Lake County Housing Authority Earns 2 National Awards of Merit

The Lake County Housing Authority (LCHA) has received two Awards of Merit for 2012 from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). The honors recognize two projects that demonstrate the LCHA collaborative spirit as part of its continual mission to further enhance the opportunities available to the constituents we serve in Lake County.

David A. Northern, Sr., Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer for LCHA recently accepted these awards at the NAHRO Summer Conference. Both of the projects awarded are for collaborative projects that the Lake County Housing Authority has undertaken alongside the Regional Housing Initiative (RHI).

The first of the two projects focused on the Colonial Park Apartments complex in Park City, Illinois that recently received 60 vouchers from the RHI, with thanks owed to the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA).

While this complex falls within the jurisdiction of the Lake County Housing Authority, there were no vouchers available. However, through this collaboration between the RHI partners, LCHA and the CHA, the necessary vouchers were made available in order to assist an additional sixty (60) families in the area.

LCHA also received an Award of Merit for its efforts with the RHI for its partnership with local organization, A Safe Place, which helps abused women physically escape their abusers through the provision of safe, affordable sanctuaries. Recently, the organization built a new development named A Safe Place II, which required 20 vouchers for families residing in this location.

A Safe Place II applied to the RHI panel and was awarded the twenty (20) project based vouchers, which allowed them to receive tax credits as part of their overall financing. As this specific project fell within LCHA's jurisdiction, it was considered the lead Housing Authority. Due to this, LCHA wanted to simplify its process of securing enough vouchers so the LCHA Board of Directors generously approved an additional voucher so that all twenty (20) vouchers for the project came from the LCHA budget.

LCHA personnel undertook the roles of performing all move-in inspections and will continue to ensure that annual inspections of this property are conducted so units remain at or above HUD's housing standards.

Deputy Director, Jeneen Smith-Underwood, also in attendance at the NAHRO Summer Conference expressed that “It is truly an honor to be recognized for our role in these two projects. As the largest Housing Authority within Lake County, we are very proud of what we have been able to achieve through the help of our collaborative partners in the RHI and we strive to undertake and promote even more programs like this in the future so we are able to enhance the opportunities and lives of those we look to serve.”

About LCHA: The Lake County Housing Authority is one the leading housing authorities in Illinois. Established in 1946, it provides housing and housing related services for over 11,000 citizens of Lake County. To learn more about the Lake County Housing Authority, please visit our webpage at www.lakecountyha.org