2000 Best Practice Awards

Best Practice: Hugo Housing Community Resource Center

"Togetherness" is the Key to the Success of the Hugo Housing Community Resource Center

Hugo. The Housing Authority of the City of Hugo is committed to working to enhance the positive influence of families and communities through proven strengthening programs. The Authorities Program is entitled "Linkages in Hugo Public Housing Drug Elimination Program". The program is based on the creation and strengthening of various linkages including; linking families together, linking the housing community closer together with a new vision for the future and linking the local community with our housing communities into a partnership relationship. During 1998 the Authority converted a four-bedroom duplex into a community resource center at a low rent housing addition called "Rosewood Addition". This community is home to approximately 300 persons. The community resource center provides: parenting and family skills, tutoring, GED training, computer training, literacy training, life skills training, job skills training, sporting and cultural programs, a comprehensive summer program, holiday activities and referrals. As a result of the program, the Authority has realized an increase in occupancy has seen an increase in monthly rental payments and a decrease in delinquencies and lease terminations.

Contact: Stan Self, Phone: (580) 326-3348
Tracking Number: 261
Winning Category: Geographic

Best Practice: Housing Opportunities through OKC Partners in Homeownership

Partnership Helps Rehabilitate and Build Homes While Educating Homeowners

Oklahoma City. During the past 5 years, the Oklahoma City Partners in Homeownership have grown throughout the community with the aid and persistence of a coordinator and many volunteers. Freddie Mac furnished some of the seed money that funded the program and has also become involved with the Partnership and HOME dollars from the City of Oklahoma City that have been used to provide the rehabilitation and new construction of housing. The Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) of Oklahoma City is an area that has not been the recipient of new construction, home rehabilitation or homeownership opportunities for the past 20 years. The Partnership has targeted many of their efforts on this area. In addition, the Partnership has addressed the need for education of potential homeowners through its education system, serving more than 2,300 potential homeowners. The Partners have completed the rehabilitation of 10 homes, seven homes are currently being rehabilitated, and five are newly constructed.

Contact: Jeffrey Koleski, Phone: (405) 524-4148
Tracking Number: 902
Winning Category: Program (Community Builders)

Best Practice: Rural Rental Homeownership Program

Program Allows Very Low-Income Families to Become Homeowners

Tahlequah. The Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation's (HACN) Rural Rental Program is a homeownership program that targets families with very low income, generally less then 30 percent of median income. The jurisdictional boundaries of the Cherokee Nation include some of the poorest counties in Oklahoma. The majority of clients live in these poor counties. This program allows the family to become homeowners, but it also gives them the opportunity to become self-sufficient. A family is selected to participate from a homeownership waiting list. The family will pay a portion of the monthly rent and the HACN subsidizes the remaining portion of the monthly payment. A portion of the monthly payment is put into an escrow account. At the end of a 3-year period, the family can use their escrow money to buy down the cost of the home. During this 3-year period, educational opportunities are made. This enables the homebuyer to upgrade their income by getting the training they need to better themselves. To date, 29 families have been reviewed and approved for the Rural Rental Program.

Contact: David Southerland, Phone: 918-456-5482
Tracking Number: 2123
Winning Category: Program (Office of Native American Programs)

Best Practice: Project Impact – Tulsa

Task Force Transforms Tulsa Into A Disaster-Resistant Community

Tulsa. Tulsa, OK, and Oklahoma City, OK, as well as the Fort Worth, TX, area, are in a part of the country that has the highest recorded number of tornadoes per 1,000 square miles of any place in the world. In addition, Tulsa County has the fifth highest risk of tornadoes in the nation. A task force was charged with making Tulsa a disaster-resistant community. This committee educates residents about the need to incorporate safety into new construction and retrofit safe rooms into existing homes. Several private companies have begun to manufacture portable safe rooms constructed of steel panels that bolt together on site. The steel boxes can be, and have been, retrofitted into existing homes or installed in new construction. An entire 120-lot subdivision in the Tulsa area is being constructed with a built-in safe room in every home. It is believed that this is the first subdivision in the country with a safe room in all homes.

Contact: Ann Patton, Phone: (918) 596-7411
Tracking Number: 132
Winning Category: Geographic

Best Practice: Homeownership Project 91-42

Program Provides Low- to Very-Low Income Residents with Tornado-Safe Housing

Shawnee. The Absentee Shawnee Housing Authority service area is in an area nicknamed Tornado Alley. The massive destruction of the May 3, 1999 and October 4, 1998 tornadoes demonstrated the need for homes that could withstand winds in excess of 200 mph. In line with the concept of the mutual help program, units purchased after the inception of NAHASDA are designed for low- to very low-income Native Americans to achieve homeownership. Construction of these units takes approximately 30 days. This cuts overhead costs and puts applicants in the homes faster, which is the ultimate goal of the housing authority. This building system has sustained typhoon winds in Guam and is BOCA-approved. The safe room within the home is FEMA-approved, which avoids the cost of providing external storm shelters. Construction consists of interlocking vinyl panels that are bolted to the foundation and filled with concrete. These panels, and a conventional roof secured with hurricane clips, provide a virtually maintenance free, fire-retardant, pest-retardant, tornado-safe home.

Contact: Glenn Edwards, Phone: 405-273-1050
Tracking Number: 2645
Winning Category: Program (Office of Native American Programs)

Best Practice: Choctaw Nation Modular Home Program

Modular Homes Provide Solutions for Affordable Housing Shortages

Hugo. The Choctaw Nation Indian Housing Authority operates a Modular Home Program that provides affordable housing for low-income Native Americans. The benefit of modular construction is that these homes are not subject to the elements and can be built faster than conventionally-built units. They can be constructed all year and are built in an indoor facility that was purchased with proceeds from a HOPE III program. The tribe completed 20 units in the first year of the program’s operation, including seven units that were built for the independent elderly. In addition to providing affordable, energy-efficient housing units, the Modular Home Program also provides employment for Choctaw tribal members and an opportunity for training in a skilled craft. Several youth have completed the apprentice program after graduating from high school and they are proficient framing carpenters who can train others in the apprentice program.

Contact: Russell Sossamon, Phone: (580) 326-7521 Ext. 238
Tracking Number: 1385
Winning Category: Program (Office of Native American Programs)

Best Practice: May 3rd Tornado Recovery

HUD Deploys Teams to Respond to Housing Needs Following Tornadoes

Oklahoma City. On May 3, 1999, a rash of tornadoes swept through the central portion of Oklahoma. Forty-six people were killed and another 800 were injured. Eight thousand buildings were either heavily damaged or destroyed. It was the most expensive tornado in U.S. history with $1.5 billion in damages. The Oklahoma City HUD office immediately activated an Advance Team (A Team) and a Response Team (R Team) to address the recovery efforts. The A Team made immediate contacts with the affected towns and cities, and attended all Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) briefing meetings and kept both HUD and FEMA aware of the housing-related issues that were needed. The A Team also worked on and obtained various waivers of HUD policies to allow the Public Housing Authorities and cities latitude to assist in the rebuilding effort. The R Team assisted FEMA in locating temporary housing resources and developed a database of over 1200 available units that were loaded into FEMA’s database. They helped open and staffed five Disaster Recover Centers.

Contact: Sherry Hunt, Phone: 405-553-7523
Tracking Number: 904
Winning Category: Program (Community Builders)

Best Practice: Choctaw Homebuyers Advantage Program

Program Increases Homeownership Among Native Americans

National. Seeking to decrease the barriers to homeownership among Native Americans, the Housing Authority of the Choctaw Nation developed the Choctaw Homebuyers Advantage Program, a loan and education program that allows tribal members to make a down payment as little as 1 percent. Established in collaboration with First Americans Mortgage Corporation, PMI, Freddie Mac and Washington Mutual, the housing authority also offers a Home Investment Partnerships program to tribal members. As part of the program, tribal members must attend homebuyer education classes. The program expanded its initial offerings and now addresses credit issues and the need for a special construction loan. It has grown from an initial tribal investment of $1.05 million to $45 million and is available in Oklahoma, Texas, California, Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

Contact: Patty Green, Phone: (580) 326-7521
Tracking Number: 2673
Winning Category: Program (Office of Native American Programs)

Content Archived: April 20, 2011