Announcements

 

Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC)

Dear State Rental Assistance Partners,

As of today, Tuesday, May 30th, DHCD will finalize our transition to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). This is based on Governor Healey and Lt. Governor Driscoll filing Article 87 legislation earlier this year to establish a stand-alone secretariat focused on housing.

This is an exciting time with the importance of our collective work being elevated and we wanted to share a few basic facts about this change.

Key Information 
• Name: As of today, DHCD is officially the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). We will no longer use the name DHCD. Please update references internally and on your website to reflect this change. 
• Leadership: This Thursday, June 1st, we will welcome EOHLC’s new Secretary Ed Augustus. Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox will continue to serve on EOHLC’s senior leadership team. 
• Communicating with EOHLC: There will be no immediate changes to your programmatic points of contact or the email addresses where you reach them. 
• Contracts: All existing contracts with DHCD will remain fully valid once the transition to EOHLC is made.

If you have any specific questions on how this transition might impact your work with us, please reach out to me.

Thank you for your partnership as we make this exciting transition.

All the best,

Cecilia Woodworth
Assistant Director, State Rental Assistance
Division of Rental Assistance
cecilia.woodworth@mass.gov

Nominations are sought for the Section 8 Administrators Association Board

The S8AA will hold its 2024 elections of Secretary and (6) Directors at our annual meeting June 13, 2024 at Venezia in Boston. If you are interested in serving on the board, please submit your name along with the position you are seeking to hold. Six (6) positions listed are open and if elected will serve a 2-year term beginning September 1, 2024 – August 31, 2026. One position, if elected, will serve a 1-year term beginning September 1, 2024-August 31, 2025.

The 2024 Nominating Committee is composed of the following member(s): Marie Afonso (Fall River HA), Samantha Hegarty (Waltham HA), and Carrie Moore (Dedham HA).

Active members of S8AA are encouraged to nominate themselves to serve on the Board. Board Meetings are held monthly and via Zoom. The board is a group of passionate and informative administrators of the program.

We are truly fortunate in the New England Region to have such a dedicated group of professionals serving our industry. When submitting a name for consideration, please consider the following:

Nominees must be:

Familiar with housing and community issues;
Represent a broad cross section of member interests;
Be representative of members geographically and demographically including commissioners, minorities and women.

Thank you in advance for helping keep the Section 8 Administrators Association strong and vibrant through your nominations.

Letters of interest should be emailed no later than May 10, 2024 to:

Carrie Moore, President

carrie@dedhamhousing.org

 More Info Here.
 Annual Meeting Agenda

 

The Section 8 Administrators Association Presents:  Annual Meeting and Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Workshop  

Date:  Thursday, June 13, 2024  Time:  10am-2pm Location: Venezia, 20 Ericcson St., Boston 02122
Fee:   $125.00 per person  Presenters: Kevin Stacey, Trainright, Inc.   
Lunch and book are included in price Who should attend:  All LHA staff  
Please register by June 6, 2024 

Click Here for more info.

ANNOUNCING NEW S8AA BOARD MEMBERS:

SECRETARY 
• JACLYN BEAULIEU, HUDSON HOUSING AUTHORITY 

My name is Jackie Beaulieu and I’m the Executive Director of the Hudson Housing Authority. I’ve worked in housing for more than 15 years. I’m a mom of three (ages 6, 3 and 4 months) and life is BUSY! I’ve served on the Board of the S8AA for more than 6 years now as a Director and am excited for this opportunity to move on to the Secretary position. The S8AA is a great organization that helps keep us connected with our peers at other authorities (so important!) while providing us great opportunities to further our knowledge of the housing programs we administer.

TREASURER
• SAMANTHA HEGGARTY, BURLINGTON HOUSING AUTHORITY 

My name is Samantha Heggarty and I am currently the Executive Director of the Burlington Housing Authority. I have worked in housing for approximately 20 years and love what I do. The S8AA is important to me because it gives me a forum to ask questions and network with housing authority employees from all over. 

DIRECTORS 
• MARIBETH CUNNINGHAM, NORWOOD HOUSING AUTHORITY

My name is Maribeth Cunningham, and my position at Norwood Housing Authority is Leased Housing Administrator. My employment here began in 2004, but actually started in housing in 1977 at Mass. Housing Finance Agency where I worked until 1985. I then took time off from housing to raise my kids and worked as a bartender. I still work as a bartender too! Serving on the Section 8 AA has been a pleasure---great support from fellow board members who have so much knowledge about our programs. 

• KERRY FARIAS, FALL RIVER HOUSING AUTHORITY

My name is Kerry Farias. I have been employed with the FRHA for 35 years of which 18 of those years I resided in public housing. I have worked in the Section 8 Department my whole tenure with the FRHA. I have been the Director of Leased Housing since July 2018. I love spending time with my grandson and enjoy vacationing in Florida. The S8AA Board is important to me in several ways. The Board is a committee with wonderful and knowledgeable people. They bring a wealth of knowledge to every HA they interact with and the trainings and webinars they host are very beneficial to each HA. 

• JASMIN JEAN-LOUIS, NEWTON HOUSING AUTHORITY

My name is Jasmin Jean-Louis. I am the Section 8 & FSS Coordinator for the Melrose Housing Authority. In 2012, I started working as an intern for a housing authority and officially began my “career” in November 2015. My major in college was Anthropology and my favorite board game is Connect 4. It’s important to stay relevant with all the constant changes happening in the housing industry, being a part of the s8aa board helps me very much in my career as well as providing the useful information to other colleagues to succeed in theirs as well. 

• MARIE ALFONSO, FALL RIVER HOUSING AUTHORITY

My name is Marie Afonso, I am the Assistant Director of Leased Housing at the Fall River Housing Authority where I have worked for 20 years. The S8AA is important because it provides professionals within Housing Authorities to meet and engage with peers and colleagues to share ideas, trainings and opportunities for growth. I love animals, enjoy traveling and spending time with my granddaughters. 

• BRUNA CAMPBELL, BROCKTON HOUSING AUTHORITY

My name is Bruna Campbell. I work at the Brockton Housing Authority as the Rental Assistance Landlord Participant Facilitator, I’ve been in the housing field for over 5 years. I originally started working at the BHA part-time during my junior year of High School and remained working part-time until I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and was hired full-time in 2016. S8AA is important to me because it provides a setting where members are able to assist each other on common goals. 

• BRITTANY JANCARIK, WATERTOWN HOUSING AUTHORITY

Hello to all! My name is Brittany Jancarik and I am representing the Watertown Housing Authority as its Leased Housing Manager. I began my affordable housing career four years ago working at a property management company where I provided compliance services and project management to various non-profits, housing authorities, and private sector owners. When I am not working or chasing around my toddler, I enjoy singing and recording music. It is truly an honor to be running for a leadership position with S8AA, as it is my personal passion to educate others about the importance of affordable housing – after all, we are here to help bridge the housing gap between income levels of all shapes and sizes. Despite how busy all of us are, there is nothing more satisfying than issuing a voucher to someone who can finally breathe a sigh of relief. 

• JACK NAGLE, ARLINGTON HOUSING AUTHORITY 

My name is Jack Nagle, I am the Executive Director of the Arlington Housing Authority and have been working in this industry for four years. Prior to working for the AHA I worked for the DTA and served in the U.S. Army. I would be excited to contribute and learn as a member of the Board of Directors of the S8AA, an organization that has showcased its commitment to advocating for its membership.

 

Letter on Fair Market Rents, Appeals and next steps.

Click here to read more.

Requested Guidance Update Regarding Restrictions on Assistance to Noncitizens

A letter was drafted on behalf of the Section 8 Administrators Association, Inc. to request addition guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development with regard to acceptable documentation to support of eligible immigrations status for purposes of federal housing benefits pursuant to applicable law.

Click here to View the letter sent on February 1, 2019