The Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) has a simple mission - to provide qualified families with safe, decent and affordable housing of the highest quality consistent with available funding. The uncertain economic times we are experiencing have made the way the mission is carried out more critical than ever. We have to ensure that we rein in administrative spending to maximize the funding available to improve the properties we own, explore new development opportunities in a wider range of neighborhoods and expand our partnerships with others who share our vision. That said, I expect nothing less than excellence from DHA staff, and responsibility from our residents and clients.
The structure of DHA is changing in response to both Federal mandates and today's economic realities. Although change is not new for this agency, the way DHA responds to challenges is changing because it has to. As the president and CEO of DHA, I believe we should all be unwilling to settle for anything short of excellence. Tough economic times call for tough decisions, and this agency must step up to the challenge because so many people depend on DHA's services.
DHA must become the premier provider of affordable housing in Dallas - second to none in the public or private arena. To accomplish this feat, I am making several changes.
We are reducing administrative costs to focus on maximizing funding for program delivery. DHA must first work smart, and then work hard. We are establishing performance standards for each staff position that include productivity, work quality and customer service as minimum benchmarks.
Additionally, I am reaching out to our residents and clients, business and political leaders, the public, and other nonprofits who share DHA's goals. We seek partners who share our commitment to the people we serve. Working together we can go beyond what has been done in the past and find unconventional ways to deliver and expand our services.
We must to continue to work through our partners in the service sector to help our clients achieve self sufficiency and economic independence. Successful partnerships will ensure that our public housing residents and voucher clients are provided quality housing while also gaining education and skills to lead to employment and movement from assisted to market-rate housing. No matter how successful we are in developing new housing, it is only through the upward mobility of successful families that we can hope to assist the thousands of families on our programs- waiting lists.
Finally, we will enhance our linkages to services for senior residents and those with disabilities to make sure they can live comfortably and successfully either in our public housing communities or using our vouchers. If we pull together toward these common goals DHA can be an authentic catalyst for improving peoples- lives. This is what our work must be about and it is not beyond our reach.
For more information on Randy Skinner and his work in community transformation, see: www.dallasjusticerevival.com or www.citytransformation.org