A proclamation recognizing the Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver’s 80th anniversary providing quality affordable housing and community revitalization.
Thank you for bringing that forward, Councilman Ortega. Next up, Councilman Lopez, when you read Proclamation nine, eight, seven. Yes, I will. Proclamation number 18. I'm sorry. Proclamation number 97 Series of 2018 recognizing the housing authority of the city and county of Denver's 80th anniversary. Providing quality, affordable housing and community revitalization. Whereas the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 was passed to provide decent, safe and sanitary dwellings for families of low income. And. WHEREAS, The Denver City Council passed an ordinance legalizing the creation of a local housing authority on September 2nd, 1938, appointing a five member board to guide the agency and set its housing policies. Whereas, September 2nd, 2018, marks the 80th anniversary of the Housing Authority and the city of the City and county of Denver. The Denver Housing Authority, which has provided thousands of families, seniors, veterans and disabled individuals with quality and affordable housing in communities, offering empowerment, economic opportunity and a vibrant living environment. And. Whereas, DHHS earliest primarily focused on I'm sorry. Whereas the earliest housing primarily focused on the needs of World War Two era defense workers providing cost effective housing for employees of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. And today, VHA manages and serves over 12,000 family members and nearly 2300 units in Denver's first road type family development. And. Whereas, the 1960s and eighties brought the NE as from from the 1960s to the eighties, brought the need for housing for seniors and VHA, built senior high rises, adding 500 new units of senior housing. The Seventies fostered resident advocacy and leadership, establishing the Central Resident Council and emphasizing resident self-sufficiency. Those years also brought the first tenant based Section eight housing certificates, the first home ownership program, and dispersed housing. And. Whereas, the 1990s, DHEA evolved to building homes and lives through partnership and community revitalization, launching partnerships with the Area Higher Education Campus. It launched the first tour. I mean, sorry, the first of four bridge projects in partnership with the University of Denver to increase graduation rates for children in the housing DHEA, forge mixed income, mixed use housing and energy efficiency through its award winning Benedict Park Place. And. Whereas, today, DHEA leads the nation in creating healthy, safe, vibrant, transit oriented, sustainable and mixed income communities of choice and transforming neighborhoods under the direction of a nine member board and leadership of an executive team and staff. DHEA is committed to working in partnership with the city, business, community and nonprofit organizations, community and residents. And. WHEREAS, DHEA, a quasi municipal agency, develops, owns, operates and manages a portfolio now of over 12,000 units and housing choice vouchers, providing affordable housing to more than. 26,000. Very low, low and middle income individuals, which over 50% are children, representing over 10,500 families with average incomes of 12,709. For families and seniors. Average seniors. Average income 13,851. Whereas DHB employs over 300 individuals providing over $69 million to the private sector in housing assistance payments for the Housing Choice Voucher Program and contributes over 81 million into the $81 million into the economy for new construction, rehabilitation, modernization and preservation of affordable housing. And. Whereas, in 2018 and beyond, DHS Focus on Innovation and Social Ventures include the Youth Empowerment Employment Academy, Osage Cafe, Friends of the West, Denver Renaissance Collaborative. Connect Home. Denver Bridging. Denver Bridging the Digital Divide Real Estate Development, Living Green Eco Districts, Solar Gardens, New Markets, Collaborative Spaces and private public partnerships providing a variety of housing opportunities in and for Denver. Now, therefore, being proclaimed by the city, by the council, the city and county of Denver, Section one, that the Council of the City and County of Denver recognized the housing authority of the city and county of Denver's 80 years of providing quality, affordable housing and community revitalization. Section two that the Clerk of the city and county of Denver shall affix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation, and that a copy be transmitted to the housing authority of the city and county of Denver. Thank you. Councilman Lopez, your motion to adopt. Mr. President, I move that council proclamation number of nine, eight, seven series of 2018 be adopted. And has been moved and seconded comments by members of Council. Councilman Lopez. Thank you, Mr. President. Living in the shadow of the Westwood Homes for most of my life. My first understanding of community was the playground, the old playground at the Denver area. Housing authorities, Westwood Homes. Three languages I learned. Well, obviously. English. English. My broken Spanish. My, my. I call it my, my, my, my total of Spanish from last word and Vietnamese. All my friends were from that those. They spoke those three languages. And it was there where you understood community and it was there where you understood not just community, but other people. Other people and where they're from, but their struggles are. It was there as a city council man where we in during the renovation of those Westwood Homes. And we we created gardens. And to see folks who would be gardening separately, usually garden together, sharing food, sharing culture, and being able to do this in peace. Being able to do this away away from war torn countries. Being able to do this with their families and in dignity in Denver. And I got to tell you, a lot of us have been either from other parts of the country or been around other parts of the country. When you say public housing. It's different when you come to Denver and say, excuse a term I just grew up with the term and say, Oh, oh yeah, those are the projects. And they're like, What? Those aren't projects. Seriously, those are the projects. Yeah, those are nice. Compared to other cities. You have to see this from a from a perspective from around the country. There is a standard of living that Denver has upheld. There's a standard of living that everybody, A.J. has worked for. And now that standard of living is ever changing and ever evolving, because I get this all the time and I know I want to. I just I just I just want to say this on the record, because a lot of people get confused when they cruise down Mariposa. Over there in the lower and the west side. Right just right down the street like 11th and Mariposa they say all. So you got rid of the projects, huh? You got rid of all those folks. That's terrible. Where do they all go? And I'm like. It's still there. What are you talking about? Yeah. Those high rises, those fancy old buildings. Uh huh. The fact. The public housing units. Are almost indistinguishable. From market rate. Reduced rate. Any other neighborhood? Any other units? Means that we're doing our job. And that is being able to provide a unit to somebody who is in need. Without the stigma. But instead with dignity. Right. And for that, I have to say, 80 years of hard work. And you're still not done yet. There's plenty more to go. And I couldn't be prouder of this team. Can be proud of this leadership, but especially of the resident councils and all those folks who I know growing up who have become not just in now, folks who just live in the community, but leaders, some of our strongest leaders have come out of these resident councils. So this leadership thing is is a real deal. And I could be I can be more proud of that. So. From one Denver native to plenty more. Keep doing a great job. I'm proud to carry this proclamation, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman Lopez. Councilwoman Cannick. Thank you, Mr. President. I had the distinct honor of speaking at the gala, one of the 17 or 19 events you're having this year to celebrate. I'm just teasing. It's good. It's good to celebrate all year long. Anyway, it was a distinct honor to be there with the mayor and him and talk a little bit about the impact of the housing authority, I think. Councilman Lopez, thank you for bringing this forward. And I think you did an amazing job. So just to underscore for me, I think, first of all, I don't talk about housing anymore in my work. I'm trying hard to make the switch to homes. What we do is we build homes, which is places where people live. And, you know, the DHS has been building homes for a very long time, but it has been about the people. I mean, Paul mentioned the three languages. Now we've got dozens and dozens. And I think that when I think about what it means to someone who, for example, might be in the twilight of their life, they're a senior and this is probably the last home they're going to have. And that is where they are going to, you know, be hopefully with stability, with the ability to afford food because their home is is more affordable and be able to really in dignity, you know, end their lives. People with disabilities. Right. Who might not have the ability to work in the traditional way that we often think of to earn enough to pay market housing prices. So. So regardless of whether it's the immigrant family who's getting started, the family that maybe has lost a parent and really needs to get back on its feet and it's a very temporary situation or the for household who may need to live in this housing for for their life. These homes are really, you know, about that opportunity and about that dignity. And then what I think has been amazing watching the eight year transformation is the way that DHS has moved beyond the home and the community of people there to thinking about places. So one of the things that was striking to me as I kind of started doing housing work in this city 15 years ago, is that DHS is always thinking about what does this whole neighborhood need? Right. So if there's a food gap for their residents, it's a food gap probably for their neighbors to or what does, you know, having a safe sidewalk in a safe environment feel like when you're walking around. So it's not just about the people who live in the homes. It's about that entire community and thinking about transformation in ways that really benefit the broader neighborhoods where where you own homes. And, you know, I guess the one thing I want to say to about this is that we think a lot about your multifamily housing. But one of the secrets I think of the housing authority is that across the city, in single family homes and duplexes that you would never know are residents of that. You know, these homes that we call them scattered site and I happen to live on a block and the best yard on my block and the dearest neighbor I have, I won't name her because I want to respect her confidentiality, but is a resident and lives in your home and her pride in how she takes care of it and her family, her son and her grandson live with her and just the opportunity it gives her to live in a neighborhood and thrive. Right. That integrated way of living. So so it's not just these big, tall multifamily buildings, but you may have a Denver housing authority neighbor and you might not even know it nearby. So we really have to get beyond our stereotypes and think about this agency. The last thing I will say is that thinking beyond just the home, thinking beyond just the the community is then thinking about our entire city. And so in my almost what are we at seven, seven and a half years, seven and counting years I have sat at I don't know how many policy tables with the Housing Authority as a thought partner thinking about big catalytic ideas. We saw them here for the housing fund expansion, bringing forward the bond dollars, the live program. Many of the other really when we worked on revisions to the inclusionary housing ordinance, every policy conversation you all are there is thought partners. I often think about it is Ismail, but there's a whole team. Many of you are here, Ryan and Stella and others, Chris Carr before you and many others. So so you are thinking with us as partners about the overall realm of housing. And I think that to me is like the depth of partnership. It's it's about the physical, it's about the the integration, and then it's about this big picture ideas. And so I have found that my work would not have been possible over these years without your partnership and without all that you bring. So thank you for what you've contributed and happy 80th. It's very exciting. Thank you, Councilwoman Kennedy. Councilwoman Ortega. Thank you. I want to extend my congratulations and thanks to you as well for their 80 years of existence. I had the great pleasure of working with DHEA because I had four of their larger developments in in my former district, Curtis Park, Lincoln Park, Stapleton and Craig Newton and. I had the great pleasure of of working with Kevin Markman when he was the director. So Carpio my my former colleague, Bill Radcliffe, when he was there, when I worked for Sell, Bill had a long history as well. Some of the comments I wanted to make were about the scattered sites and just the the role that VHA is playing in helping us really accelerate, addressing the need for so many people who are struggling in this city today because of the significant rise in our housing costs and the fact that our our wages have not kept pace with the cost of housing in this city. And. You all just stand in the you know, in that place where you fill that gap for so many families and the fact that we've been able to bring forward, you know, with the help of the mayor, the $150 million that will be bonded, that will really jumpstart your Sun Valley project and the Westwood West Ridge project that will bring those units online much faster than you probably otherwise would have been able to do so. And that's only half of the money you all will be administering that with other nonprofits and trying to help bring online units in in other areas of the city. And that is so important. And without you all willing to stand in that place to help us accelerate that, we'd we'd see we wouldn't see that light at the end of the tunnel for so many families that are struggling. And I just, again, want to say thank you for for that work that you have done, the partnership that you all have had with other nonprofits. I know you did a lot of work with the Denver Road Home Program and provided vouchers for homeless families. When the Denver Road Home Program was kicking off and trying to give people a place to to live. And I again, I just can't say enough thanks for the important work that you're doing in this city. And and congratulations to your entire team and your board for the great work you guys do every day. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilwoman Ortega. Madam Secretary. Raquel. Lopez. I knew Ortega. SUSSMAN Black. BROOKS Hi. Flynn here. Grier. Gilmore. Herndon. Cashman can eat, Mr. President. All right. Madam Secretary, please close voting in the results. 12 days, 12 hours. Proclamation, nine, eight, seven has been adopted. Councilman Lopez, is there someone you'd like to bring up to accept the proclamation? Yes. I'd like to bring up the executive director, Ismael Guerrero. And anybody else who you would like to bring up as well. Mr. Garrett. Great. Good evening and good to be with you as you all again. Ismael Guerrero, DHS executive director. And thank you for the proclamation for the kind words from the council. It's appropriate that we started the evening talking about Denver's great sports teams, because I have to tell you that we definitely have the best housing and community development team at the Denver Housing Authority in the country. I would dare say, given all the great work that we're doing and we know that nothing great happens without teamwork. And so we have a great and deep bench at the Housing Authority, starting with our board of commissioners who have to thank all of you. City Council approved. We have a great leadership team there that really lets us run with our ideas and our creativity and providing great vision for the organization overall. Also, as I said, have a deep bench here with some of my senior leadership team. And I would say collectively just in this room, we have over 80 years of service to the housing authority already. And if you add up among the staff, you probably have a thousand years of service to the city, given the depth and the many staff members who have been with us for four decades, really. And we have great community partners throughout the city. We can do what we do without our nonprofit partners, our neighborhood partners. Councilman Lopez mentioned our resident council board. Our resident leaders are unparalleled in the country in terms of their commitment to their neighborhoods, for their residents, and to the authority overall to our areas. And thank you, Councilwoman Ortega, for mentioning my predecessors. You know, 80 years of history, you cover a lot of ground, have a lot of accomplishments and build on the success of the past. Sal Carpio, my predecessor, was fantastic, really did a lot for the organization and for the city overall. And Kevin Markman before him is still active on the Housing Advisory Committee. I'm still committed to serving the city of Denver. Even now, when we think about celebrating 80 years, we're really looking forward as much as we're looking backwards at our accomplishments. And I just wanted to share with you, some of you have already mentioned just briefly. We're really moving beyond housing in terms of the work that we're doing, understanding that great neighborhoods and improving the quality of life of residents is more than just offering them a great unit to live in. You heard earlier in the proclamation some of our new social ventures that we're launching, including the Youth Employment Academy, our Osage Cafe, friends of the H.A., the Connect Home, Denver, which is bridging that digital divide. And our metropolitan solar farm out east of DIA is powering hundreds of public housing and affordable housing units around the city. So those are things that we're doing now looking beyond housing to really how do we change lives and impact the neighborhoods that we're in. We're also really excited now, looking forward to be a partner, a stronger partner with the city. Now that the five year housing plan has been completed and the goals and the work ahead of us has been made clear. I'm very proud that the Housing Authority staff is really stepping up to the challenge and and being part of the solution to the city's housing challenges. You heard earlier the live Denver program that was approved earlier this summer, the bond initiative that you all approved just a couple of weeks ago, which we're excited to be launching over 2000 units we expect to be delivering between in the next 3 to 5 years there. And soon you'll be hearing more about the West Denver Renaissance Collaborative and the work we're doing in to stabilize neighborhoods in southwest Denver. So those are all exciting work that we have looking ahead in the immediate future, but intend to continue to be a strong partner with the city over the next eight years. And finally, as Councilwoman Kenney mentioned, this has been a year long celebration for us. There's a lot of people to recognize, a lot of accomplishments we want to acknowledge and celebrate and our partners. And we are going to have a capstone event in December, our 80th anniversary gala. We're looking forward to not just bringing coming together with our partners who've helped us build the neighborhoods and the housing and the programs that we offer. But also as a capstone event, it'll be a fundraiser for our residents services that we offer throughout the city to youth. To adults. To seniors and disabled. So we're hoping to raise a good amount of money at the end of the year to have some funds going forward to improve and expand our resident programs. So with that, I'll thank you again for the proclamation and for recognizing the city and county of Denver Housing Authority service to the city of Denver . Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you, Councilman Lopez. And enjoy your most. Thank you. All right. And Councilman Lopez, you're back up now with Proclamation 1988. Thank you.