1 / 11

Working with Public Housing Authorities in ME

Working with Public Housing Authorities in ME. Public Housing in Maine.

apiatan
Download Presentation

Working with Public Housing Authorities in ME

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Working with Public Housing Authorities in ME

  2. Public Housing in Maine There are 20 public housing authorities in Maine which own and manage housing units and 5 tribal housing authorities which own and manage housing units. There are an additional 5 that provide Choice Housing Vouchers (Section 8).

  3. How it began… In 2003, Healthy Androscoggin began receiving calls from tenants from local Housing Authority tenants regarding secondhand smoke exposure inside their apartments. Two housing authorities were contacted and they agreed to disseminate surveys to gauge the tenant interest in going smoke-free…

  4. Public housing tenant survey results in Maine If available, would you prefer to live in a smoke-free environment?

  5. In 2004, Auburn Housing Authority became the first housing authority in Maine, and the third in the nation, to adopt a smoke-free policy. • Three years later, 13 of Maine’s housing authorities have adopted a smoke-free policy, accounting for 2,300 units.

  6. Maine Smoke-Free Housing Authorities • Auburn – 9/04 (unlimited grandfather) • Sanford- 9/05 (unlimited grandfather) • Bar Harbor- 5/06 (24 mo. grandfather) • Southwest Harbor- 6/06 (unlimited grandfather) • Lewiston- 6/06 (unlimited grandfather) • Brewer- 6/06 (12 mo grandfather) • Old Town- 7/06 (12 mo grandfather) • Ellsworth- 6/06 (unlimited grandfather) • Mount Desert- 6/06 (unlimited grandfather) • Waterville-03/07 (unlimited grandfathering) • Fort Fairfield- 9/06 (24 mo grandfather) • Bangor-5/07 (no grandfathering) • Brunswick-6/07 (unlimited grandfathering) • *tenants only are grandfathered not guests, relatives, etc.

  7. Motivating Policy Adoption • Cost and Appearance • Care for properties • Turnover at Auburn and Sanford Housing Authorities’ smoking units cost upwards of $2,700 • Tenant Health • Secondhand smoke has become a more apparent danger to the public’s health • Legal Threat • ADA and FHA protections of those with respiratory disabilities are a concern for PHAs • Ease of Change • PHA’s are often unaware that smoke-free policies are legal and easy to adopt, and practically self-enforcing

  8. Concerns that Arise in Public Housing • Misconceptions about the “rights” of smokers • Enforcement • Grandfathering • Outdoor access for elderly populations

  9. Steps Toward State-wide Change • Healthy Maine Partnership outreach to local PHAs • Conducting tenant surveys, meeting with staff, presenting to boards • Making friends with those who have influence • (MaineHousing, executive staff of PHAs with policies) • Providing continued technical assistance and materials for enforcement • Presenting at and attending state-wide housing conferences

  10. Partnering for Greater Outreach • Housing authorities were asked to distribute the Coalition’s fact sheet to landlords who receive payment through the HA’s Section 8 program. • 21 housing authorities have distributed over 4,000 of the Coalition’s fact sheets

  11. Things to Remember… • Keep contact with public housing professions who have already gone smoke-free- engage them in you efforts • *Encourage them to spread the word to their peers • Focus on factors most important to them • *Financial impact, legal complications, etc. • Work with state housing authority and larger developments to set a precedence around smoke-free housing

More Related