State & Local Partnership Building
• NYSARHO Focus on Strategic State & Local Partnerships Began in 2008.
• Federal Leadership Advances PHA-WIB Partnership in 2009 – NYSARHO Launches Pilot Program • NYSARHO Presidents- Past & Present- Visit Key Albany Officials to Strengthen Partnerships (Includes Pictures /PDF of January Letter to NYS Officials)
• NYS Weatherization Program Funding Availability
NYSARHO State & Local Partnership Building
In 2008 & 2009, NYSARHO trainings began to incorporate a focus on PHA & CDA ability to build strategic partnerships within their local communities by identifying organizations or agencies with common missions and with funding streams that supported those missions. We began to identify the many roles our agencies represent in a community and the type of federal and state funding that flows to the local level in order to build alliances that address our mission and goals as well as that of the larger community. “Follow the Money”™ - Building Strategic Partnerships Through Local Advocacy”
PHA-WIB Partnership Promoted
In 2009, NYSARHO trainings continued to include a focus on state & local partnership opportunities. In addition, we followed the lead of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, who wrote a June 2009 letter to Public Housing Agencies and Workforce Investment Boards nationwide encouraging the two agencies to create a partnership to “bolster pathways to training and employment for residents of HUD housing as part of our Recovery Act Programs.” NYSARHO promoted this partnership with its membership and a pilot program was launched between the Plattsburgh Housing Authority and the North Country Workforce Investment Board which soon expanded to include all the region’s PHAs. PDF of Donovan/Solis Letter
In October 2009, NYSARHO invited the North Country Workforce Investment Board Executive Director, Paul Grasso, to speak at the regional NYSARHO conference where our members were educated on the role of the WIB and federally funded programs. In late April 2010, the North County WIB held a partnership building forum entitled, “Connecting Communities, Schools and Businesses” and included the regional PHA directors under the category of “businesses”. This ongoing dialogue and awareness of the need to build new collaborative relationships from the community level-up and brought PHA into the fold educating both the PHA, the WIB, the school community and the business community that they all have common missions and goals among their many responsibilities.
NYSARHO PRESIDENTS VISIT ALBANY EXECUTIVES TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS
Also, late in April 2010, NYSARHO leadership met with key NYS agency officials including Michael A. Skrebutenas, Executive Deputy Commissioner of DHCR; Gary Hallock, Deputy Commissioner Office of Community Development, DHCR; Karen Hunter, Housing Finance Agency, NSP Upstate Regional Director; and, Mario Musolino, Executive Deputy Commissioner, NYS Department of Labor to discuss an action plan for strengthening state and local partnerships with PHAs/CDAs with sources of federal (state administered) and state funds.
NYSARHO was proudly represented by current President Jeff McTiernan, former Presidents David Aldrich and Pat Lucia and Community Development Chair, Paul Fink. Discussions included the many roles that PHAs and CDAs take on in the local community that reach far beyond their individual agencies. As stated in the letter to state officials, “New York’s Public Housing Authorities and Community Development Agencies are doing much more than merely managing federal programs. Many are establishing non-profits in order to engage in development and service-related programs. Most are seeking new sources of grant funding, some are managing non-federal properties, and many are exploring and engaging in opportunities that enable them to meet the needs of the larger community rather than just their own agency.”
Successful collaboration is a priority for all the participants. NYSAHRO invited State agency representatives from DHCR, DOL and HFA to present educational sessions at NYSARHO’s upcoming regional training days and both parties agreed to create solid working relationships across the state through outreach and education. NYSARHO’s leadership believed these discussions were productive and will move our focus on strategic partnerships forward.