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Section 8 Stigmas- Myth vs Reality
Merriam-Webster defines stigma as a mark of shame or discredit. However, for Section 8 participants, it is a mark that has been imposed by others and has had long-reaching consequences. Many people associate Section 8 with poverty, laziness, and the broken welfare system of days past. They retain a picture …
It’s Time for the PHA Evolution
We are all given 2 choices in life and in business… either evolve or repeat. Everything that happens to us, everything we walk through, everything we experience, is an area of opportunity where we will either learn and grow, or we get to do it all over again until we …
Advancing Positive Change Through Your Administrative Plan
Covid-19 gave us an opportunity to rethink how we plan our PHAs near term and long-term. Revisiting your agency’s administrative plan allows you to adjust policies and procedures that may be outdated or no longer serve your agency or community well. Wherever HUD allows discretion, take advantage of this power …
Reduce Administrative Costs by Understanding Reasonable Accommodations
Having a disability shouldn’t mean that a person’s housing situation should be intolerable. If someone has a physical or mental disability, it’s imperative they are aware of the accommodation or modification they can request from their housing that will allow them to make the most of their home life. This …
Planning and Preparedness – Don’t Let Your Busy Season Bury You
Summer is the busiest time of the year for many PHAs. PHA staff can often find themselves unprepared or even ill equipped to handle the summer surge in workload. The increase in moves, recertifications, employee vacation time, and COVID-related struggles, ultimately leads to delays in processing, a backlog of escalations, …
Conducting Virtual HQS Inspections
Getting back on track is easier said than done for a great deal of PHAs trying to move forward with “normal” operations. Why is “normal” under quotation marks? Let’s face it, things stopped being normal once COVID made its debut. Now that emergency operations have started to settle down, what’s …
The Emergency Housing Voucher Program: What PHAs Need to Know
The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law on March 11, 2021. Within this piece of legislation funding was included for a new program designed to be an emergency source for specific families. It is the Emergency Housing Voucher Program. Not to be confused with what we already know …
Getting Back on Track with SEMAP
Public Housing Authorities nationwide were under a lot of pressure throughout the course of the pandemic. The services provided by these PHAs are so critical to the communities they serve. In order to keep these crucial programs running, HUD offered several waivers for agencies. These waivers gave PHAs a …
Creative Solutions for PHAs Busy Season Problems
Over the past few months, we at AMA have done a ton to research the needs of Public Housing Agencies/Authorities. And we’ve come across 2 problem areas super common to most PHAs right now: Backlog Increase in expiring vouchers I know those are pretty big topics that some of you …
PHA Reminders for Summer Portability Surge
As the pandemic wore on, our country experienced levels of job loss unseen since the 1930s. Along with this came an unprecedented number of people who chose to relocate, with the majority leaving largely populated cities. The 10 largest Section 8 programs in the U.S. are all located in large …
Smart Fixes for New Challenges to PHAs
The affordable housing industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. Like a small town after a tornado, many PHAs and program administrators are now standing in the aftermath unsure of how to succeed in the current climate. We gathered a few inside sources and asked for their insight on… …
PHAs Need COVID Recovery Assistance Too
Recovery is defined as, “to return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.” There might be humorous banter about what ‘normal’ is for PHAs, however, now that the surge of emergency response to COVID-19 has subsided, it’s time for Public Housing Agencies to move forward and begin operating …
AMA Webinar Series: On-Demand
Insights for Public Housing Leadership
If you missed one of our webinars, don’t worry! You can now view all of the AMA webinars on-demand at a time that works best for you. If you see something you like, click on the image and start watching. Enjoy!
