Los Angeles Office of Public Housing
Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2015
Serving Southern California

San Buenaventura: PBV Success

On February 18, 2015, The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura held a groundbreaking even to celebrate the commencement of the Castillo Del Sol affordable housing development. To finance this development, the Housing Authority utilized 39 Section 8 Project Based vouchers (PBVs), provided by HUD, and 9% tax credit funding, provided by the State of California.

Event speakers included John Polanskey, Chair of the Board of Commissioners; Denise Wise, Housing Authority Executive Director, Marcie Chavez, Director of the HUD Los Angeles Office of Public Housing; as well as representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Lois Capps and California State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson.

Once completed, the development will include 39 affordable units and one manager's unit. Project construction is estimated to take approximately one year. The Castillo Del Sol site is located at 3005 E. Main Street, Ventura, CA.

Santa Barbara County: PBV Success

On December 16, 2014, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara celebrated the grand opening of Pescadero Lofts with a well-attended ribbon cutting ceremony. The robust list of guest speakers highlighted the community of Isla Vista and included federal, state, and local government officials. The speakers included Congresswoman Lois Capps, District 24; Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, District 19; Supervisor Doreen Farr, District 3; Marcie Chavez, Director of the Los Angeles Office of Public Housing; Father John Hedges; and Fred Lamont, Executive Director of the Housing Authority.

This ceremony commemorated years of work. In November, 2013, the Housing Authority broke ground on Pescadero Lofts, a 33 unit development for formerly homeless individuals. The Housing Authority purchased the development site from the County of Santa Barbara's former redevelopment agency. Funding was acquired through the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, as well as from Union Bank. 32 of the 33 units will be subsidized by Section 8 Project Based vouchers from HUD. This development features 26 studio units, 6 one-bedroom units, and 1 two-bedroom Manager's unit. The units are furnished with beds and furniture. The Housing Authority also facilitates community donations through its "Adopt a Room" program. Pescadero Lofts is located at 761 Camino Pescadero, Isla Vista.

San Bernardino: FSS Success!

(San Bernardino, CA.) A new grant of $205,273 to the Housing Authority's Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program was just awarded to help families find stable employment and/or advance educational goals to eventually strengthen job skills. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a total of $75 million to housing authorities nationally - all working towards this same goal.

The Community Development Initiatives Department works directly with families to: 1) develop a personalized education and/or professional 5-year action plan; and 2) provide on-going case management assistance to ensure each family/individual is achieving planned goals. Through various community partners and leveraging existing community resources, Housing Authority staff is able to provide assistance for each individual's needs, whether its access to tools to complete their education, job training and placement, or to health and human services.

The way it works is as follows: As a family's income rises, instead of a simple rent increase, an escrow credit is deposited into an interest bearing escrow account. If the family successfully completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including paying educational expenses, starting a business, paying debts, or even a down payment for a home.

After her five year commitment, Mrs. Sabrina graduated from the FSS Program and received a check for over $16,000. She saved her money while working as an In Home Care Service Provider and plans to use this money to purchase of her first home. On the FSS program, as a family's income rises, the amount of the additional rent that would be charged to the family is deposited as an escrow credit into an interest bearing account instead of a simple rent increase. If the family successfully completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds for purposes such as a down payment for a home.

"I've always wanted to be a homeowner, but saving this much money was hard for me until I joined the FSS program," states Mrs. Sabrina. "This program is a stepping stone to bigger things in life, and I highly recommended it to other families!" Mrs. Sabrina is a Housing Choice Voucher participant and wants to purchase the home she currently rents from her landlord. "My landlord is willing to sell the house to us! We are delighted since this is our home already," Mrs. Sabrina gladly states. Congratulations to Mrs. Sabrina and her family!

"Our agency is committed to helping each family not only have a quality place to live, but also to succeed in personal endeavors by providing them with tools that lead to job placement assistance," states Daniel Nackerman, the Housing Authority Executive Director.

Thanks to this renewed funding from HUD, Housing Authority families will continue to receive these much needed services which ultimately benefit the entire community as individuals become self-sufficient and more families in need of affordable housing are housed.

HUD Welcomes Home a Hero

The Los Angeles Office of Public Housing (LAOPH) is overjoyed welcome home Hien Dom, United States Army Captain and HUD Program Analyst. In 2014, Captain Dom was called up to serve in Afghanistan for one year. Hien has now returned to Los Angeles and the LAOPH is proud of this exemplary gentleman.

Hien is the embodiment of national services. The LAOPH has had the privilege of having Hien as a staff ember since 2012. As a Program Analyst, Hien serves HUD by helping PHAs in Southern California to increase the utilization of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Section 8 program.

Captain Hien Dom maintained his status as a career Army Reservist since 1999. He was deployed to the Middle East in 2009 to Iraq and in 2005 to Kuwait.

He began his career at HUD in the Seattle Office of Public Housing, serving under HUD's Master of Business Administration Fellows Program. In Seattle, Hien helped to streamline internal processes and to monitor the viability of more than 40 PHAs in Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The LAOPH staff wish Hein our absolute best as he continues to serve his country.

Now, Hien is hard at work in the LAOPH and the staff is elated to have their colleague back. Hien was always in our thoughts and we offer gratitude to him and his family for his service.

HUD Personnel Announcements

Nani Coleretti, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary

The United States Senate confirmed President Obama's nomination of Nani Coloretti to serve as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As the second most senior official at HUD, Coloretti will manage the Department's day-to-day operations, including a $45 billion annual budget and approximately 8,500 employees. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Communications from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master's in Public Policy from University of California at Berkeley.

Lourdes Castro Ramírez, PIH Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary

Secretary Castro has appointed Lourdes Catro Ramirez as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary to lead the Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH). Lourdes has served as President and CEO of the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA), a Moving-to-Work agency, and as as the director of the Housing Choice Voucher program for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. She is a talented and dedicated public servant with an extensive range of executive management, program and policy experiences needed to manage the array of PIH programs.

Unabyrd Wadhams, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations

An additional key management hire in PIH, is the selection of Ms. Unabyrd Wadhams as the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations. Unabyrd brings over 25 years of experience in the areas of housing development, planning, management and field oversight to this position. Prior to her appointment, she served as a Regional Public Housing Director/Field Oversight Manager and, during her tenure, has managed 30 of our 46 field offices.

Dan Wilkerson, Portfolio Management Specialist

Dan has over 30 years of experience in HUD PIH, include stints at the Indianapolis Field Office, Seattle Field Office and, most recently, HUD Headquarters, as well as two years in private industry with Nan McKay and Associates in San Diego. Now that he has escaped the cold and snowy climes (both literally and figuratively) of Washington, D.C. and returned to sunny southern California, he plans to also return to his passion of distance hiking and backpacking.

Take Notice of PIH Notices!

Announcements

Public and Indian Housing One-Stop Tool (POST) for PHAs

PHA staff can use POST to obtain quick access to PIH systems, tools, training opportunities, program requirements, commonly used external websites, PIH contacts, and much more.

Some of the most helpful links are as follows:

• PIH A-Z Index
• News You Can Use
• Calendar of Due Dates

If you have recommendations to improve POST or if you are having difficulty accessing web pages, we want to hear from you! Please email us at POSTforPHAs@hud.gov.

Access POST
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/post

Energy and Performance Information Center (EPIC)

PHAs administering public housing units are required to report on planned/completed Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMS) in the Energy and Performance Information Center (EPIC) system ANNUALLY as follows:

Please email EPICHelp@hud.govfor EPIC access and general help questions. Please include your Secure Systems login ID (WASS ID) in your email.

Helpful Resource Links

Two Year Forecasting Tool - PHA staff can use this tool to forecast the relationship between current HCV leasing and future funding. - http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv

REAC Technical Assistance Center - The Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) Technical Assistance Center analyses data and develops objective performance scores. Public Housing Authotity (PHA) staff can use the REAC technical assistance for helpful links. http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/reac/support/tac

Upcoming Deadlines

Financial Data Schedule (FDS) Submission Deadlines

Unaudited submissions are due no later than 2 months after the PHA's Fiscal Year End (FYE); for those entities required to have an audit, the audited submissions are due 9 months after the PHA's FYE. PHAs are required to submit their financial information through the Financial Assessment Subsystem-Public Housing (FASS-PH) system.

Deadlines and Key Dates

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