Contents:
- “Come Current” offers help to get your rent payments back on track!
- Congratulations to RRHA’s 2021 college-bound student scholarship winners!
- Congratulations to RRHA’s 2021 FSS program graduates!
- $500 Rewards for Public Safety Tips
- Revitalizing Our Communities: Vouchers are the Future
- Barment Policy Updated To Be More Family-Friendly
“Come Current” offers help to get your rent payments back on track!
The current freeze on lease enforcement is about to come to an end. If you’re behind on your rent, NOW is the time to contact your property manager to take steps to avoid enforcement action. Paying rent not only ensures that you and your family stay housed, it helps create a secure future for you and your family. Non-payment of rent can disqualify you from a housing choice voucher and can negatively affect your rental history.
You don’t have to do it alone! To help residents comply with their rent payment agreements and avoid eviction, RRHA is working hard to minimize the number of lease enforcement cases by working with families to “Come Current” on past due rent balances. There are resources available, but the first step is to contact your property manager, who can help make a plan to bring your account current and stay housed. Do it today!
Congratulations to RRHA’s 2021 college-bound student scholarship winners!
On July 27, RRHA celebrated the success of 9 recent high school graduates with “Open House in the Village”, an annual scholarship event, to kickstart their college careers. Even in normal times, getting ready for college can cause a great deal of apprehension for parents and students alike, and more so when navigating the challenges of a worldwide pandemic. An academic scholarship can remove the tuition barrier, but what about the other essentials to support these students as they move out into their new world? The scholarships by Tomorrow’s Promise and VAHCDO help to ensure these students have what they need for a positive start to their college careers, such as dorm furnishings, laptops, toiletries, and more.
Join us in congratulating:
- Ailyah Blackshear | Virginia Commonwealth University
- Dai’Quana | Washington Radford University
- Devante Jackson | Reynolds Community College
- Mekhi Lucas | Virginia Union University
- Mikel Hudson | Virginia Commonwealth University
- Nyla Cooper | Virginia Commonwealth University
- Shanaya Peck | Undecided
- Shytina Huey | Reynolds Community College
- Varchon Laws | Old Dominion University
Congratulations to RRHA’s 2021 FSS program graduates!
Completion of the five-year Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program is a major accomplishment, setting each participant’s family on a path toward financial security by increasing their earned income and reducing their dependency on welfare assistance and rental subsidies.
About the 2020-2021 FSS Graduates
- All 15 are gainfully employed
- 7 no longer need housing assistance
- 3 are now new homeowners
- 2 no longer live in low-income public housing
- 1 is now a college graduate
Show your support!
Your tax-deductible donation will help fund a celebration event and gifts for the graduates!
Donation electronically to:
$RRHAScholarshipFund
via Cash App on your phone
Mail or drop off a check:
RRHA FSS Program
901 Chamberlayne Parkway, Richmond VA 23220
Rewards for Public Safety Tips
RRHA residents can help build a safer community by being part of the Public Safety Team—and reporting illegal activity through RRHA’s public safety tip line. It’s a confidential, non-threatening, and anonymous way to report violence, illegal weapons, drug activity, and other illegal activity that threatens the health and safety of RRHA residents. Not only can the tips help make RRHA public housing communities safer, but callers may also receive a reward! If you see something…SAY SOMETHING!
Call (804) 780-4244
Revitalizing Our Communities: Vouchers are the Future
The public housing units that RRHA manages, currently 70-80 years old, are obsolete and do not address the needs and concerns of our residents. As federal funding continues to shift from public housing communities (such as Creighton Court) to local housing choice voucher (HCV) programs, RRHA is adjusting its operations accordingly.
In fact, Creighton Court residents surveyed said:
- 83% would prefer to receive a Tenant Protection Voucher (TPV) or a Project Based Voucher (PBV)
- 17% prefer to return to the transformed Creighton Court community
The welfare, safety, and security of RRHA public housing residents and voucher holders are our primary mission. RRHA’s build-first model phases the Creighton Court redevelopment and builds new units before any demolition activity occurs to avoid the displacement of residents.
Barment Policy Updated To Be More Family-Friendly
Families worried about restrictions placed on their visitors under RRHA’s barment policy will be relieved to know about recent and long overdue changes to the policy. In the last decade, the list had grown to nearly 10,000 persons, making it both unmanageable and ineffective. The revised policy restores access to those who should no longer be barred while continuing to restrict access to those who have forfeited their privilege to visit RRHA communities as a result of illegal behavior. RRHA worked closely with the Richmond Police Department and Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to amend the policy to be more family-friendly. Major changes in the revised policy focus on:
Criminal Activity: Only individuals who engage in criminal activity in an RRHA community will be barred. (Persons will no longer be barred persons because they are unable to provide a legitimate reason for being on RRHA-owned properties.)
Time Limit: All barments will last 3 years from the date of the barment notice, unless overturned during an administrative review hearing.
Automatic Removal: Persons on RRHA’s barment list will be automatically removed at the end of 3 years. (Individuals no longer have to send RRHA a written request to have their name removed.)