Office of Resident Services

Introduction

The Office of Resident Services (ORS) is the primary link between the resident leadership and the agency. ORS promotes self-sufficiency among public housing residents. ORS performs grants administration for grants that serve public housing residents, builds capacity for Resident Councils and coordinates special projects. ORS partners with residents and other organizations to develop meaningful initiatives to enrich the lives of youth, adults and seniors.

Creative Living Solutions (CLS)

The DCHA has been selected by HUD as one of 30 housing authorities around the country to participate in a demonstration program that will allow modification of assistance programs. The program will allow DCHA significant opportunities to modify existing housing assistance programs, and other programs for low-income public housing residents.

The CLS Plan is produced annually and submitted to HUD. It outlines the initiatives that DCHA will be exploring as part of the CLS program. The program is expected to continue through 2010.

Click to view draft of the FY 2005 CLS Plan

Grants Administration

The major responsibility of ORS is grants administration for grants that support social service initiatives for public housing residents. Main objectives of these initiatives are to empower residents and provide a variety of opportunities and services. ORS currently administers the grant programs that are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These include: the Youth Violence Prevention Program (YVP), the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program (PHDEP), the Resident Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Program, and the Community Based Anti-Drug Strategies Program (CBASP). The service providers that provide program services under these grants are selected under DCHA procurement procedures that the Contracts and Procurement Office has established.

Grant Program Descriptions

The Youth Violence Prevention Program (YVP) includes: Youth Violence Prevention Basketball League, Youth Mentoring Program and Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

Two of these initiatives are devised to steer at-risk and high-risk youth away from violence. The Domestic Violence Program works to reduce family violence that may exist in some public housing communities. The public housing communities that receive program services under YVP include: Benning Terrace, East Capitol Dwellings, Garfield Terrace and Langston Terrace. DCHA also receives the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program to reduce drugs and criminal activity.

Collaboratively, the Office of Public Safety administers the public safety component of the PHDEP while ORS administers the social services component of the PHDEP. The 2000 Public Housing Drug Elimination Program was awarded to DCHA in March 2001.

ORS has provided summer enrichment programs for public housing youth at selected public housing developments in the Rock Creek and Anacostia Regions. ORS is currently planning DCHA initiatives that ORS will directly implement. These include: youth mentoring , sports activities and public service.

ROSS grants were awarded to eight Resident Councils (Barry Farm, Ft. Dupont Dwellings, Ft. Lincoln, Highland Dwellings, Knox Hill Senior, Potomac Gardens Senior, Scattered Sites and Sibley Plaza) to implement resident management and business development programs. The Community Based Anti-Drug Strategies Program (CBASP) funds Resident Councils to provide drug prevention and intervention programs to youth and adults in their designated communities. CBASP grant recipients included: Barry Farm Resident Council, Garfield Terrace Family Resident Council, Highland Dwellings Resident Council, Sibley Plaza Resident Council and Woodland Terrace Resident Council.

Resident Programs providing residents with innovative and meaningful programs is the hallmark of ORS. ORS staff is dedicated to promoting self-sufficiency through the programs and resources it offers to residents.

Listed below are examples of the innovative programming currently being offered by ORS:

Art and Social Change Project

The District of Columbia Housing Authority, in collaboration with Provisions Library, is sponsoring its first city-wide arts project designed to engage youth (ages 16-24) in art competition to include painting, drawing and graphic design. This project is designed to encourage participants to think about and examine important social issues confronting youth today, by formulating ways to institute change in their community and the broader society. The prizes are as follows:

1st Place Prize: $1,500.00
2nd Place Prize: $1,000.00
3rd Place Prize: $500.00

All participants will receive recognition for their participation. Interested youth must submit completed registration forms by FRIDAY, JUNE 20TH. All posters must be returned to the Office of Resident Services by the close of business on FRIDAY, JULY 11TH. Limited assistance with art supplies will be available on a first come, first serve basis. Registrations forms and posters should be submitted to DCHA, Office of Resident Services, 1133 North Capitol Street, NE, Suite 325, Washington, DC 20002.

Click here for program guidelines and registration. For more information about the project, please contact the Office of Resident Services at (202) 535-1517.

The Do Your B.E.S.T. Summer Youth Employment Program

The “BEST” in our title stands for Building Excellence through Service and Training.  The goals of our program are: (1) to give young people from public housing an opportunity to experience work in the public and private sectors and (2) to challenge them to grow professionally and personally from a structured employment program that includes community service and youth leadership principles. 

Each year hundreds of District youth from public housing spend their summer either unemployed or at a job that does not provide any real growth or exposure to the job market.  DCHA believes that it is important to expose young people to real world experiences early and prepare them for the next phase of their life.  These real world experiences build character, self-esteem and responsibility. 

DCHA pays the wages for all of the participants in the program.  There is no cost to a business or agency to host a DYB participant.  However, in the past, some agencies have opted to sponsor participants without DCHA financial support.  DCHA does request that host agencies provide adequate supervision so that by the end of the summer, the participant will have a sound understanding of what it’s like to have job responsibilities and pay.  We expect our participants to be professional and punctual.  This program will be the first real job experience for many of our participants.  We expect our host agencies to provide structure, supervision and allow the participants to learn the necessary skills to complete their work and maintain employment.

Click here for the summer 2008 DYB application.

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (CESP)

Each year, the District of Columbia Housing Authority, in partnership with Community Vision, Inc., awards scholarships to public housing and Housing Choice Voucher residents who have a strong commitment to their communities. This year, up to $25,000 in scholarships and other educational assistance will be awarded. The scholarships can be used for books, tuition, supplies, equipment or any other school-related expenses. There is no age restriction. Eligible residents must plan to enroll in a college, university, or trade/technical school during the 2008-2009 academic year or currently be enrolled in post-secondary educational and/or employment training programs that are offered at colleges, universities, trade schools, or technical schools.

All completed application packets must be submitted to the Office of Resident Service by close of business on FRIDAY, JUNE 13TH.

Click here for Commitment to Excellence Scholarship application.

Special Events

ORS, in conjunction with the Regional Community Relations staff, is responsible for planning and coordinating special events for public housing residents. These events include but are not limited to:

• Holiday events throughout the year-ORS coordinates several holiday activities for public housing residents.

• Annual events the agency is proud to host and highlight include the DCHA Holiday Celebration, Christmas Breakfast with Santa and the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Basket Giveaways.

The DCHA Holiday Celebration is an awards program to honor and recognize the hard work and dedication of the Resident Council Leaders. For the past three years, DCHA has partnered with the Hope Worldwide Organization to sponsor the “Christmas Breakfast with Santa” for 300 public housing children. The participants enjoy a hearty breakfast, games, storytelling and a special holiday present. Every Thanksgiving, DCHA collaborates with a variety of organizations and churches to provide turkey baskets to selected needy families.

Recreational Activities

ORS recognizes the need to provide sporting and recreational activities for public housing youth.

Therefore, ORS coordinates several activities that teach youth the importance of teamwork and pro-social behaviors. These recreational activities include the Annual DCHA Basketball Olympics. For two days public housing youth ages 13-18 participate in three on three basketball competitions and are awarded t-shirts and trophies.

ORS has also sponsored highly successful Track and Field event for public housing youth ages 6-17. ORS also has numerous partnerships with organizations that donate tickets for sporting events, plays and other wonderful performances. (DCHA Basketball tournament)

Other Activities

ORS staff maintains an excellent working relationship with the residents and solicits their ideas to implement special events.The recommendations received from the residents have resulted in DCHA sponsoring yearly Black History Month Celebrations, a Youth Symposium and various workshops that encourage resident leadership development.

 Senior Presidents Meeting-James Irving –Mary Sessoms – Evelyn Scott-

Resource Development

One of the main goals of ORS is to attract develop and stabilize resources that provide training, business development, higher educational and program development opportunities to residents in order to promote their self-sufficiency. ORS seeks resources for DCHA and its residents as it continually writes grant applications. ORS now has a Resource Development Specialist to seek funding and other resources for various resident initiatives. ORS also seeks resources through various partnerships and collaborations with governmental, non-profit and for-profit organizations.

Partnerships & Collaborations

ORS plays a central role in the development of partnerships for DCHA. ORS has ongoing involvement with numerous organizations as it collaborates on projects. All share a common objective, which is the betterment of life for public housing residents in the District of Columbia.Partnerships include Resident Councils, community based organizations, and government agencies to improve life for public housing residents who live in the Nation’s Capitol.

ORS actively seeks partnerships with local District of Columbia agencies. It currently works with Departments of Employment Services and Human Services to ensure that public housing residents who are enrolled in the TANF program have full access to Welfare to Work (WTW) opportunities. ORS has forged other alliances to enhance the quality of life for residents. These alliances have involved both for profit and not for profit service organizations.

These organizations generally have capabilities that are specialized to address public housing resident service needs in a variety of program areas.These program areas include:

• After School Drug Elimination Programs

• Youth Recreational and Sports Activities

• Resident Employment

• Violence Prevention and Anti-Gang Involvement

• Resident Owned Business Development

• Organizational Development and Capacity Building for Resident Councils

• Social Services for Residents

ORS continuously assesses DCHA public housing resident needs as a result of its central role in communications with residents. ORS also periodically conducts surveys to evaluate the needs of DCHA residents. Using this information in conjunction with other forms of feedback, ORS works to expand its network of alliances with other organizations to meet these needs as necessary.

Typically, ORS works with other organizations through grant funding or interagency agreements. Please contact ORS for more information about ORS partnership activities and opportunities.

 

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