HISTORY OF GHURA’S PROJECTS
AND PROGRAMS
The Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority
(GHURA) opened it’s doors 40 years ago with a
lofty mission in mind – to establish a redevelopment
program for the revitalization of deteriorating neighborhoods,
and to provide “ … safe, decent and sanitary
housing” for Guam’s people who need it most
– people of low to moderate income.
Needless to say – the Agency has
achieved this goal – to put it simply …
the staff, management and Board of Commissioners of
GHURA have spent the last four decades … “Strengthening
Families and Building Communities.”
Since it’s humble beginnings GHURA
has evolved into a lot more than just a housing agency.
Over the years, GHURA has funded and constructed a variety
of community facilities that increase the morale and
welfare of each village on the island of Guam. In fact,
GHURA’s mission and goal encompasses almost every
person in our island community, whether they are young,
homeless, at risk youth, disabled, low to moderate-income
families, single mothers trying to become self sufficient
or manamko (elderly), GHURA has a positive impact on
their lives. The following highlight a select few of
our projects completed over the last few years.
SENIOR CITIZENS
GHURA constructed an Elderly Rental housing
complex for Catholic Social Services, a non-profit organization.
The building has 10 one-bedroom units. Since the facility
was completed, all units have been occupied.
To help meet more of the needs of our manamko,
GHURA also partnered with the Department of Public Health
and Social Services Division of Senior Citizens to identify
villages where the present senior centers were not big
enough to accommodate the manamko population. GHURA
personnel initiated the planning phase, renovation and
construction of senior centers, in the following villages:
Yigo, Mangilao, Dededo, Tamuning, Astumbo, Yona and
Inarajan.
YOUTH AND FAMILIES
GHURA partnered with Sanctuary, Incorporated
to a Youth and Family Leadership Program to provide
public housing youth and families with alternative activities
to drugs and crime programs to help improve our community.
As part of this program, GHURA constructed a Youth Center
and Basketball Court in Pagachao, Agat. Since this program
began, Sanctuary has served over 2,000 youth and their
families. Sanctuary activities include: community outreach,
educational workshops, youth development activities,
crisis intervention, referrals to health, educational,
vocational and substance abuse, consultation and program
development with GHURA residents, tutors and mentors
for public housing youth and parent workshops.
GHURA partnered with Sanctuary, Incorporated
to develop a micro-business program for homeless youth
in the Transitional Living Program Shelter. Through
the Economic Self-Sufficiency Project, Sanctuary provides
youth with life-skills instruction on securing employment
and job maintenance in preparation for independent living.
Homeless youth living in the shelter will participate
in job-preparation workshops, learn to develop and manage
a micro-business and participate in internships with
private businesses. These workshops teach youth business
plan development, mission statement, bookkeeping, marketing
and networking. The program also provides counseling
to youth on the following subjects: anger management,
conflict resolution, and budgeting and good communication
skills.
GHURA partnered with Sanctuary, Incorporated
to expand its family supportive services programs for
low and moderate-income families under the Home Instruction
Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). The HIPPY
Program teaches parents parenting skills and age-appropriate
activities for children age’s three to five. Sanctuary
expanded its crisis-intervention activities in our community
to over 500 youth and families. The program provides
supportive counseling services, mediation, parenting
classes, support groups, anger management classes, support
groups, anger management classes and referrals to other
community resources.
GHURA constructed seven Head Start classrooms
to accommodate increased enrollments in the following
Elementary Schools: Astumbo, Machananao, Upi, Carbullido,
C.L. Taitano and M.U. Lujan. Presently, there are six
more classrooms under construction at the following
elementary schools: Merizo, Chief Brodie (2) and Maria
Ulloa. Each classroom can accommodate up to 20 children.
This program helps children learn skills that prepare
them to enter school, such as the alphabet, reading
writing and numbers.
Public Safety: To
help ensure public safety, GHURA built two fire stations:
one in the village Astumbo and one in Inarajan. We also
purchased state-of-the-art fire fighting vehicles. These
two fire stations and trucks are valued at close to
a million dollars.
Affordable Housing:
Among its many commitments, GHURA also helped
low to moderate-income families achieve the dream of
home ownership. These two projects located in Astumbo
and Asan were turnkey programs designed specifically
for families that under ordinary circumstances would
never be able to afford their own homes. This project,
was funded through a Community Development Block Grant,
provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. The first-time homeowners were selected
through a lottery of qualified low and moderate-income
applicants who succeeded in securing mortgage loans
with local banks and lending institutions. In fact,
one of the applicants was a public housing family who
made the move from tenancy to homeownership.
Group Homes: GHURA
partnered with Guma Mami to provide disabled individuals
two group homes to live in. This enabled the individuals
to have a certain level of independence while still
receiving the quality health care and monitoring they
needed.
Continuum of Care:
GHURA spearheads Guam’s Continuum of Care
Coalition, which maps out a plan of action for our island
community to be able to help any homeless individuals
and/or families by offering temporary and permanent
shelters. GHURA conducted Guam’s first point-in-time
homeless street count and homeless shelter survey. The
Agency also updates Guam’s homeless priority needs,
vision, goals and gap analysis through monthly meetings
and yearly conferences. In fact, GHURA applied for and
received the only Continuum of Care monies given to
the United States Insular areas by HUD.
These have been a few examples of the strides
GHURA employees are willing to go through to make sure
Guam’s people have the best public housing programs
and community facilities. Be assured that GHURA personnel
will continue to uphold this tradition throughout the
next 40 years.
HOMEOWNER’S REHABILITATION LOAN
PROGRAM
With funds made available by HUD under
the HOME Investment Partnership Program, in Fiscal Year
2001 the Authority successfully launched its Homeowner’s
Rehabilitation Loan Program. This program provides loans
to qualified homeowners for the purposes of rehabilitating
their substandard homes. The home to be rehabilitated
must be the primary residence of the borrower.
The program was implemented with
a priority focused on homeowners that are elderly or
persons with disabilities. Qualified persons can receive
a loan up to $25,000 to rehabilitate their home. Under
the existing priority the loan repayment is based on
the homeowner’s occupancy of the rehabilitated
home. This means that for every year the owner occupies
the home, one-fifteenth of the amount borrowed is forgiven.
Therefore if the homeowner occupies his or her home
for a period 15 years, the entire amount of loan will
be forgiven. Actual repayment will be applicable if
the home is sold within 15 years or if the owner does
not fulfill the occupancy requirements.
|
