Housing Development Alliance

What an incredible journey it has been.

HDA was founded in 1993 from a conversation held between individuals that were looking to address the housing needs of this area. The dreams were big and the vision was strong.

Fast forward 20 years and we are looking at major growth, impact, and change. Although we are based in Hazard, we now have a service area of four counties, which include the additions of Leslie, Knott, and Breathitt Counties. We have expanded to a staff of 25 direct positions, with 50 additional jobs supported by HDA. Our board of directors is composed of passionate, caring people looking to make a difference.

Over the last two decades, HDA has built 192 homes, repaired 447 homes, and developed 35 rental units. 20 new homes were built in 2013 alone. We weren’t able to achieve these successes by ourselves. It is with the support of our dedicated volunteers and community supporters that make it possible. Hammerin’ in the Hills is our volunteer program that sees groups come from all over the nation, while events like Community House Raising and Repair Affair happen with our neighbors in our service counties.
As we dive further into our 20th Anniversary, we are excited to bring forward our newly revised Hammerin’ in the Hills blog.

There are many events coming our (and your!) way. Just next week, we will see our first volunteers of 2014 arrive in Hazard. We’ll be welcoming college students from St. Joseph’s University and members of South Elkhorn Christian Church. Kentucky Gives Day, in which we will be a part of, is on April 9th. On April 12th, we will kick off our first Community House Raising in Breathitt County. Our annual Perry County Repair Affair will be on May 17th. 

With each day that passes, we are closer to surpassing 200 homes new homes built and 500 repairs completed. With numbers like that, you can bet we are going to be celebrating! Be on the look out to see when we reach that goal.

We are still dreaming. We are still following our vision. It is our hope that as HDA continues its work in this region, you will join us for the ride. This blog will continue to deliver updates from HDA, including things like Repair Affair or a day in the life of volunteers or an interview feature with a board member. We encourage you to check back in with us frequently.

Until next time!

Labels: affordable housing, celebrations, Hazard Kentucky, HDA

The Housing Development Alliance, Inc. is very excited to be a part of the Community Foundation of Hazard and Perry County's Run for the Hills Charity Challenge. This event is a unique opportunity to show your generosity by supporting local non-profit organizations in our area. The goal of the Housing Development Alliance is to raise $10,000.00. The funds donated will be matched and the matching funds will be used to establish a permanent endowment to help support our mission to provide safe and affordable housing to those in need. On October 1st 2011, runners and walkers will take part in a fun 5k walk/run to be held at the Triangle Park on Main Street in Hazard. The day will also include entertainment, food and informational booths and lots of activities for families and children.

The Housing Development Alliance is looking for walkers and runners to join our Executive Director, Scott McReynolds, on the 5k run/walk. We are also offering the opportunity for you to go the extra mile by joining our"Home team". Team members will help the Housing Development Alliance meet our challenge goal of $10,000.00 by agreeing to solicit $50.00 in donations designatedfor the Housing Development Alliance. All "Home Team" members will receive a "Home Team" participation T-Shirt.

Those walkers and runners who do not wish to become "Home Team" members may still support the Housing Development Alliance by checking our box on the official entry form. Please make all checks payable to the Community Foundation of Hazard and Perry County (CFHPC) Charity Challenge, P.O. Box 310, Chavies, KY 41727. Please be sure to write Housing Development Alliance in the memo section of your check to insure we receive your support. For more information please contact janie@housingdevelopmentalliance.org or call the Housing Development Alliance at 606-436-0497.
There is a $25 entry fee for the 5k charity run /walk.

Hello everyone! So, here at the end of the summer I am finally getting to post my first blog about my work here. My name is Leah Catherine Turner, and I was hired for the summer as the Assistant Volunteer Coordinator. The job opportunity was very unexpected, but I am happy to say I have been extremely pleased with how this summer has panned out. It was hectic at first, but the work is very rewarding. Recently we hosted groups from South Elkhorn Church and Temple University. It's so crazy to think that these were our last groups of the summer! Both groups worked on a new home site, one framing and the other roofing/shingling. Temple University also worked at the First Presbyterian Church's mission cottage (which houses volunteers affiliated with the HDA when they come), pouring footers for a new home, staining ramps at two sites that were built by previous groups, and laying down floor/painting walls of a new home at another location. Each and all of these jobs were crucial to the completion of those homes, and the work contributed by the volunteers was absolutely invaluable. We have enjoyed meeting and hosting all of our volunteers this summer; each one has brought incredible work ethic and good spirits to the work sites. I speak for all of us at the staff of HDA when I say that this summer was amazing, many great things were accomplished, so thank you!!! Unfortunately, John Rasche and myself are returning to school now, so we will not be able to update for a while. Well, a year to be exact. We will both miss the staff of HDA and everyone we have had the pleasure of talking with this summer.

Also, on a side note, have any of you heard the new radio ad that Rasche and myself recorded? It is broadcasting on local radio (97.9 & 101.1 FM) now until September 2, so make sure you tune in and let us know what you think!

We hope to see all our groups again next summer as well as have the opportunity to meet any newcomers that may be interested in volunteering with the HDA. See you all next year! Peace!

Hey, everyone. We're sorry about the absence of blogs these past few weeks. We just moved into our new office and everything has been a little hectic. We've had boxes to unpack, furniture to settle, appliances to install. The HDA staff is finally beginning to settle into the new building. We have 11 offices and a rather large parking lot. If you haven't visited the new office yet, you really should. It's a beautiful building and we are all very proud of it. We are located at 2871 N. Main Street, right across from the Mother Goose House.

Because of our move, we haven't had much time to discuss the great accomplishments of our volunteers. In June, St. Bartholomew's volunteers helped the community by removing a couple's inadequate bathroom and installing a brand new one. They also helped frame a new house as well as some roof repair. we've had back-to-back groups of volunteers. First Presbyterian Church of Kissimmee, FL spent a week rebuilding a porch and painting interior walls. Beaumont Presbyterian painted, built a ramp, and laid concrete blocks. St. John's Westminster Union Church also helped the community by laying foundation, concreting, roofing, and replacing a porch. (We've had a lot of porch projects this summer.)Pullen Memorial Baptist Church returned to Hazard in July for its fifth consecutive summer! They did everything from framing to painting to flooring. The members even cleared the obtrusive overgrowth surrounding the new office. Crescent Hills Presbyterian framed a new house and replaced an old porch. I saw the porch project from its beginning stages and let me just tell ya, it is such an improvement from the old one. St. Francis de Sales spent the entire week framing a new home. The work looked exhausting (especially in this heat!) but the labor really paid off! The place looks great.

Phew! Is everyone still there? That was quite a dense, albeit incredibly abstract, paragaph. I hate to have had to condense all of our volunteers like that, but like I said, it has been a very busy few weeks for everyone here at HDA. My little shout-outs to all of our volunteer groups, however, does not express our gratitude enough. Every volunteer has done such a great job with this summer's projects. Never before have I seen such a general positive attitude to the, sometimes grueling, work. Southeast Kentucky (as well as a great portion of the country) has had some awfully hot summer days but we haven't received any complaints. In fact, in all my summers working for HDA never have I heard such an overwhelming amount of praise for our carpenters. Great job, everyone!

South Elkhorn Christian Church will be arriving tomorrow and I'll try my hardest to keep you all posted on their progress!

For those of you who would like more information about our previous volunteer groups, I highly recommend glancing through the photos that have been posted on our Facebook page.

Hi, everyone! Summer has started but we've been pretty delayed in blogging about our volunteers! Our first groups, New Wilmington Presbyterian from Pennsylvania and First Presbyterian from Kissimmee, Florida arrived on Sunday. Kissimmee has volunteered with us before and we are happy to have them back. The week began with many diverse projects, but the weather hindered the development of most of them. As some of you may know, Eastern Kentucky (as well as many other states) was bombarded with violent storms. Lightning, thunder, and sheets of rain welcomed the groups just as they arrived at their worksites. All but one site, which consisted of in-door painting, were forced to return to the church/cottage. First Presbyterian of Hazard would like to thank the New Wilmington group for constructively using the "free time" by cleaning it up.

Saturday May 21st, 2011 volunteers from our community joined together to make a difference in the lives of 8 senior /disabled persons in our community. 80 members of our community took part in the Housing Development Alliance's 12th Annual Repair Affair. The Repair Affair events are designed to help low income, disabled and senior citizens living within our community with minor home repairs. The work done to these homes is completed within a single afternoon, with the work being accomplished by a community volunteer work force.
This years event was kicked off at 8:00 a.m. with a pancake breakfast hosted by the Hazard Village Wendy's. Following the breakfast, the individual work groups were given their assignments and dispersed to their work sites. Some of the repair work done by the volunteers included removing and replacing aged steps and banisters, building porches, repairing entrance ways, painting, staining porches, building wheel chair ramps, minor demolition work and replacing rotting siding.
The 80 volunteers who gave up their Saturday were representative of various business, civic organizations and churches, including 1st Presbyterian Church of Hazard, Mother of Good Council Catholic Community, Applebee's Restaurant, Pepsi Bottling Co., Perry County Drug Court, The Pathfinders, Perry County Central High School JROTC and Skills USA at HCTC. In addition to our volunteers, the Housing Development Alliance would also like to thank our area sponsors. Without the generous support of these community organizations and individuals, many people in our community would never know how it feels to live in a safe and secure home. The Repair Affair is truly a community event and the success of the event is a reflection of the care and compassion that exist in this area.
Visit our Facebook page to view our Repair Affair 2011 photo album.

Hi, my name is Ceal Maggard and I work in the Accounting Department along with David and Tonya,. Yes, I am on of those numbers people! In June I will have been here a year as a full-time employee. I love working here. I like the way we help make the quality of life better for a whole lot of people in our community. Right now, we are gearing up for our annual Spring Repair Affair where we spend one day doing needed repairs on a number (usually 10) of homes. It is nice doing work that you know is needed and appreciated. It won't be too long before we're in our new office building. Hopefully, we will be moved in a couple of months. Hope you enjoyed this blog. Be sure to check back with us so you can keep up-to-date on what
s going on at the Housing Development Alliance. See ya!

Hello my Cyber Space friends, it's me again Tonya Perkins. There is not much going on around here at the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. Our new office building is coming along pretty fast. Hopefully we will be in there sometime in June. Then you will see us doing the Happy Dance, YEE HAW!!! Can't wait it has been a long time coming. The finance department, which is the department I work in, will have our own offices. It will be a different at first since we are all bunched up in the little office we are in now. I will miss being right next to everyone, but we will get our own space, which will be so nice. We will be having some volunteers coming in a few days; we are excited to have them as we are to all of the volunteers that come from all around. Well that's all I have for you this time friends, stay tuned in to see what is coming up next here at the Housing Development Alliance.

Hello, my name is John Bush, and to quote Janie in an earlier post, I am the Rehabilitation Specialist/Energy Efficiency Auditor of the Housing Development Alliance, Inc (HDA). I think my title is more of a work in progress, as are most of our rehabs. A brief history about myself: I was raised here in Perry County, I graduated from Buckhorn High School, I was an AmeriCorps Volunteer here at the HDA from November 1997 to August 1999, and I went to EKU for a while and then came back to Hazard. Most recently, I worked at Home Lumber Company, a local lumberyard and concrete plant. Since returning to the HDA, I have spent a lot of my time in training. This training focuses on making a home more energy efficient by using the Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) national standards. I have received two certifications from BPI (Building Analyst Professional and Envelope Professional) and I am working on a 3rd certification (Heating Professional). You can find out more about these standards and the certifications offered at http://www.bpi.org/. That is all I have for now, I will keep you updated on how well I use the BPI certifications on our rehabs. Have a good day!

Hello, This is Pam, the Housing Counselor at the Housing Development Alliance, I am to let you know what has been going on with the Housing Counselor. Not a lot has happened since my last blog. My time has mostly been spent in the office...taking calls, meeting with client, taking applications and working on some housing counseling. Well that's the update for the Housing Counselor....until next time.

Hello.
My name is Wm. David Woods. I am the Director of Finance of the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. This is my second blog for the organization. This time, I would like to take a moment to write about our dedicated Staff and devoted Board Members. We have a great Staff and an active Board here at the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. Each member of the Staff and the Board is focused on furthering the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the organization. This is true whether they are working on the front lines building and managing projects, coordinating volunteers, working with potential home owners, or administering our programs and finances. In addition, it is a lot of fun to be associated with the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. We truly enjoy working towards bettering the lives of those whom we serve and assisting the economic development of Perry, Knott, Breathitt and Leslie Counties. Feel free to contact us with any questions that you might have about our services or to offer your assistance. We look forward to hearing from you!

If you stop for a second and listen closely, you can hear a faint tapping sound echoing through the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. It is the sound of the Housing Development Alliance “Hammerin’ in the Hills” spring volunteers. These volunteers are college students who choose to forgo the typical Spring Break to come to Appalachia to help those in need. Our March volunteers have traveled from as far away as Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Tennessee.
During the month of March, in a mixture of snow, rain and sun, volunteers from St. Joseph University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee and Chester College of New England in Chester, New Hampshire, repaired 3 houses in Breathitt County and 4 houses in Perry County. Under the supervision of the Housing Development Alliance carpenters, these students repaired roofs, dug ditches, worked in crawl spaces to secure beams, removed and replaced porches and built handicap ramps. During the work day the students had opportunities to interact with the home owners and learn a little about our area and its rich culture, acquire new carpentry skills and gain a little insight about themselves and what they can accomplish. These students worked hard and were often exhausted and covered in mud by the end of the day but remained focused on the job they came to do. I spoke with one of the Breathitt County homeowners who expressed amazement that people their age would give up their vacation to come and work for people in Appalachia. She also said that they had given her hope for the future.
The month of March saw a total of 51 volunteers visit our area with more arriving in April. So, if you hear the faint tapping sound of hammers echoing through the mountains, look around - the sound may just be coming from some of our volunteers. You may also want to keep in mind; this is just the prelude to the summer months. When our volunteers begin arriving in June the tapping will grow louder and louder as the mountains are filled with the sounds of people helping people.

The Housing Development Alliance needs you. If you believe in the work of the Housing Development Alliance, we need you to let your elected officials know that our work and the federal programs that fund them are important. Currently several program that the Housing Development Alliance utilizes to provide new homes and home repairs are under threats of deep budget cuts (cuts of over 80%!). These programs help the Housing Development Alliance assists nearly 100 families a year and work supports approximately 75 jobs in the community (based on figures from the National Association of Home Builders on the economic impact of constriction within a community).

Here is some information from the Housing Assistance Council – a national housing organization:

Funding for key USDA rural housing programs is in jeopardy for the rest of 2011 and for fiscal year 2012. The Senate may vote on 2011 funds as early as Tuesday, March 8. Senators need to hear from their constituents about the importance of these programs in their states.

Previously HAC reported that the rural housing programs' funding prospects looked much better in the 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR) than in the 2012 Administration budget. That has changed; reports indicate that the Administration has suggested using its 2012 budget proposals as a starting point to reduce 2011 spending. As a result, the Senate bill may include serious cuts to Section 502 direct mortgage loans, the self-help housing program, Section 504 repair loans and grants, and rental preservation.

The Administration's budget would cut Section 502 direct loans to $211.4 million from their FY10 level of $1.121 billion. Section 523 grants for local self-help housing producers would be eliminated. There would be no Section 504 loans for very low-income homeowners to repair their homes, and Section 504 grants for very low-income elderly homeowners would be cut by almost two-thirds, from $31.6 million in FY10 to $11.5 million. The Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization demonstration program and the Preservation Revolving Loan Fund would be defunded. More details are available on HAC's website at
http://www.ruralhome.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=393:fy-2012-budget-and-appropriations&catid=45
and the National Rural Housing Coalition's site at http://ruralhousingcoalition.org/rural-housing-issues/coalition-priorities .

If you believe in our work, please call or email your Senators and ask them to keep USDA rural housing programs at FY10 funding levels for both 2011 and 2012. Tell them that these programs not only meet the affordable housing needs of many low-income and working families, but also create much needed jobs. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Hey Guys, this is Janie again with some exciting news!

The Housing Development Alliance recently added the position of Rehabilitation Specialist/Energy Efficiency Auditor to the staff roster. Our new employee, John Bush, a former 1990’s AmeriCorps volunteer with the Housing Development Alliance, will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organization’s Home Rehabilitation Program, including visiting and assessing possible work location, estimating repair coast, obtaining bids for jobs and overseeing staff carpenters and volunteer workers. In addition to the duties as Rehabilitation Specialist, John will also be the Housing Development Alliance Energy Efficiency Auditor. In this position, he will ascertain the energy efficiency of a client’s home, and then design and implement a plan to bring the home to the highest level of energy efficiency possible, insuring the home is both safe and economical.

John is married to a former employee of the Housing Development Alliance. His wife Adrienne Szabo Bush was the Volunteer and Community Coordinator for the organization from 2002-2006. She is now the Director of Planning and Development with the Hazard Perry County Community Ministries. They have one daughter, Dana, a beautiful and VERY energetic 2 year old.

We are really thrilled with the addition to our staff. He brings with him great experience and an enthusiasm to work with the Housing Development Alliance staff, volunteers and clients to bring safe decent and affordable housing to those in need. We are looking forward to a very happy, very rewarding and very productive future with John.

Good morning. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Pam Short and I am the Housing Counselor at the Housing Development Alliance. I talk to everyone that wants assistance in getting a new home or getting their home repaired, and I figure out which program they are best suited to, and I help them get eligible for that program. Most of my time is spent in the office either on the phone, or filling out paperwork. However, this past Friday was special – I got to visit some homes that we are hopefully going to repair.

John Rudd Caudill, our Construction Coordinator, and I visited three homes in Breathitt County. Normally, clients come to my office to sign all the paperwork, but because of a short timeline – I took the paperwork to them. My construction experience is limited, so it was nice to go to these houses and see how John Rudd estimates the repairs we do. Also, it is good to be reminded of how important these repairs are to the family. For instance, one of the families told me before the visit, that they needed a new front door. When we visited I saw that they were using an interior door for their front door AND it did not fit well. I knew that just by making that one repair, we could make their home much warmer.

That’s all for now. I will keep you updated on these three homes when it’s my turn to do another post!

HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Housing Development Alliance

So far winter, and a few weeks before, has proven to be bitterly cold and snowy here in
Kentucky. The upcoming week is due to be wet and in the 50s, and believe me that is a
A welcome change from the teens and single digits we have been experiencing.

We are a little behind on our blogs or rather I am a little behind on the blog. We will blame it on the weather. But the truth is there is so much to share I just haven’t known where to begin. The month of November was a very exciting time for the Housing Development Alliance. During the first of the two weeks we had a very special House Raising take place. In the first of what we hope will become an annual event, teens from the Hazard Independent School System and teens from the Perry County School System joined forces to dry in a house new house for a local family.

The job took 2 consecutive Saturdays to complete. The first work day was bitterly cold with temperatures in the 20’s .The kids endured chilling rains, sleet and the first snow of the season, but by the end of the day the walls were up and the framing portion of the job was complete. The next Saturday the kids once again began their work on a very cold morning which led to a blistering hot day. The work consisted of roofing and shingling, and the volunteers spent the day on the roof of the house in the hot sun of an 80 degree day. What can I say, that’s Kentucky weather for you!!

The students participating represented Perry County Central High School’s JR. ROTC and Hazard High School’s National Honor Society. They were a wonderful bunch of kids to work with and regardless of the weather conditions there was never a complaint or a lack of enthusiasm for the job. These teens knew they were working to help their community and to help make a family’s dreams come true. I for one am very proud to have these young people in my home town. You can check out our Facebook photos section for pictures of the event.

On November the 19th, the Housing Development Alliance also saw the groundbreaking of our new Center for Affordable Housing. This new building will house the offices of the Housing Development Alliance, taking us out of our current cramped situation and providing a more comfortable atmosphere for our clients. Our new building site is located in the Wabaco section of Hazard. We are directly across from the Mother Goose. For those of our former volunteers who took time to photograph the Goose House we will be located directly across the street. How fun to be able to see the giant goose every day!!
Construction is moving along and the footers have been poured. We can’t wait for the building to be completed. Pictures of this event can also be found in our photo section of the Facebook page

In the meantime we are in our same location and business is as usual. Our carpenters are busy working on home repairs and when the weather permits working at new house sites.
I am personally excited about the upcoming seasons and the return of our volunteer work force. Who knew I would ever miss those blistering hot days of summer. I guess that’s what a little ice and snow will do for you!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and the New Year holds joy and laughter for all! And for those who may currently be enjoying a more tropical vacation….ALOHA!

Janie
Volunteer and Community Coordinator

Hazard, KY, November 10, 2010: Microsoft values software donation to the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. at approximately $40,000.00!

My name is Wm. David Woods. I am Director of Finance of the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. I have been employed by the organization in that capacity for nearly two-and-a-half years.

I am privileged to work with individuals who are so dedicated to providing housing to individuals within Perry, Leslie (where I call home), Knott, and Breathitt communities. In addition, I am privileged to be active in the spaces within which a number of the organization’s strategic initiatives are unfolding. It is likely that many of my future blogs will talk about those initiatives. However, since my headline snagged your attention with talks of a rather large software grant from a rather large international corporation, I guess that I should talk more about that right now.

HDA, Inc. is in the process of upgrading its information technology infrastructure. The upgrade process began a few months ago; however, the pace hastened last month with a resolution from our Board of Directors (and veiled threats from my co-workers) to proceed. We hope to have the new information system in place by the end of the first week of December of 2010.

In addition to much faster workstations, flatter and much larger monitors, and a new server, we received a number of significant software grants. Although Microsoft is the largest donor, we also received important grants from Symantec, Staff Manager, Palo Alto Software, and Adobe. I have not yet received donated asset valuation letters from the other companies, but I am sure that the aggregate market valuation of their products will be equally substantial.

The staff at the Housing Development Alliance, Inc. would like to thank our software vendor partners for their contributions to our continued success. It is likely that these software programs will further quicken our expansion, leverage our operational efficiencies, and strengthen our commitments to our communities. It is with great acclaim that I take my hat off to these companies and their efforts to strengthen capacities in the communities that we serve.

David

Sixteen years and one week ago, I started working at the Housing Development Alliance as its first employee. At that time, we had a budget of $35,000 for the year and high hopes. Sixteen years later, thanks to the hard work of the staff, board and volunteers, we have built a 137 new homes, acquired-repaired-sold 16 homes, completed over 275 repairs, and developed 35 rental units. Our budget is now in excess of $3.7 million. To put that in perspective, at our current rate of production we spend twice as much in a week as we did in the entire first year of operation! We have also expanded our service area taking on 3 underserved counties.

While it’s nice to think back on the last 16 years and all we have accomplished, I get even more excited to think about the next 16 years. Assuming a modest 5% per year increase in production, in the next 16 years we can build over 500 homes and repair another 1250! That would go long way towards wiping out substandard housing in our community.

I’ll confess that I find the numbers hard to believe. 500 homes? 1250 repairs? Can we really do all that? Then I remember that sixteen years ago, I could not imagine building 137 houses or completing 275 repairs. Yes, it will be a lot or work, but we have proved that we - our board, staff and volunteers - are not afraid of hard work. So I invite you to join with me for another 16 years hard work and great accomplishments. With so much to do, it’s time to get busy.

Labels: History, Scott McReynolds