The

Informer

ISSUE 2 April, May and June 2013 VOLUME 7 INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

TRANSFORMING ANNISTON HOUSING TOGETHER!

AHA EDUCATIONAL STIPHEN RECIPIENT’S

COMPUTER CLASS

ANNISTON COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES

RESIDENT COUNCIL MEETINGS

GED CLASSES

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Anniston Housing

Authority

Executive Board of Directors:

Kathy Dreyer Chairperson James L. Smith Vice Chairperson Curley Davis, Commissioner David Dethrage Commissioner Susan Ponder Commissioner

If you live in Public

Housing, you may be

eligible to receive an

educational stipend of a

$175-250 when you

receive an associate or a

bachelor degree.

In our efforts to seek community

involvement and obtain information

from Anniston Housing Authority

(AHA) residents, a series of

community meetings were held in

March and April of 2013. Each

meeting began with Mr. Willie

“Sonny” McMahand, AHA

Executive Director sharing his vision

of transforming AHA housing

developments which included:

The importance of Resident

Involvement and to inform

residents of AHA policies,

procedures, programs and

services.

Improving the public image of

public housing by transforming

AHA housing developments into

choice neighborhoods where

families want to live, work and

succeed.

Plans to implement programs

such as the Family Self

Sufficiency Program (FSS) and

Homeownership Programs.

Continuing on page 2

The Informer PAGE 2

Anniston Housing

Authority

3/18/20

Mr. McMahand asked residents to share their thoughts

and perceptions of their communities, as well as ideas

they have to address problems within their communi-

ties. The discussions of expectations from the staff and

residents were:

From staff:

Improving customer service and maintenance of

units along with providing residents programs and

addressing safety concerns.

From residents:

The importance of paying your rent on time or if

you are not able to pay your rent contact your

Manager before the rent is due. Remember to

report all changes in income or family composition

within ten days.

Also, discussed with residents how important it is

to follow all rules of the lease and not allow

undesirables in the housing communities.

In addition, surveys were distributed to all

residents that attended the community meetings. RESIDENT SURVEY RESULTS

Total AHA units: 831

# of residents attended: 476

Total surveys received: 420

OVERALL RESULTS:

Very Satisfied 27% Satisfied 19%

Neutral 22% Dissatisfied 13%

Very Dissatisfied 16%

Each survey was tallied, verbal comments and written

comments from residents were extracted from the

meetings and surveys. These comments were entered

into a management operation plan that was presented to

the Board of Commissioners. The comments were very

important and will assist us in developing action plans

to better serve the housing communities.

Continue on page 3

PAGE 3 Anniston Housing

Authority The Informer

3/20/2013 3/20/2013

Some of the comments received were:

Need to enforce severe action for lease termination

Excessive maintenance charges

Washer and dryer hook ups

Security issues: improvement of community policing

program and revising the criminal trespassing policy

Curfew Policy

Improve curb appeal

Issues with criminal activities: break-ins, gun control within community, domestic abuse and shooting

Strengthen resident relations

Parental control of youth

Management issues: Improve customer service by AHA management.

The implementation of the Action Plan will take place within the next few months. There will be updates in the

future newsletters and on the housing website annistonhousing.org. We thank all residents that attended the

meetings and completing the surveys over the past month. Please continue to attend community meetings and take

advantage of community programs. Remember your opinion matters to us and let it be known within our housing

communities and Housing Choice Voucher Program will play an important role in the revitalization efforts in the

City of Anniston.

3/13/2013

PAGE 4 Anniston Housing

Authority The Informer

EDUCATIONAL STIPHEN SECOND QUARTER RECIPIENT’S

Adrian Long

Parkwin Homes Community $175 Post-Secondary Stipend

Congratulation to Ms. Adrian Long of the

Parkwin Homes community. She graduated in

December 2012 from Gadsden State Community

College with an Associate in Applied Science

with a concentration in Early Childhood

Development with an outstanding 3.5 Grade Point

Average. She currently works at Cheaha Regional

Head Start with children between the ages of 3-5.

The staff of Anniston Housing Authority supports

you. Keep up the good work!

Jeffery Gaston

Cooper Homes Community $100 Post-Secondary Stipend

Congratulations to Mr. Jeffery Gaston of the

Cooper Homes community. He passed his test

in May 2012 at Gadsden State Community

College. The staff of Anniston Housing

Authority supports you. Keep up the good

work!

PAGE 5 Anniston Housing

Authority

We have three computer labs located at the following developments: Glen Addie Homes

Community Building, Norwood and Constantine Homes.

The computer labs are provided for the youth in public housing to assist in the

after-school program at Norwood and Constantine Boys and Girls Club. In addition, the

lab at Glen Addie is for the youth, adult education and computer classes.

Computer classes at Glen Addie Homes Community Center are available:

Monday—Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

Classes are taught by Ms. Faye Gregory. If you have any additional questions, please call

236-1575, ext. 35. We look forward to seeing you there. (Will count as community service hours)

If You Do Not

REPORT

All Income,

You Must

REPAY.

It’s The

Law!

Note: To complete community service

hours, residents can volunteer at your

local nursing homes, schools, social

service agencies, daycare center or

hospital. If you have any additional

questions, please contact local social

service agencies, housing manager or

resident services.

The Informer

Community Service Activities

Dates to Remember

May 12, Mother’s Day

May 27, Memorial Day

June 16, Father’s Day

The Housing Authority

will be closed on

May 24 and May 27.

PAGE 6 Anniston Housing

Authority

Anniston Community Education Foundation Community

Activities

The Informer

Anniston Community Education Foundation (ACEF) is off to another great start for the

year 2013. There has been a tremendous increase in community engagement with ACEF

sponsored events such as Parents As Leaders (PAL) and the ACEF Youth Coalition. We

would like to encourage you to continue to support these meetings not just for a greater

number of participants, but for the knowledge that you receive and are able to share with

your families.

We would like to remind you that PAL’s meetings are held once a month at your local

Cheaha Regional Head Starts. Those head starts are Ayers, Constantine, Hobson City,

and Norwood. These meetings are open to parents that have children attending one of

the head start centers and are in conjunction with the parent support meetings.

ACEF’s youth Coalition is open to children from grades 2nd - 12th. These meetings take

place on Wednesday at 4pm here in the ACEF office located at 818 Leighton Avenue

Suite A. Youth meeting this grade criterion are welcome to attend. There are no fees, just

a quick application to join.

Anniston Community Education Foundation is now preparing for the 3rd Annual “Let

Them Shine Family Summit. The summit will be held on Thursday, June 27, 2013. Last

year’s summit hosted more than 500 youth participants and expects that number to in-

crease tremendously.

This year’s summit speakers include Mr. Bobby Humphrey, former running back for the

University of Alabama and Denver Broncos, and Mr. Sam Dansby, father of NFL line-

backer Carlos Dansby. These two tremendous speakers will speak on topics such as rais-

ing a pro athlete and the use of alcohol and drugs. You do not want to miss out on this

momentous event.

For more information please call

(256) 741-1629 / (256) 741-1630

Or visit

Annistoncef.org

PAGE 7 Anniston Housing

Authority The Informer

The Resident Council is a group of

individuals living in public housing from

the nine developments located in

Anniston, Alabama. They meet monthly

to discuss issues that will improve the

quality of life for residents living in

public housing.

Resident Meetings are held at the

following location:

Glen Addie Homes Community Center

@ 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. every

second Tuesday of the month.

I encourage anyone who would like to

attend these meetings to please come.

Your voices and opinions matter. If we

don’t hear from you it makes it hard for

the housing authority to better serve you

and your family’s housing needs. For

additional questions, please contact

resident services at 256-236-1575, ext.35

or your community representative.

Kelli Sullivan– Glen Addie Homes

Janice Finley– Washington Homes

Vanessa Williams– Parkwin Homes

Nellie Sterling– Cooper Homes

Delphine Lockett– Norwood Homes

Aline Woods– Fairview Homes

Maxine Smith– Constantine Homes

Donna Roberson– Constantine Homes

Debra Young– Barber Terrace/Tinsley Manor

Mariah Denise Matthews

Cooper Homes Community

Congratulations to Ms. Mariah

Matthews of the Cooper Homes

community. She received her high

school diploma from the Cornerstone

Christian Correspondence School in

March 2013. The staff of Anniston

Housing Authority supports you.

Keep up the good work!

“Please remember rent is due on

the 1st of each month and late after

the 6th of each month. A late fee

of $25 will be applied to your

account after the 6th of each

month.”

The

Informer

Anniston Housing Authority

P.O. Box 2225

Presort STD US Postage

Paid Metro Mail

The Anniston Housing Basic Adult Education Courses (GED) incentive program is designed to prepare individuals

to successfully pass the GED exam using trained instructors. The classes are administered through Gadsden State

Community College/Ayers Campus.

The incentive for successfully passing the GED examination is a $100 stipend for public housing residents. Also,

the Housing Authority will pay the initial registration fee of $50 for all public housing residents to take the exam.

To qualify for the stipend:

Attend at least 80% in-class instructions.

Must be a resident of Public Housing.

Classes are:

Instructional Classes 10:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Tues/Thursday (mandatory)

Tutorial Session 10:00 a. m. - 1:30 p. m.

Monday/ English (Reading, Writing & Language)

Wednesday/ Math (Basics & Algebra)

( Must attend at least one session)

Instructors:

Ms. Faye Gregory, English/Reading Instructor

Mr. Paul Denson, Math Instructor

For additional information please call, 256-236-1575, ext. 35.

Seeking volunteers to help with

the "Let Them Shine" Family

Summit on Thursday, June 27,

2013. If you are interested in

volunteering please contact

Resident Services at

256-236-1575, ext. 35 or

Kerwin Allen of the

Anniston Community Education

Foundation at 256-741-1630 for

additional information.