No To "No"

Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority

SAXMAN, ALASKA - Compared to counterparts in New York or Chicago, Houston or L.A., the Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority based in Juneau is a long way from being the nation's largest public housing agency. But it's always dreams big - really big - when it comes to improving the lives of the 73,000 native and non-native families it serves in 16 Southeast Alaska communities from Petersburg to Ketchikan, Angoon to Hoonah, Wrangell to Saxman.

In 2009, President Obama proposed and the Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Recognizing the job and economic activity that could be sparked by revitalizing America's communities and housing stock, HUD and its partners were given a major role in putting ARRA funds to work.

When the invitation to apply for ARRA funds came from HUD, the Tlingit-Haida didn't hesitate. From the get-go, it decided not to settle for the copper or bronze ring, but to go for the gold, submitting six, "shovel-ready" projects for ARRA funding.

"If we'd had more time and staff," said Dr. Blake Kazana, the Authority's president and chief executive officer, "we probably could have doubled the number of applications. In an area that's so remote and where the cost of living is well above the national norm, there's always more to be done."

The Authority won only two of the six grants it sought - for new senior housing in Yakutat and Saxman. It moved forward quickly on both. Ground was broken in May, 2010 just after the weather turned on the 17-unit Saxman senior complex. Last month construction crews completed the roof on the 17-unit Saxman senior complex and began installing windows, plumbing and "drying-in" the building, something "extremely important," said Authority vice president Craig Moore, to prevent mold growth in Southeast Alaska's very wet climate.

The Authority, no surprise, was disappointed it didn't win all six grants. But it didn't waste time moping. Instead, it got to work looking for other resources to support the unfunded projects.

It decided to use ARRA funds it had received under a HUD formula to launch its Neighborhood Revitalization Program, providing grants of $100,000 each to 10 tribal partners to "design a program that improves tribally owned properties or property owned by income-eligible tribal members." Thanks to funding from the Legislature administered by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, it's moved forward with a plan to weatherize not just 287, but 1,000 housing units over the next five years.

Better still, it's secured funds from AHFC, the U.S. departments of labor and energy, the Denali Foundation and others to train, in collaboration with the University of Alaska Southeast, area residents in the how's and what's of weatherization. When there's work to be done, it'll be done by locals, one important reason why, in late 2010, the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of NAHRO gave its Advocacy of the Year award to the Authority for the project.

"At Tlingit-Haida, we can't afford to take no for an answer," said Dr. Kazana. "Too many people look to us for leadership and services. When we win a grant, we move quickly to implement it. When we don't win, we look for another way. If you look hard and look long enough, you'll always find one."

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