Tag Archives: Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP)

For the eighth year, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) collaborate through the H.O.T. (Higher Opportunities Thrive) Summer Youth Conference to expose youth who live in affordable housing to university life and the endless possibilities a college degree can pave.

On Friday, July 14, 70 participants from HACEP’s affordable housing program officially graduated from the annual conference and received their very own H.O.T. diploma from UTEP.

“The H.O.T Summer Youth Conference is a great way to get our talented and deserving HACEP youth into experiencing campus life and exposing them to higher education,” said HACEP CEO Gerald Cichon. “For the last eight years UTEP has provided a fun and creative way to promote career and college preparation through the H.O.T. Program.”

The H.O.T. Program, a week-long set of college and career awareness classes, was developed for youth ages 10 to 18 in affordable housing to broaden their perspective on career possibilities and offer a taste of what it would be like to be a university student.

The conference provides learning opportunities through an interactive curriculum led by UTEP staff, faculty, student volunteers, conference alumni, and community leaders as their instructors and mentors.

“HACEP is an outstanding partner of the University.  Together we promote higher education for the HACEP communities,” said UTEP Assistant Vice President of University Relations Beto Lopez.

Graduates had the opportunity to hear from several notable local leaders who discussed the importance of higher education and offered their own story as to how they managed to overcome adversity in their own lives.

UTEP President Dr. Diana Natalicio, HACEP Chief Operations Officer Satish Bhaskar and Assistant Vice President of University Relations Beto Lopez each addressed the body of graduates.

The dawn of summer time translates into two simple words: free time. In this respect, the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) launches several summer programs that will allow youth residents to have a safe and active summer, while promoting healthy living and education through a series of fun activities.

The summer enrichment programs will be housed at the Eisenhower Community Center in Northeast El Paso located at 5628 Eisenhower.

“The youth in our communities are always a top priority because they are our future,” expresses HACEP CEO Gerald Cichon. “Especially during this time of year when schools let out, our summer programs fill a void by offering a safe place to learn, develop healthy eating habits, and of course have fun all while giving parents peace of mind on the safety of their children.”

Summer programs such as the ones being offered at the Eisenhower Community are important for children and youth— especially children from disadvantaged and low-income communities. These programs provide enriching experiences that help the children avoid summer learning loss.

According to Summer Learning online, student achievement remain relatively constant during the school year, but the gap widens significantly during the summer with low-income youth losing two to three months in reading and math while their higher-income peers make slight gains.  Low-income youth may also lose access to healthy meals throughout the summer.

Six out of every seven students who receive free and reduced-price lunches lose access to healthy foods when the school year ends.

This is why HACEP’s Eisenhower Community Summer Enrichment Program takes hold of what is typically seen as 90 days’ worth of down time to three months full of fun, healthy and active learning.

Resident youth 18 years and younger will have the opportunity to receive a free, healthy lunch from 12:30-1:30 p.m. now through August 18. El Pasoan’s Fighting Hunger Food Bank will host free nutrition classes for children eight through 13 years old every Wednesday from 1:15-2:15 p.m.to ensure youth are developing healthy eating habits.

The YWCA will be hosting free art, science and outdoor activities for youth ages 11 to 16 years old every day from June 19 to June 28, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Project Vida will also extend their summer hours from 12 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday to host extracurricular activities for youth as well as help with summer school homework.

There is something for everyone this summer, as even parents can take advantage of free Zumba classes every Monday and Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m.

The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) will launch their fourth new construction project in just twelve months on Wednesday, December 7th.

The Westfall Community Reconstruction Project will include rebuilding 90 multi-family homes with energy efficient appliances, new HVAC systems including refrigerated air, landscaping that advocates water conservation, among other interior and exterior improvements bringing in an investment of $18.3 Million to this east side neighborhood.

This reconstruction project marks HACEP’s fourth new construction project since launching into the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program – a national effort to revitalize public housing across the nation set forth by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HACEP recently began the new construction of Sherman Plaza-North in south-central El Paso, and is nearing the completion of the Krupp Community in east El Paso and Tays South Community in the historic Chamizal neighborhood.

HACEP currently has 17 communities under construction city-wide, nearly half of its public housing portfolio, and a total of 2 communities officially complete.

In 2014, HACEP became the largest public housing agency in the country to activate a portfolio-wide revitalization effort.

By 2020, HACEP will have revitalized nearly 6,000 affordable homes across the Sun City – an effort unmatched by any other PHA in the United States.

Click HERE for more info on HACEP’s revitalization effort.

The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP), joined by Sundt Construction who will be the contractor on the project, officially broke ground Wednesday on the full reconstruction of the Sherman Community as part of HACEP’s overall $1 billion initiative to revitalize El Paso’s affordable housing communities.

The Sherman Apartments, as it is officially named, was originally built in 1953 in south-central El Paso and is known for being one of the larger communities in HACEP’s housing portfolio. The entire revitalization of the Sherman Community will be done in two large phases divided by Sherman-North and Sherman-South.

Sherman-South will be a rehabilitation project in which the outer structures will stay intact but the complete interior will be redone. Sherman-North will be a full reconstruction that will require demolition of 18 low-rise buildings containing 144 residential homes.

The new construction will consist of all 18 buildings, but an additional 34 homes to offer a total of 178 brand new affordable homes.

This plan will allow HACEP to utilize the parcel of land to its maximum potential expanding the capacity to serve more families in need.

“Our goal throughout this entire historic initiative is to provide safe, quality, affordable housing to those most in need in El Paso,” shares HACEP Board Chair Burt Blacksher. “When we get the chance to fully reconstruct an entire community, then we see this as an opportunity to determine how we can better serve more families throughout our city.”

The reconstruction of Sherman-North is part of HACEP’s overall project to revitalize all affordable housing communities in its portfolio through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. Nearly 6,000 of HACEP’s homes in El Paso are being revitalized. HACEP’s complete revitalization effort consumes 3% of the national allotment allowed for the RAD program. HACEP was the first largest public housing agency (PHA) to enter into the RAD program.

“This reconstruction project exemplifies HACEP’s relentless effort to truly transform our city one community at a time,” states HACEP CEO Gerald Cichon. “In just the last six years HACEP will have invested $123 million into south-central El Paso alone through the complete new construction of Alamito, Paisano Green Community, Tays-South, and now Sherman-North.”

Once construction is complete by winter 2017, Sherman-North will be a LEED certified community containing Energy-Star appliances, central heating and cooling, in addition to a new daycare center and community center for social events and classes. The community will also contain new playgrounds, an athletic court, and picnic areas throughout. In July 2014 HACEP was awarded $15 million by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) to help fund this $24 million construction project.

For more information: http://www.hacep.org/about-us/rad

The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) will officially open up the waitlist for the Project-Based Voucher (PBV) program for two communities – Krupp and South Tays Communities – for anyone seeking housing assistance.

Krupp Community PBV waitlist will open Friday, October 14 at 8:00 a.m. through November 13 at 11:59 p.m. Tays Community PBV waitlist will open Saturday, October 15 at 8:00 a.m. through November 14 at 11:59 p.m.

The launch of the PBV program helps diversify the type of assistance HACEP can administer to the El Paso community who seek rental assistance. Currently, families can apply to the public housing program and to the Tenant-Based voucher program – both administered by HACEP.

However, when all residential units are leased, all applicants are placed on a waitlist once they have qualified. The initiation of the PBV program will offer families another option as means to achieving self-sufficiency.

The PBV program is a component of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program that is administered by HACEP, a government-funded program that provides rental housing to low-income households in privately-owned and managed rental units.

“The PBV program is rental assistance that is tied directly to the rental unit, therefore a contract administered between HACEP and the property owner,” explains HACEP’s HCV Director Lorena Rivera. “We have typically utilized a tenant-based voucher where rental subsidy is tied to the family, not the unit, which means the assistance is portable pending on where the family chooses to live within the HCV program.”

Both communities are undergoing full reconstruction as part of an overall revitalization initiative pursued by HACEP. Krupp Community, a 96-unit property located in east El Paso at Montana Avenue and Lorne Road, began construction in October 2015. South Tays Community, traditionally known as Tays Place located in south-central El Paso at Eucalyptus Street and Cypress Avenue, is a fully redeveloped community consisting of 198 units – the largest redevelopment project in the last 50 years for the Chamizal neighborhood.

Families who seek rental assistance can begin their online pre-application process at https://online.hacep.org/preapplication or if you or a family member is a person with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply, please contact Judy Morales at (915) 849-3634.

The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) hosted its 7^th annual “Back-to-School Fair” today benefitting over 500 children from the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.

HACEP transformed their Central Office parking lot, on the corner of East Paisano Drive and Cortez Road, into a fair celebrating the quickly approaching 2016 school year.

The Fair featured the distribution of backpacks filled with the essential school supplies (valued at $30 each) and included over 15 exhibitors from various El Paso businesses and community organizations.

For the past six years, HACEP has positively impacted over 2,000 children and their families by providing the tools necessary to help them be successful in the classroom.

Children from ages 6 – 11 years old received backpacks that included notebooks, crayons, pencils, rulers, markers, scissors, and folders.

Two lucky families even went home with laptop computers, a new entry on the list of school supplies, which will help close the digital divide.

These supplies help offset the cost to families earning an average of $12K-$15K a year as the beginning of a school year can leave a dent in anyone’s wallet.

Hundreds of little faces lit up with delight as they picked out their favorite color backpack, and picked up other new “treasures” at the fair. The parents were excited too, as well as relieved, knowing that this opportunity will make the start out the school year less challenging.

According to the 2015 Building a Grad Nation Report, students who attend school equipped with the needed school supplies have a better chance of achieving excellence in the classroom. Their confidence soars, classroom behavior improves, and grades go up.

“Today, we were able to go beyond providing safe and sanitary homes to our families,” said Lorena Rivera, Director of the HCV Program. “This is due to the tremendous support we received from our community partners, whose participation is key to the success of this event.”

The HCV Back-to-School Fair was made possible by a generous grant from the Wilma D. Moleen Foundation and supported by various local community partners and volunteers: Chase Bank, Rio Bravo Title, El Paso’s National IBF Featherweight World Champion Jennifer Han, City of El Paso Public Health Department, Smile Magic, Star Medical Group, Chamizal National Memorial, 2-1-1 Texas, El Paso Zoo, El Paso Library, Big Boy Concessions, Craze, the Food Truck Association, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, UTEP, EP Fitness, Fresh on Mondays and the HACEP Community Services Smoke-Free Initiative Team.

The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) brings back its annual Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) school supply giveaway event with style this year by revamping it into a full-fledged Back-To-School Fair to take place Saturday, July 23 from 8 to 11 a.m. at its main offices, 5300 E. Paisano Drive.

For the past six years HACEP has been able to give over 2,000 children (and underserved families) a hand up by setting them up for academic success in the classroom with something as simple as a backpack loaded with basic school supplies.

HACEP’s revamped annual school supply giveaway, now known as the HCV Back-To-School Fair, is generously made possible by a grant from the Moleen Foundation and supported generously by Chase Bank. The Fair will feature over a dozen exhibitors highlighting community services, support and information that will better equip HACEP families and their children for the school year ahead.

The Back-To-School Fair will include the traditional giveaway of 500 backpacks filled with approximately $30 worth of school supplies from Office Depot and also feature El Paso native and national IBF Featherweight world champion Jennifer Han, including other local leaders and vendors.

                WHAT:                 2016 Back-To-School Fair

WHEN:                 Saturday, July 23  8:00 – 11:00 a.m.

WHERE:               HACEP Main Office |   5300 E. Paisano Drive (at Cortez Road)