Housing Insecurity: Executive directors discuss ways that housing authorities can better serve the local community

Corbin Housing Authority Maintenance Director Andrew Lee

At any given time, approximately 400 housing units are occupied between the Corbin and Williamsburg Housing Authorities. While many of these tenants may be individuals, many are also families, meaning the actual number of people residing in public housing is much greater. Not only that, but waitlists to get into one of these units are getting longer by the day.

It is another example of how there just isn’t enough housing to go around right now, which is why it is imperative that housing authority executive directors do all that they can to be as effective and efficient as possible in managing their respective units.

Hayes, Corbin Housing Authority have “One Goal: Excellence”

“We’re not coming into work every day to be mediocre.”

That is what Dr. Robert Hayes said recently about the ongoing efforts by himself and his staff to turn the Corbin Housing Authority into a shining light for the rest of the state to look to when it comes to how to properly manage public housing. That task is easier said than done when considering the state of affairs when Hayes took over the executive director job just a couple of years ago (see “Robert Hayes discusses efforts to right the ship at Corbin Housing Authority” online at thenewsjournal.net for more details), but with a lot of hard work and dedication, things are consistently improving.

“It looked rough,” is how Maintenance Director Andrew Lee described the situation just before Hayes’ arrival. “But over the course of the last 2-3 years it has improved. The way that things have been turning around, I have people coming to me all the time and bragging about their community here.”

At the center of the previous issues with the Corbin Housing Authority were disastrous financial management decisions. It has taken time to get the house in order, but Hayes and his team now have the city’s public housing entity in good standing.

“You want to have about five months of operating funds on hand in case of an emergency,” Hayes explained. “When I took over there wasn’t enough for one.”

Hayes said that the Corbin Housing Authority currently has enough funds in the bank to keep the doors open for about four months should something unexpected happen, such as a government shutdown.

In addition to focusing on improving the financial situation at the Corbin Housing Authority, Hayes and company have updated all policies and procedures for personnel, offer ongoing training in a variety of key areas, put an emphasis on cyber security and continually focus on upgrades and modernization of all facilities, among other initiatives.

Hayes said that one of the biggest next steps is to explore options for the potential expansion of low-income housing options in the area, and to pursue those opportunities when they arise. While adding more public housing is not currently possible due to federal limitations on the construction of new units of that type (search “Faircloth Amendment of 1998” for more information), he said that other types of affordable housing could be a possibility, and could cater to specific groups, such as seniors and/or veterans.

Hayes also commented that he would like to see some options for emergency housing made available in the local area in the near future.

For now, the work of continuing to provide a safe and adequate place to live for those qualifying for public housing remains as the top priority for Hayes and his team at the Corbin Housing Authority.

“Some people may need to live here for the rest of their life, and that’s fine,” Hayes said. “But for some people it is a stepping stone. Whatever it is, whatever their circumstances, if they meet the financial guidelines and our good neighbor policy, we will do everything that we can to help them.”

New children’s reading area inside the W’burg Housing Authority’s community center

Thornton seeking community partnerships to strengthen Williamsburg Housing Authority

Mary Thornton knows what it means to be a part of the community that resides within Williamsburg’s public housing. When she was younger, she lived in one of the very units that she now oversees as executive director of the city’s housing authority. It was after her parents had divorced, and while her mother was getting back on her feet by training for an eventual career in nursing.

“I loved the time that I lived here,” Thornton said. “And I want other families to feel that way too.”

Prior to taking over as the executive director at the Williamsburg Housing Authority, Thornton worked for Dayspring Health. She assisted with the implementation of behavioral health programs during her time there, so she knows how greatly mental health issues can impact a person’s ability to deal with housing insecurity. For this reason, she is excited about a new partnership with Cumberland River Behavioral Health that will offer tenants on-site support in a wide range of areas.

This new grant-funded peer support program has allowed Cumberland River Behavioral Health to establish a satellite office that is attached to the housing authority’s central location at the Brush Arbor complex. A representative works in the satellite office and can offer guidance when it comes to adult mental health, children’s services, substance abuse, rape victim services, intellectual disabilities, DCBS-involved cases and more.

Thornton said that she is thrilled about being able to help make these types of resources available to tenants, and she is hopeful that the partnership between the two organizations will be successful and grow in the months and years ahead.

Thornton is also excited about recent renovations to the housing authority’s community center, which is located amongst the apartments in the Highland Park area of town. After obtaining funding to install a new heat-and-air system, replace windows and upgrade the kitchen area, the center is slated to re-open in the coming days. The housing authority was also able to partner with the Save the Children Foundation to install a special children’s reading area at the facility.

Thornton said that it’s all about “connecting the dots” in order to help make people’s lives better. “There are a lot of organizations that can come together, and once we have that synergy of working together, it will help to keep people from having to deal with housing insecurity,” she said.

Thornton added that many of the people who are struggling with housing insecurity could be trapped in negative life cycles that are keeping them from achieving their full potential. Whatever that may look like for those individuals, she said that the overall goal is to help them break those cycles, and the best way to do that is by offering opportunities.

The opportunity could come from talking to someone at Cumberland River Behavioral Health, or it could come from a connection that is made while attending a future informative event at the community center. Either way, Thornton said that she just hopes to see people’s lives improve.

“I was just drawn to this place,” Thornton said of the housing authority. “If you can make things nice, clean and enjoyable, then this can be a good place to live. That is what I want to do.”

In an update to an unfortunate story from earlier this year, a total of four housing units in the Brush Arbor complex are currently offline due to a fire. While far from a total loss, the unit where the fire occurred has had to receive extensive repairs. Nearby units received significant smoke damage, which is also being addressed. Considering the scope of the work, Thornton said those units could potentially be offline for the remainder of the year. She said that the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, and that arson hasn’t yet been ruled out.

To find out more about public housing options in the local area and how to obtain an application, contact the Corbin Housing Authority at (606) 528-5104 or the Williamsburg Housing Authority at (606) 549-0282.