HUD AWARDS $10 MILLION TO PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES FOR EMERGENCY SAFETY AND SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS
WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman today announced that the Department is awarding $10 million to 55 Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) throughout the country to make needed capital improvements in public housing developments that serve to enhance safety and security for residents. View a complete list of housing authorities that received funding.
Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman announced the awards during a virtual call with the following PHA leaders: Joanie Poore, CEO, Omaha Housing Authority; Jeffery Patterson, CEO, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority; Steven Fischer, Executive Director, Chester Housing Authority; Cheryl Churchill, Executive Director, City of Eureka & County of Humboldt Housing Authorities; and Bob Moreau, Executive Director, Woonsocket Housing Authority. Chester, Pennsylvania Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland also participated in the call.
“Families who live in public housing deserve to be safe in their homes,” said HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman. “These grants help ensure the health and safety of public housing residents so they can go about living their everyday lives peacefully without having to worry about having a secure place to call home.”
“The Omaha Housing Authority would like to thank Deputy Secretary Todman and the entire team at the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the $247,000 Emergency Safety and Security Grant Award,” said Joanie Poore, Chief Executive Officer of the Omaha Housing Authority. “This grant award will allow OHA to convert all non-residential doors that are currently secured with a keyed lockset or deadbolt to an access control system with two-factor authentication and intrusion alarms. Additionally, this will allow OHA to upgrade exterior lighting and fencing to reduce locations that are hidden from view. These investments will take place at four of OHA’s tower locations. We appreciate the ability to invest in additional safety measures to support our the individuals and families OHA has the opportunity to serve.
“As the oldest housing authority in the country, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority is committed to creating safe, quality, and affordable housing opportunities to the communities we serve,” said Jeffery K. Patterson, Chief Executive Officer the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. “We are appreciative that the Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing these much needed resources to assist our efforts in providing a safer living environment for the residents in Cuyahoga County. CMHA is extremely grateful for this opportunity, and we are looking forward to moving this initiative ahead.”
“The overwhelming majority of our residents are law-abiding, rule-following citizens,” said Steven Fischer, Executive Director of the Chester Housing Authority. “This little extra support will go a long way toward putting extra eyes on their community, making it safer to raise their families. They appreciate this.”
“We’re thankful for the continued partnership we have with HUD, and for this Emergency Safety and Security Grant, which will allow us to make critical upgrades to prevent crime in our Public Housing communities,” said Cheryl Churchill, Executive Director of the City of Eureka and County of Humboldt Housing Authorities. “With the grant funding, and based on the City of Eureka’s Community Safety Engagement Team that helped us analyze our locations to determine the most impactful solutions, we’ll be able to significantly increase the safety and security for many of our resident families.”
“The WHA is grateful to be awarded HUD’s Emergency Safety and Security grant in the amount of $244,188 for the safety and security emergencies we are experiencing that pose a threat to the health and safety of our residents,” said Bob Moreau, Executive Director of the Woonsocket Housing Authority. “It will be utilized to improve the security infrastructure at Morin Heights – one of our family developments.”
“These grants will go a long way in providing our Chester Housing Authority residents with a better sense of safety and security. Something that they desire and deserve,” said Chester, Pennsylvania Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland.
The funds are awarded through HUD’s Capital Fund Emergency Safety and Security Program, which supports public housing authorities as they address the safety of public housing residents. These grants may be used to install, repair, or replace capital equipment or systems that contribute to a safer living environment for residents, including security systems/surveillance cameras, fencing, lighting systems, emergency alarm systems, window bars, deadbolt locks, doors, and carbon monoxide detectors.
