to keep the agency moving forward in evaluating programs and services and tackling the critical challenges of future.

The retreat group met for the first time last Friday evening to “think differently” about the way our team thinks.  The group was exposed to the theory of the Herrmann Brain, which helps to explain why people think differently, and evidence suggests helps build stronger, more productive working teams. Each staff member was asked to self-identify how they believe they think according to 4 colors and corresponding characteristics. While all staff make decisions based on all 4 colors at some point, the agency learned that each staff has a dominant color. This theoretical approach to planning was the perfect beginning to the full retreat to be held in February, which will ground future agency changes in evidence-based practices.

Learn more about the Herrmann Brain here.

Lowell Housing Authority Commissioner, Vanna Howard, recently left her position as a Board member of the Lowell Community Health Center, and will now be employed as the  Center’s new communications director for the Advancement Department. Prior to this new role, Howard  also served as a constituent service representative for outgoing State Representative Niki Tsongas, where she was a strong advocate for the Asian-American community in Lowell, and the Massachusetts’ 3rd District.

Howard possesses experience in nonprofit community outreach, public relations, event planning, and fundraising. Commissioner Howard  also serves  on a number of Boards and commissions, including the Asian American Commission, Acre Family Child Care, Mill City Grows, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell, and Ironstone Farm.    Congratulations Vanna on this exciting opportunity! We wish you the best of luck in your new role.

Dear Friends,

As the LHA approaches the end of another year of providing affordable housing and supportive services for our residents, we have taken the time to reflect upon our efforts in 2018.  This year, the agency focused on a number of initiatives designed to strengthen our team, expand housing choice, rebrand the agency, and engage our residents. We would like to take the opportunity to share our work with you as we look forward to another year.

In 2018, the agency upheld a commitment through a Board resolution to conduct more effective outreach in the Acre neighborhood in fostering employment opportunities for residents. The agency hired three residents from the Acre, along with three additional maintenance employees to further the LHA’s commitment to the neighborhood and encourage team diversity.  The Learning Zone after-school program students were also greeted by a new face this fall in Steven Doung. Once a participant of the Learning Zone, Steven, is now the LHA’s North Common Village program manager.

Continue reading “Season’s Greetings from the Executive Director”

In 2017, the Lowell Housing Authority established a commitment through a Board resolution to conduct more effective outreach in the Acre neighborhood to open doors to employment opportunities for the residents who call this section of the City home. This is an initiative encouraged by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and was supported by the Lowell Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners.   The LHA ramped up its recruiting efforts this past summer and hired four new maintenance custodians, two of whom are from the Acre neighborhood. Our new maintenance employees will be responsible for ensuring our properties look their best, and bring with them diverse work experiences, including janitorial services, warehouse and machine operation, technology support, and landscaping which will be assets to the agency moving forward.

This summer the agency also hired a program manager to oversee our after-school program at our North Common Village property. Steven Doung—once a student of the Learning Zone—comes to the agency with experience in ESL instruction, financial literacy training, tutoring assistance, and has worked with children of all ages.

We are pleased to welcome Cheara Nhar and Seng Sao, who are residents of the Acre. We are also excited to welcome Joshua Kazanjian, Thomas Lafferty, and Joseph Sullivan to our maintenance team, and Steven Doung to our Family Self-Sufficiency Department. Hiring local further strengthens the LHA’s commitment as a proud partner in the Working Cities Initiative. The Working Cities Initiative is a collaborative organization between public and nonprofit organizations with collective goals to create opportunities in the Acre by increasing family sustaining wages, and facilitating economic growth in the community. We look forward to the many contributions our new employees will make to our agency, as we embark on another year of providing stable, affordable housing and quality support services for our residents.

In 2017, the LHA established a goal to rebrand the agency to address the unfortunate stigma that is often associated with living in affordable housing.  To further this goal, the LHA began the process of renaming its developments to make the properties more relevant and to instill a deeper connection between residents and the community. The agency has begun the process of installing new signs at each of the developments, which is anticipated to be completed by the beginning of summer.

The Lowell Housing Authority is sensitive to, and grateful for the many contributions of the influential community figures, who through their leadership have ushered the Authority to where we are today. The legacies of building dedicatees will continue to be honored respectfully with an interior portrait and biography for each notable LHA historical figure. This feature will be just one component of a comprehensive historical exhibit envisioned for the Mercier Center.  The full exhibit will chronicle life at Lowell Housing Authority, our programs and services throughout the decades, and most importantly capture the unique vignettes of the residents, who over the years have called LHA home.

The Lowell Housing Authority is seeking stories from residents who have lived, or currently live in housing.  This is our story.  Let us tell yours. To learn more or contribute to this project, contact Gary Wallace, Executive Director, [email protected] or call 978-364-5311.

Dear Friends,

Over the last few weeks, the agency has been busy closing the books on another year of administering housing and support services for our residents. While we were focusing on our final reports, we were pleasantly surprised with some exciting news that we would like to share with you.

The LHA is pleased to announce that the agency has been recently awarded 28 Mainstream Vouchers by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an award of $285K. These vouchers will be utilized to provide permanent housing to non-elderly persons with disabilities, and who are at risk of institutionalization or homelessness. The Mainstream Voucher program further assists disabled persons achieve stable, independent living by encouraging community collaboration between housing providers like the LHA and support service providers to connect voucher holders with essential services. We look forward to continuing to work with our community partners to provide our new residents with the services they require to achieve their highest level of self-sufficiency.

In addition to being awarded funding for stable housing for disabled persons, our agency was notified that we would be a recipient of a $116K HUD Capital Fund Emergency Safety and Security Program grant. These funds will enable the agency to make physical safety and security improvements to our properties in an effort to reduce crime in the community. The LHA applied for the grant in 2017, and was part of a lottery in 2017 to receive this significant funding award. The agency was the only public housing authority (PHA) in Massachusetts to get the award, and only 1 of 8 PHA’s to be selected across the country. The agency will be using these funds to install more sophisticated security equipment and facilitate upgrades at our developments. With these improvements, we will be able to respond more efficiently to reports of criminal activity in and around our developments to ensure the safety of all of our residents.

The Lowell Housing Authority has received “High Performer Status” for the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS). The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) utilizes these assessment tools to monitor the agency’s performance and program compliance across several indicators.  This includes an evaluation of the physical conditions of the properties, and financial and executive management practices.

This year’s PHAS score was 90/100. Noteworthy in this year’s report is a 3-point increase in the agency’s financial management score and a  1.3 % increase in the occupancy rate from last year. These scores are a testament to the concerted efforts of the LHA’s executive and property management teams.

Congratulations to Adam Garvey, Chief Financial Officer, Sam Talbot, UPCS Inspector, Brian Moriarty, Director of Maintenance, Tha Chhan, Director of Leased Housing programs, and all the staff who ensure our properties are well-maintained and our resources are utilized to provide the greatest benefit for our residents.

Achieving high-performer status provides the agency with additional grant opportunities, as well as increased capital funds for the agency. The agency looks forward to improving upon this year’s score and embracing the challenges of the new year.  Click here to view the full report.