2000 Best Practice Awards

1985 Hendley Subdivision - Down Payment Assistance Program
Odessa, Texas
Mary Dominguez (915) 335-4820

The Hendley Subdivision was developed as an answer to a shortage of affordable housing for Odessa’s low income residents. The project was first conceptualized in 1994 and began with donation of 14.71 acres of undeveloped land in South Odessa by the Ector County Independent School District. The site was formally a high school football stadium that had been abandoned for several years. The property was located in an area of town that is recognized by HUD as being 73.33% low income. The donated property had no infrastructure and required that the land be developed into lots for residential construction. The City of Odessa utilized CDBG funds to develop the infrastructure for 53 residential lots in three phases. The Odessa Housing Finance Corporation provided the interim financing for the construction of the homes by establishing a revolving loan fund. The area in which the subdivision was developed had not had any appreciable construction since the late 1950’s. During the construction of the homes potential homebuyers were qualified by the lender. After the buyer was qualified the City was then able to provide down payment and closing cost assistance based on the families size and income.

1504 Soaring Eagle Drive
Amarillo, Texas
Kay Kennedy (806) 376-4571

The decision was made to purchase property in a viable neighborhood and build new homes ranging in price from $53,000 to $75,000. The project consisted of 16 new brick homes for individuals with income at or below 80% Median Family Income. All homes have $5,000-$7,000 down payment and closing cost assistance from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. In addition, CFS has GAP loans available at 2% for 15 to 30 years, (payable yearly in August), to provide any additional funds necessary. The GAP loan amount ranges from $500 to $4,000. The majority of the loans on these homes are FHA. Part of the project included a contest among fifth graders at the local elementary school to name the new street; 75 of the 78 students in the fifth grade participated. The winner was Alexandria Bustos who received $50.00. Alexandria chose Eagle because it is her school's mascot and Soaring because her class motto is "To Soar". After the first home was sold, it was called to Catholic Family Service's attention that Alexandria's family had purchased the first home in the new development.

2314 El Paso County Housing Authority
Fabens, Texas
Tomas Z. Rodriguez (915) 764-3559

The El Paso County Housing Authority has created a water purification system that provides clean, safe drinking water to the more than three hundred residents and staff. The filtration plant is located within a pre-engineered building at the Solis development of the Housing Authority. Inside this building the water passes through a series of steps to clean the water. This water is only used internally within the dwelling units and the community buildings. The water provided by the Housing Authority eases the fears of the residents and staff concerning long term health impacts of contaminants in the water.

2646 Gateway to Education
El Paso, Texas
Oscar Sotelo (915) 780-0514

This program provides low-income public housing families of the Housing Authority of El Paso with an accessible, innovative, non-traditional literacy education program in the Family Investment Center which is within a 2 mile radius to 17 public housing developments. The goal is to: facilitate the development of English speaking adults: increase their basic literacy and job related skills; deliver English and Spanish GED; and transition participants to college vocational programs at the El Paso Community College. This free program focuses on promoting healthier living to low-income families and enhancement of their education and economic independence.

2691 Capturing The Kennedy Dream
El Paso, Texas
Arlene Alarcon (915) 872-2955

In the summer of 1999 the Housing Authority of the city of El Paso created the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program at the Kennedy Brothers Memorial Recreation Center. The program served eight youth, ages 14-18 with a meaningful and educational summer activity. The program was designed to provide an artistic creation of a 12’ by 19’ mural that depicts the contributions and dreams of John F. and Robert Kennedy. The young artists proudly completed their masterpiece in 200 hours of classroom training and hands on training. They proudly named it "Capturing the Kennedy Dream". The project began with a four-day long course in shading, design, and spatial skills along with detailed research into the lives and achievements of the Kennedy brothers. As part of this learning experience they toured some of El Paso’s well known galleries and murals.

2740 El Paso Electric Company Summer Youth Internship
El Paso, Texas
Arlene Alarcon (915) 872-2955

In the summer of 1999, the El Paso Housing Authority of the city of El Paso and the El Paso Electric Company partnered to provide a unique summer experience to public housing twelve youth. The partnership enabled the youth to experience the meaning of work, responsibility and the feeling of belonging. They received complete orientation of the overall operations of the utility as a standard employee orientation explained benefits, personnel policies, safety regulations, and job descriptions. The youth were included in department meetings, were provided their own desks, participated in writing the company newsletter and were provided with customized computer classes.

3246 El Paso Housing Authority Empowering Residents
El Paso, Texas
Brenda G. Olivas

Residents of the Housing Authority have collaborated with the Housing Authority staff to promote the general welfare and betterment of public housing. In 1999, an orientation was provided to over two hundred residents focusing on empowering people and communities. The main goal was to provide assistance to the residents on guidelines and responsibilities. The program strives to provide leadership training, basic life skills, and self esteem. This valuable knowledge prepares them to become established leaders in their communities.

650 Affordable Housing Management Association (AHMA)
Lubbock, Texas
Bobbie Grifith (806) 763-5323

In April 1997, the Affordable Housing Management Association (AHMA), Southwest and HUD’s Southwest Fair Housing enforcement center jointly presented a series of fair housing training seminars. Over 500 persons attended the five seminars hosted in Dallas and Lubbock, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The AHMA continues to educate its members about fair housing requirements in an effort to provide residents of assisted housing the best possible living environment.

872 Lubbock Habitat for Humanity - Increasing Affordable Housing through Vocational Education
Lubbock, Texas
John B. Mallory (806) 763-4663

A partnership between Lubbock Habitat for Humanity and Lubbock Independent School District provides vocational education for students and results in housing for low to very low income families. The training consists of 1/2 classroom time and 1/2 hands on experience. Lubbock Habitat provides the funding for the materials and the licensed labor needed to build a house. The students build the house on the parking lot of the Byron Martin Advanced Technology center. After completion, the home is moved to its site and Habitat volunteers complete the home. The first home built under this partnership was dedicated November 22, 1998. Since that time, two more homes have been completed. In September of 1998 Lubbock Habitat also formed a partnership with the Windham School District of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

1534 Sunny Beginnings
Lubbock, Texas
Judith Flagle (806) 795-7552

Sunny Beginnings is a family home visitation and support program that is offered by The Parenting Cottage, a local non-profit organization. The program originally was targeted toward the Harwell Neighborhood with initial funding for the program coming in the 1998-1999 Fiscal Year. With additional funding for 1999-2000, the program was able to expand into two additional neighborhoods within the CDBG eligible area of Lubbock, Arnett-Benson and Jackson-Mahon. Sunny Beginnings utilizes a standardized assessment tool to systematically identify families who are most in need of services. This tool assesses the presence of various factors associated with increased risk for child maltreatment or other poor childhood outcomes. Home visitation services are initiated upon referral and family agreement. The services are voluntary & utilize positive, persistent, outreach efforts to build family trust. The services are offered at least once a week with defined criteria for increasing or decreasing the intensity of the services over time.

1607 Guadalupe Economic Services Corporation (GESC) Contract for Deed Conversion
Lubbock, Texas
Richard Lopez ( 806) 774-4416

This program was mainly established to address the housing issues near the El Paso, TX community. El Paso is located in a border community which lacks safe, decent and affordable housing. One of the reasons stems from the contract for deed agreements between seller and buyer. Under this arrangement, the seller retains title until the loan is paid. Typically, the interest rates range from 12% - 26%. Buyers have no recourse. Many lost their land because they missed one payment. Lenders could not extend credit for any housing because of the lien position the seller had on a property. Therefore, people began to set up tents, shacks, and other duplicated housing to occupy their land. As a result, GESC found a solution. They applied and received funding from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) to retire the contract for deed. In addition, the borrowers could also apply for funds to rehabilitate or reconstruct the existing housing. With the favorable 0% - 4% interest rates to borrowers, many residents are participating with enthusiasm.

2485 Access Guide 2000
Lubbock, Texas
James B. Bennett (806) 794-9566

This is a guide to Lubbock, Texas for persons with disabilities. The Guide includes information on the following (1) transportation and housing, (2) hotels and motels, (3) banking and shopping, (4) commercial accommodations, (5) pharmacies, hospitals and medical centers, (6) restaurants, and entertainment, (7) sightseeing, (8) emergency/various services, (9) city map, and bus routes (10) FYI-important telephone numbers and agency listings in medium large print format, available in Braille, English & Spanish. Experienced persons with multiple disabilities edit the guide in accessing the places listed in the city. This Information also assists the homeless.

2574 Lubbock Housing Consortium
Lubbock, Texas
Carla Ross (806) 767-7071

The mission of this project is to identify and create awareness of the need for affordable housing and to encourage the creation of solutions through public/private partnerships. The Lubbock Housing Consortium has been very active during the past five years. It has disseminated information to the public by participating each year in Community Development Week, Fair Housing Week, Home and Garden Show, South Plains Fair and Home Buyer's Classes. In addition, LHC has also held four very successful Dream Tours (showcasing affordable new homes built in low income areas that often haven't seen new construction in decades).

2961 Loan Management Procedures
Lubbock, Texas
Rhonda J. Wiltz (806) 775-2288

The Loan Management Procedures were implemented in conjunction with the Revolving Loan Fund, which was established in 1991. This program was initiated in order to generate "repayments", thus supplementing Federal Grants received by the City of Lubbock. The Loan programs administered and serviced by the Community Development Department of the City of Lubbock, were designed to assist low-to-moderate income homeowners within Lubbock City limits. Loan Management Procedures involve maintenance of escrow accounts, monthly reconciliation, loss mitigation, updating loans as payments are received and tracking program income. A Loan Delinquent & Default Handbook was designed as a guideline for the various loan programs. The Handbook is revised as training and industry updates are received. Under the Delinquent Payment section, the Handbook addresses the borrower's contract, late payments, grace periods and payment plans. The Default sections of the Handbook cover the default guidelines and procedures, workout agreements, forbearance, payback options, extended payment plans and refinancing.

1629 Contractor Recruitment/Retention/Technical Assistance Program
Lubbock, Texas
Dianne P. Brown (806) 775-2301

The C. D. Department of the City of Lubbock recognizes the importance of recruiting and retaining quality general and subcontractors in order to have successful housing programs. This is important not only for in-house programs, but also for assisting non-profits and subrecipient organizations who partner with the C. D. Department to provide affordable housing programs to the Community of Lubbock. Most organizations funded with CDBG and HOME federal dollars adopt the Community Development Department's approved list of contractors to use in their programs. By offering a yearly contractor meeting to recruit new contractors and to provide technical assistance to existing contractors, the C.D. Department is better able to serve the citizens of Lubbock with programs funded through CDBG and HOME funds. Recruiting minority and women owned businesses is an emphasis of this program as well as providing technical assistance to contractors regarding new concepts in the construction industry. Training in the use of Insulated Concrete Form Construction has been one of the most recent technical assistance training provided and has proven to be a very popular concept primarily due to the wind resistance and energy efficiency of this type structure.

2239 Lubbock Housing Authority Parents As Teachers
Lubbock, Texas
Quincy White (806) 762-1191

Parents As Teachers is a proactive program that works with the whole family, not just the children. The program provides weekly visits with the parents and young children to bring in activities that stimulate brain development. The program uses a developmentally based curriculum and utilizes contacts with many other professionals (housing, health-care, education, social services, etc.) to provide help, support and hopefully a smoother transition from one program to another. In summary, Parents As Teachers insists in building a sense of connection and community for our families.

2333 Energy Saving Housing Reconstruction Program
Lubbock, Texas
Brad L. Reed (806) 775-2294

The Energy Saving Housing Reconstruction Program was designed to replace substandard housing with quality, energy efficient, low maintenance, universally designed houses. These houses are being built with insulated concrete forms (ICF). These forms are filled with concrete and steel and produce a very high energy efficient house. The average utility savings is $50.00 per month for the home owner, which is very important to the client.

2666 Phyllis Wheatley’s Children Computer Laboratory
Odessa, Texas
Mary Dominguez (915) 335-4280

This project is a unique partnership between nonprofit and for profit agencies, including the City of Odessa, Chase Bank, Ameripol Synbol Corporation, to provide over 160 square feet of storage space, computer equipment, and educational software to be used by children. This energy efficient Children’s Computer Laboratory is child friendly in its design and layout and offers educational software appropriate for children from two to ten years of age.

Content Archived: April 20, 2011