SPHA Hosts Workshop on Wounded Warrior Housing

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – On March 6, 2012, the St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) hosted its first Wounded Warrior Housing Community Advisory Group meeting to discuss the challenges that local military veterans, specifically wounded warriors, face in their search for affordable and accessible housing, and SPHA’s desire to address them. A wide cross-section of community members, including elected and city officials, social services agencies, government agencies, disabled advocacy groups, banks, developers, and veterans organizations, attended this introductory meeting.

SPHA’s Chief Executive Officer Darrell Irions said, “As a veteran, it is unconscionable to me that the men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedoms return home to find barriers to their recovery and limited affordable housing options. Finding a way to provide our wounded warriors with facilities that meet their needs and remove some of the uncertainty from their lives is important to me and to our Board of Commissioners. SPHA is committed to providing direct and indirect housing and support services for our veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan and for those veterans from past wars.”

The goal of the advisory group is to provide input and feedback needed to direct SPHA’s planning efforts. The housing authority hopes to publicly advertise a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Wounded Warrior Housing by November 2012.

At the March 6 organizational meeting, the advisory group was divided into smaller committees who will work collaboratively with SPHA over the next several months to define local veterans’ needs, to discuss what unit designs best meets those specific needs, and to identify what financing options may be available to help make those designs a reality. Meeting dates, locations, and times will be posted on SPHA’s website at www.stpeteha.org, as planning efforts move forward.

About St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA):

Founded in 1937, the St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) is one of the oldest housing authorities in the nation and is continually rated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a “High Performing” agency. Currently, SPHA provides housing assistance to qualifying low-income families within its service area, which includes the City of St. Petersburg and extends in a 10-mile radius outside of city limits. SPHA has received national awards and recognition for its innovative programs, including the Economies of Scale program, the Jordan Park HOPE VI redevelopment program, the Section 3 program, and the Fraud Recovery program. More information about SPHA’s programs and services can be found at www.stpeteha.org.