New HRA Location Means Better Service

With more space, comes more services. And that’s why the Douglas County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) operates out of a new location. Executive Director Emajean Hanson-Ford and her staff are now housed at 700 Northside Drive NE in Alexandria. “We were capped at what we could offer at the former space because we didn’t have the room for additional staff” said Hanson-Ford. “We also now have room to store our maintenance tools and inventory onsite - we can save money by purchasing items like window air conditioners when they go on sale because we have room to store them.”

The Douglas County HRA quietly goes about expanding housing options by updating old buildings, like The Belmont in Alexandria, and turning a property formerly used for another purpose into apartments, like the Garfield Creamery which offers six two-bedroom apartments. Not surprisingly, their new location used to have a different purpose – the Runestone Alternative School.

“People are happy we reused an existing building, including most of the doors, kitchen appliances and bathroom plumbing fixtures. Grants, along with program income, paid for the new furniture,” said Hanson-Ford.

The new location will offer a larger waiting room for the clients, many of whom are elderly or have access or functional needs. There will be secure meeting rooms, and one will provide a very welcome service. Clients will be able to use a provided laptop, guest wi-fi and a printer. “They can print their bank statements, employment records, or whatever else they need to keep their housing,” said Hanson-Ford. “One of the barriers is people may only have a phone, not a printer or the technical ability to forward information by email on their phone. This way there is no barrier to their housing.”  

The newer position of Housing Navigator now has more space to meet with and assist clients. Her job is to help the client stay housed. She can help if the client doesn’t understand, for example, how to fill out an application or find a resource. The Housing Navigator just recently received funding from the REA Roundup program for Rainbow Rider vouchers and money to reimburse eligible clients for housing application fees.

The Douglas County HRA owns six apartment buildings, two in Alexandria, three in Evansville and one in Garfield. Twenty-eight public housing units and six additional duplexes known as Cardinal Estates are scattered throughout the county as well. Tenant-based services such as Section 8 Housing vouchers and what are called Bridging programs are also available to clients. They also offer rehab programs to both home, rental and business owners.

Each year Hanson-Ford presents her agency’s work to the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, which reviews and approves her operating levy. The local levy is just part of her budget. The remainder of the funding is state and federal along with income from the HRA rental properties. The HRA’s mission is to provide safe and affordable housing in both Douglas and Pope Counties. There will be ribbon cutting at the new location on October 20 at 1 p.m. The public is invited.