Los Angeles Office of Public Housing
Quarterly Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 15: Summer 2012
Serving Southern California

HACLA Celebrates Grand Opening of a WorkSource Portal

HACLA President and CEO Doug Guthrie was joined by elected officials and the community to celebrate the grand opening of the Imperial Courts WorkSource Portal.

The WorkSource portals act as one stop centers for individuals seeking job information, training and job search. HACLA, through its three portals (Jordan Downs, Nickerson Gardens and Imperial Courts) focuses on increasing overall employment, as well as workers' earnings, retaining jobs and improving workers' occupational skills.

Among attendees were Senator Rod Wright, HACLA Commissioners Margarita Garr and Lucelia Hooper, Workforce Investment Board Director Greg Irish, Assistant General Manager at CDD Robert Sainz, and representatives from Congresswoman Laura Richardson's, Assemblymember Isadore Hall and Councilmember Joe Buscaino's offices. Los Angeles Police Officers from the Community Safety Partnership program also participated in the celebration.

Senator Wright encouraged the residents to use the services available to them and take advantage of the resources. "Imperial courts and Workforce Investment Board (WIB)s are designed to move you into something else. This is not an end of itself. This is a place from which you transition."

This additional facility will expand our ability to provide and enhance services to Adults, dislocated workers and employers. Workforce investment is vital to the reduction of welfare dependency and the revitalization of the economy. Each year, the city provides HACLA with $500,000, in funding to provide these services.

"It's always about finding solutions at the Housing Authority. This was a great solution and brought resources to the development," said Robert Sainz, Assistant General Manager at the Community Development Department (CDD).

"We are proud of our partnership with the Housing Authority coming up with some money to make sure folks have jobs in the summer," noted Greg Irish, Workforce Investment Board Director.

HACLA is also the only public housing agency in the nation to operate certified WorkSource Portals at its public housing sites. HACLA received the first designation of "WorkSource Center" as a satellite in 2002.

After the ribbon cutting, the guests and the community toured the WorkSource Center.

Upcoming Deadlines

HUD Reporting Requirements

Captal Fund: Energy and Performance Information Center (EPIC)

All PHAs that receive Capital Funds must report in the EPIC system. The deadline to report for 2012 Quarter 3 is October 31, 2012. Please contact the Los Angeles Office of Public Housing for assistance if needed.

ARRA Deadlines

September 23, 2012 - Competitive Grants must be at 100% Expenditure

October 14, 2012 - Federal Reporting for 2012 Quarter 2

October 30, 2012 - RAMPS reporting for 2012 Quarter 2

PHA SEMAP Submission Deadlines

HACLA CEO, Douglas Guthrie, addresses the audience
"It's always about finding solutions at the Housing Authority. This was a great solution and brought resources to the development." said Robert Sainz, Assistant General Manager at the Community Development Department (CDD).

"We are proud of our partnership with the Housing Authority coming up with some money to make sure folks have jobs in the summer," noted Greg Irish, Workforce Investment Board Director.

HACLA is also the only public housing agency in the nation to operate certified WorkSource Portals at its public housing sites. HACLA received the first designation of "WorkSource Center" as a satellite in 2002.

After the ribbon cutting, the guests and the community toured the WorkSource Center.

Section 8 Housing Choice Project Based Vouchers are Helping Project 25 to Successfully Move Individuals into Long-Term Housing, Reducing Strain on Public Resources

To James Marsh, a HUD funded Section 8 Project Based Housing Choice Voucher provided by the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) means more than a new home - it's a new life.

Marsh, 48, is one of the formerly homeless adults taken off the streets by Project 25, an initiative by United Way of San Diego County and multiple partners to address chronic homelessness and reduce the burden it places on public services and safety.

"It's given me so many great opportunities," Marsh said during a recent news conference at United Way headquarters highlighting the successes of the program after its first year. "I want to show them that I can succeed, and I want to show myself that I can succeed."

SDHC is one of the first agencies in the nation to make HUD funded Section 8 Housing Choice Project based vouchers available to provide long-term housing for chronically homeless individuals, which is the goal of Project 25. SDHC provided United Way and its partner St. Vincent de Paul Village, which manages the program, with 25 Section 8 Housing Choice Project-Based Vouchers funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The vouchers "are making a profound difference for people who are struggling not just to get their lives in order but to get a roof over their heads as well," said SDHC president and CEO Richard C. Gentry.

With cross-cutting issues at stake, Gentry said the results could be achieved only through collaboration by the United Way, SDHC, the County of San Diego, HUD, St. Vincent de Paul Village and others. Among those attending the event was Ed Moses, HUD Regional Public Housing Director for the region that includes California.

Brian Maienschein, United Way's commissioner of San Diego County's Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, said the partnership has proven itself in short order.

"We're very excited about the success of this program at the one-year mark," Maienschein said. "We're looking forward to continuing this."

Project 25 targets adult men and women who account for some of the costliest demands on medical, law-enforcement and emergency services, frequently stemming from mental-health or substance-abuse issues. Besides a safe place to call home, it provides participants ready access to mental and physical health services, substance abuse counseling and other supportive resources they need to stabilize and improve their lives. Project 25 has expanded beyond its name to enroll 35 participants.

As illustrated by Maienschein, the program has made a dramatic impact. In tracking and compiling the cost of public resources attributable to each person in the program, Project 25 found total costs reduced to $3.4 million in 2011 from more than $11 million in 2010. The per-person average was $97,000 in 2011, down from $317,000 per person in 2010.

In 2011 total emergency-room visits were down 77 percent, ambulance transports were down 72 percent, in-patient medical stays were down 74 percent, arrests were down 69 percent and jail days were down 43 percent.

Marsh, for example, went from 54 ambulance rides in 2010 to only one last year, 51 emergency-room visits in 2010 to one in 2011, and seven hospitalizations totaling 39 days in 2010 to none last year.

Marsh, a former restaurant worker, said it's good to have someone at his back "if I'm messing up - they don't give up and it means a lot."

Also speaking at the news conference were County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Greg Cox and Sister Patricia A. Cruise, president and CEO of St. Vincent de Paul Village, Inc.

For more information, visit the website (www.sdhc.org).

Proactive Exchange Roundup!

On May 8, 2012, the 2012 Quarter 2 Proactive Exchange was hosted by the Los Angeles Office of Public Housing. Housing Authorities from Southern California gathered at the HUD Los Angeles Field Office, the HUD Santa Ana Field Office, and the HUD San Diego Field Office to share ideas and information regarding the administration of our programs.
The following topics were discussed by Housing Authority and HUD staff:

• Establishing Homeless Preferences and Coding Homeless Families on the 50058
• PHA Spotlight--Energy Efficiency--"Bringing Solar Home"
• PHA Spotlight "Father's Day Initiative"
• Administrative Fees for the Housing Choice Voucher Program
• Special Purpose Vouchers

The next Proactive Exchange is scheduled for September 2012. We encourage your participation in this event where valuable information is shared. Please feel free to submit ideas for discussion topics to Maria Granata (maria.j.granata@hud.gov).

Congratulations to the following PHAS High Performing PHAs

• Upland
• Needles
• Port Hueneme
• San Buenaventura
• Calexico
• San Luis Obispo
• San Diego County
• Lomita

Reminder-Contact Information in PIC

The FMC uses a PHA's primary email address in the PIH Information Center (PIC) system to communicate funding information. A number of funding notices have been returned because the email address was not correct, the PHA refuses the email, or there was no email address in the system. PHAs are reminded of their responsibilities to keep their email addresses and contact information current in PIC, since failure to do so may result in the PHA not receiving funding and other important communications from the FMC. PHAs are further advised that their failure to receive an email notification from PIH-FMC will not be grounds for an appeal, nor will it serve to excuse a PHA's noncompliance with program requirements.

HUD-Designated (Enterprise Income Verification) EIV Stars

Congratulations to the following Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) with zero (0) deficiencies on the below noted EIV System reports.

Deceased tenants report

Multiple Subsidy Report

Identity Verification Report

Recent PIH Notices

Hudson Oaks Senior Housing Opens in Pasadena

Hudson Oaks was recently rehabilitated and modernized in Pasadena, providing 45 one bedrooms for seniors earning below 30% of Area Median Income.

The building uses Section 8 Housing Choice Project Based Vouchers administered by the Pasadena Housing Authority. The program is committed to serving 20 vulnerable homeless people. The building provides case management, benefit assistance, health, nutrition and wellness workshops, social activities, financial education, and a gardening club.

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