the

Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven

This Spring edition of “The Homefront” brings you a lot of information on the wonderful work being done by our agency. I am proud to announce that after a competitive application process, HUD selected our agency to receive various RAD – Rental Assistance Demonstration Awards for many properties in our portfolio. These awards will help improve the conditions of existing properties as well as propel our new redevelopment plans for Ribicoff Cottages and Farnam Courts. It is my belief that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. I hope you will share in my excitement for the opportunity to give our young people a chance at a bright future with our youth initiative “HANH Believes!” Lastly, as the school year ends, I look forward to celebrating during a special event planned for our graduating high school seniors on June 17th. I invite you to join us as we work to make a difference in the lives of our residents.

With appreciation,

Karen DuBois Walton, PhD.

Over the next decade, the United States will be unable to fill 10 million new, high-paying jobs because they require postsecondary training and credentials. Unless we can move millions of low-income children onto the college track, we’re facing a disastrous scenario for our country, our young people, and our economy. A college degree is the new finish line. It’s the equivalent credential in today’s job market of a high school diploma a generation ago. (Edweek.org)

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

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Mayor Harp and Ms. Alberta Witherspoon, an ECC/HANH resident and member of the Board of Commissioners attend the 2014 PHRN (Publicly-Assisted Housing Resident Network) ��Celebration & �Awards Ceremony that was held on ��Saturday, March 8, 2014 at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wallingford.

The PHRN 2014 honorees included: Outstanding Developer: Kelly McDermott, East Hartford Housing Authority

PHRN Lifetime Membership: Kate Robinson, Lobbyist, Betty Gallo & Co. Hartford Outstanding Resident Leadership Team: Bowles Park Redevelopment Committee, Hartford Outstanding Elected Officials: Senator Toni Nathaniel Harp, New Haven & West Haven; State

Representative Toni Walker, New Haven Outstanding Friend: Senator Bob Duff, Norwalk & Darien

Outstanding PHRN Member: Giovanna Latina, New Haven

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

MTW Plan 2015 Public Notice Elm City Communities has completed its MTW Annual Plan 2015. The new MTW plan proposed for the FY2015 includes short and long terms goals such as increasing housing choices for low income families, completing redevelopment of Farnam

Court/Fair Haven and Ribicoff Cottages, giving incentives to families with children who complete programs that assist with economic self-sufficiency efforts, and reducing operating costs to achieve greater cost effectiveness in Federal expenditure. If you wish to review our plan, it is available at our offices 360 Orange Street New Haven, CT or by visiting our website www.elmcitycommunities.com.

REAC INSPECTIONS

Nearly 4 million American families live in rental housing that is owned, insured or subsidized by HUD. To ensure that these families have housing that is decent,

safe, sanitary and in good repair. REAC – Real Estate Assessment Center conducts approximately 20,000 physical inspections on properties each year.

Elm City Communities was proud to be a community partner during the Spring 2014

Parent University event Saturday, April 26th at Gateway Community College.

Dr. Brett Rayford, director of DCF's division of adolescent and juvenile justice

services served as the keynote speaker. He shared his perspective on the critical

need to raise “urban warriors” and the importance of education. Mayor Toni Harp

also shared personal stories about growing up with parents who taught her that

knowledge is the most priceless thing we could give our children because it provides

the power needed to overcome obstacles and succeed.

Hundreds of parents showed up to participate and learn at one of the many free

workshops ranging in topics from Digital Literacy to Nutrition to Immigration. Many

community organizations including Promise, Junta, Higher Heights and many more

were on hand sharing their resources for the parents. Elm City Communities also

provided one-on-one informational sessions about our home ownership application

process and programs available.

Parent University New Haven was a collaborative effort funded by the

Board of Education, Promise, United Way and Boost! For more information about Parent University, visit them at

www.punh.org

Michelle Rodriguez talks with PUNH participants about our home ownership program.

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

At Elm City Communities, we recognize the importance of playing our part in helping to keep our environment safe. All of our departments work to incorporate sustainable practices to help us move toward operating as a green conscious agency.

Here are some tips to stay green in your home: ! Recycle everything possible. Glass, metal, plastic, paper, cardboard

(don’t forget junk mail!) ! Use reusable plates, cups and utensils. Try to avoid using Styrofoam. ! Use rechargeable and reusable office products, like batteries, pens,

storage devices. ! Filter your water rather than using bottled. Not only is it cheaper, but you reduce the bottles in

circulation. ! Donate used items rather than trashing them. Most places will even take worn clothes for rags ! Unplug appliances when you're not using them

On Tuesday, March 25th, over 100 participants attended the Landlord/Tenant Workshop hosted by Evelise Ribeiro, Director of Housing Choice Voucher Program. The two hour session which touched upon many mutually beneficial topics including leasing, tenant relations, application process, eviction process, legal issues and much more. As an agency, it is our responsibility to offer participants of the Housing Choice Voucher program resources that ensure safe, affordable communities of choice.

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved our request for a portfolio award under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program which covers Ribicoff Cottages, Farnam Courts, Eastview Terrace, Wilmont Crossing, Essex Townhouses, Crawford Manor, Westville Manor, McConaughy Terrace, McQueeney Towers, Fairmont Heights, Matthew Ruoppolo Manor and Winslow Celentano. The redevelopment plans for Farnam Courts and Ribicoff Cottages are already underway. Construction is scheduled to begin June 2014 for Ribicoff and the proposed date to break ground for the first phase of Farnam is October 2014. A special thank you to our Special Projects department who underwent an extremely competitive application process in order to be considered eligible for these awards.

RAD AWARDS UPDATE

This summer, Elm City Communities/HANH will once again hire a group of our young residents between the ages of 16-21, through the STEP – Summer Training and Employment Program. The program will give each young person the opportunity to obtain work experience at the Elm City Communities/HANH offices. For 6 weeks, each student will be immersed in a paid intensive learning experience in one of our various departments from Operations to Finance. As part of the work experience, it will be mandatory for each student to participate in workshops ranging from financial literacy to public speaking to resume writing that will be provided by ECC/HANH. The workshops are designed to support their employment experience by providing information that will help teach them transferable workplace skills.

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child™ is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. We partnered with the New Haven Early Childhood Council and the City of New Haven to provide a reading program to our kids at Farnam Courts! On Thursday, April 10th, the kids enjoyed snacks, toy making activity and an interactive reading of "The Knight and the Dragon" story! NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child™ in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children's success in school and later life. The Week of the Young Child™ is a time to plan how we—as citizens of a community, of a state, and of a nation—will better meet the needs of all young children and their families.

A special thank you to our Youth Leadership Council at Farnam for volunteering to help organize the event!

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Congratulations to our Executive Director, Dr. Karen DuBois-Walton, who was selected among hundreds of distinguished professionals as one of this year's 25 Influential Black Women in Business by the Network Journal. Honorees came from all across the country to attend the awards luncheon at the Marriott Marquis in New York City on Thursday, March 27th.

The 2014 honorees included: 1) Rhonda Spears Bell, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, National Urban League 2) �Traci Otey Blunt, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, The RLJ Companies 3) �Denise Burgess, President and General Manager, Burgess Services, Inc. � 4) Pamela Carter, President--Cummins Distribution Business, Cummins, Inc. � 5) Margot James Copeland, Chair, KeyBank Foundation and Executive Vice President, Director, Corporate Diversity and Philanthropy, KeyBank 6) Michellene Davis, J.D., Executive Vice President, Barnabas Health 7) Karen DuBois-Walton, Ph.D., Executive Director, Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of the City of New Haven 8) Marta Effinger-Crichlow, Ph.D., Chair and Associate Professor, African American Studies Department, New York City College of Technology-CUNY 9) �Linda D. Forte, Senior Vice President, Business Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer, Comerica Bank 10) �Lori Dickerson Fouché, Chief Executive Officer, Prudential Group Insurance 11) �Kimberley Crews Goode, Vice President, Communications and Corporate Affairs, Northwestern Mutual 12) �Laurie N. Robinson Haden, J.D., Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, CBS Corporation 13) �Kimberley Hatchett, Executive Director, Private Wealth Advisor, Morgan Stanley �14) Tanya D. Holcomb, J.D., Chief Litigation Counsel and Assistant General Counsel, Honeywell International Inc. 15) Lynne Holden, M.D., President, Mentoring in Medicine, Inc. �16) Cheryl Kinnon, Field Sales Vice President - OTC, SoftSheen-Carson, L'Oreal 17) �Lori E. Lightfoot, Esq., Partner, Mayer Brown LLP �18) Tamla D. Oates-Forney, Senior Executive - Human Resources, GE Africa �19) Ursula Dudley Oglesby, J.D., President, Dudley Beauty Corp., LLC �20) Denise L. Pease, Regional Administrator for the Northeast and Caribbean, US General Services Administration �21) Danielle M. Robinson, Ph.D., Director, Alcohol Policy and Reputation Management, Diageo North America �22) Brenda Ross-Dulan, Executive Vice President and Region President, Wells Fargo and Company, N.A. 23) �Linda L. Singh, Managing Director, Accenture �24) Cheryl B. Walker-Robertson, Chief Protocol Officer, Protocol International �25) Teresa L. White, Chief Operating Officer, Aflac and Executive Vice President of U.S. Operations, Aflac

Dr. DuBois-Walton was selected for her work in the New Haven community managing one of the largest portfolios in the country, changing the landscape of public housing through innovative developments and her commitment to residents through active support of unique self-sufficiency programs & initiatives.

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

WHY FATHER’S DAY? A message from HUD

Why “celebrate” fathers when everyone knows that it’s the mothers that do much of the heavy lifting as it relates to raising families, especially in public housing where 75% of families are led by single women? Raising children as a single mom is incredibly difficult, and involved fathers or father-like figures can offer vital support, whether it’s attending PTA meetings, accompanying children to various events, or being the person a child can go to about navigating a difficult world. And, according to statistics drawn from communities across the country, children raised in absent father families are more at-risk for a host of negative factors, including dropping out of school. The focus on Father’s Day is meant to be a starting point; either a celebration of existing relationships or a reason to form first connections. We know that men in our communities are not always integrally connected to services. One of the key goals in HUD’s Father’s Day Initiative is to help connect men to resources that can improve their lives and the lives of their families. Some fathers may need help with job training or employment resources, others with access to health services. The more fathers become engaged and the more resources they access, the more they can support mothers in parenting. We urge you to think of Father’s Day as a tremendous opportunity to not only assist the men in your community, but also the kids, the mothers, and, ultimately, the entire neighborhood.

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Planning has already begun for the 2014 High School Graduate Ceremony scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 17th during our monthly Board of Commissioners meeting. We want to acknowledge our deserving students who have demonstrated a commitment to their education. In addition to receiving a certificate of achievement, students will once again receive a Kindle Fire HD tablet as a graduation gift from Elm City Communities. If you or a student you know is graduating this year, we want to know!

We want to make sure that we acknowledge the achievement of every graduating high school senior that resides at ECC/HANH! For questions and/or more information, you may reach out to Robin Miller-Godwin (203) 498-8800 x1009

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SPRING 2014 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

• May 11th Mother’s Day

• May 20th Board of Commissioners Meeting 4:00 pm

• May 26th Memorial Day (office closed)

• June 7th Fatherhood Initiative Program

• June 15th Father’s Day

• June 17th Board of Commissioners Meeting 4:00 pm/High School Graduate Ceremony

• July 4th Fourth of July (office closed)

• July 15th Board of Commissioners Meeting 4:00 pm

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES SPRING 2014