NEWS DETAILS

February 2017, Volume 2, Issue 1

February 1, 2017

Message From the Executive Director/CEO

I trust all is well. Winter is now in full force except for plenty of snow. If you are like me who prefers the warmer weather, then you can’t wait for winter to be over. For those of you who love the winter weather, I hope that you will have enough snow to make your winter enjoyable. During this season, days get shorter, nights colder, and many people also experience low energy levels and lack of motivation during this period; even the best among us can get a little down. However, winter can be the best time for some helpful contemplation, and an opportunity to learn new things. Instead of avoiding the snow and winter weather – look for the best it has to offer! Try winter sports such as snowboarding, ice skating, sledding, or even hockey, arts and crafts, and a new language including sign language. Enjoy all these opportunities while they last – after all, winter is here for just a few months every year.

Most people know that sunlight can provide vitamin D, but did you know that it can also improve your mood? Winter days are much shorter and darker than other months. It’s also the time when people spend less time outdoors. Therefore, lack of sunlight can make people depressed. As with exercises, sunlight can directly affect one’s mood. So, try to spend some time outdoors, keep your shards up and sit near windows most of the time.

I hope that that you have noticed some of the changes that are taking place at the Moline Housing Authority and like them. Our goal is to keep the property in top notch condition while providing superior customer service to all of our residents and clients including but not limited to public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher Program participants. Hence some of the ongoing projects you are seeing.

I take the opportunity to remind you that customer service/care is “our” top priority, and it is our pleasure to serve you and be your housing provider. We are committed to providing first-class service, and have developed a customer care service pledge which we believe will enable us to guarantee the delivery of this service. While you may already have a copy of the pledge, a copy is inserted for your review and evaluation of how we are doing. We would like to hear from you as to whether we are delivering the service according to the pledge or not; and whether there is anything we can do to improve the service delivery regarding customer/client care/service.

I take this opportunity to again remind you of my open door policy, so come on by for a visit, and if you have any concerns, regarding any aspects of the service delivery or just want to chat, my door is always open and it would be great to see you. I am always looking for new ways to improve the service we provide, but I cannot do it alone, I need you to work in partnership with me to improve the service. So if you have any suggestions or an idea which will help, please let me know. Thank you for your support and cooperation, and I look forward to your continued support.

Take care and have a great winter, and stay warm.

Tips from Housing

Did you know that on February 3, 2017 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulation entitled “Instituting Smoke Free Public Housing Rule” became effective? The rule prohibits the use of all lit tobacco products and hookahs (or water pipers) inside all low-income public housing units, common areas, and administrative offices and in all areas within 25 feet of a building.

This will reduce the risk of fire, exposure to second-hand smoke, and smoke-related maintenance cost, benefiting all housing staff and residents according to HUD. MHA has 18 months to fully implement a smoke-free policy by July 30th, 2018. Watch this space for MHA’s implementation schedule. We are counting on your cooperation and support to make MHA a better and safe place for all current and future residents.

Maintenance Corner

Moline Housing Authority welcomes Afrim to the maintenance team. Afrim joined MHA in January and is enjoying getting acquainted with the tenants and staff. Afrim reports the first few weeks have been a nice experience, everyone is nice to me, and teaching me new things he said, and he will do his best to make the Housing Authority a better place to live for all residents.

Afrim is married and has a daughter who is 10 years old. Afrim and his family are originally from the Republic of Macedonia in Europe, where he began his career as a maintenance mechanic. They moved to the area in 2012. Afrim’s experience in maintenance spans many years, and he has experience in all phases of maintenance and repair. In his spare time Afrim enjoys soccer and spending time with his family.

Section 8 Info

Winter is well underway and we hope you are keeping warm and making the most of it. Here are some helpful suggestions to help you in complying with program rules in order to help you maintain your voucher and stay housed.

Report all changes in writing of household income and composition. Show up for your annual recertifications.

Someone must be home for your annual inspections to take place. If you can’t be there ask a friend or adult family member. All maintenance related concerns must be directed to your landlord. Something new! MHA is going paperless… yes we are!!! It’s a lot of work and a process of time. When you come in for your annual recertifications cations please bring all original birth certificates, social security cards and picture IDs. Hopefully by December everyone will be inputted and less trees will be destroyed and less papers on my desk. As al-ways please give us a call with any questions or con-cern as we are here to serve you.

Bits from the Board

Did you know that our public housing program is a contract between us and the federal government? Our part of the contract is to provide decent, safe and sanitary apartments at artificially low rents, affordable to extremely low-income families. The federal government’s part of the contract is to pay the difference between the revenue earned through the artificially low rents and the actual cost of maintaining the units and administrating the program. Unfortunately, for many years, the federal government has failed to fulfill its responsibilities under this contract. Currently, the Mo-line Housing Authority is only receiving about 70 percent of the amount the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has determined we need. This chronic underfunding has made it difficult to provide the kind of high level service and the many different housing related programs the housing authority would like to provide. Due to this underfunding, housing authorities are expected to generate other means of income to make up for the shortfall. In order to do so, the Moline Housing Authority created a not-for profit organization called Mo-line Housing Authority Development Corporation (MHDC) as a subsidiary to facilitate in-come generating programs and ventures. MHDC, has recently acquired a six (6) unit housing property in downtown Moline under HUD’s multifamily housing program. Moline Housing Authority is the first and only housing authority in this part of the state and few in the country to have both public housing and multifamily housing programs, and we are proud of this accomplishment. Our goal is to take a leadership position in the administration, development and provision of affordable housing by putting in place comprehensive policies. We want to be at the forefront in finding creative, imaginative and innovative solution to the funding shortage in the public housing industry, and to inspire staff to provide cutting edge, and comprehensive housing service to our residents and citizens of Moline. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be your housing provider and we are pleased to have you as a resident/client.

As a reminder, the Board meets on the third Monday of the month at the Spring Brook office. The meeting is open to our residents and the public. Tenants and the Housing Choice Voucher Program participants are especially encouraged to come and observe and be part of what is going on here at the housing authority.

Rap from RAB

The Resident Advisory Board (RAB) is currently looking for volunteers from Spring Brook and Spring Valley to serve AS Board members. The primary responsibility of the RAB as mandated by law is to review and endorse the Housing Authority’s 5 year Agency Plan and to ensure that the plan would not negatively impact the residents and the quality of service delivery. However, the Resident Advisory Board also serves as the Resident Council whereby it organizes activities such as health fair and attends the monthly meeting of the Board of Commissioners to represent residents and the Housing Choice Voucher Program participants on policy and operational issues.

Important Dates