ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2013 Allentown City Council continued its community outreach efforts Wednesday night by holding a special meeting for the purpose of hearing presentations about the Allentown Housing Authority and the Downtown Allentown Alliance.<\/p>\n
Allentown Housing Authority<\/p>\n
Julio Guridy, executive director of the housing authority, gave a basic overview of the authority, its core mission and the programs it has to offer.<\/p>\n
Guridy said there is always a need for more affordable public housing and presented statistics that the authority has 729 public housing units, while there is a waitlist of 3,132 applicants.<\/p>\n
Guridy also detailed information regarding social services offered by the authority<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency Program, a needs assessment program that helps residents advance towards goals that best fit their needs.<\/p>\n Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program, which assists first-time homebuyers to transition between renting and becoming a homeowner. For qualified residents, the housing assistance payment goes towards the monthly mortgage.<\/p>\n Family Self-Sufficiency Program, which assists residents with building financial assets by working towards educational, professional and personal goals.<\/p>\n Allentown Housing Authority Scholarship Program, which offers secondary education scholarships to high school seniors where funds are distributed evenly between semesters for a total of $1,500 year, with a maximum of $6,000 for four years.<\/p>\n Guridy identified some future projects including: Little Lehigh Phase II, 35 new tax-credit units; The Lofts at Sixth\u00a0Street, eight new housing units for low-income housing; and a total of 10 public housing units that will be renovated and transitioned to homeownership units for first-time buyers.<\/p>\n Downtown Allentown Alliance<\/p>\n