Kelda Fontenot for Arlington Housing Authority

Cockroaches, mice, bedbugs and holes in the ceiling - another day in the Arlington Housing Authority

By Elizabeth Dray

Recently a Menotomy Manor resident emailed me and said “Change has to be done down here. It's not right what we are going through. I'm just fed up with it. There is no reason it is like this other than [the Housing Board] not caring and just wanting our [rent] check. I've lived down here for almost xx yrs so I have gone through a lot down here. They want our rent on time and we want a good, working place to live.” The resident wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of retribution for speaking publicly.

Reading AHA meeting minutes for the last 6 months of 2020 (2021 minutes are not posted) reveal health code violations and residents pleading for help with infestations of bedbugs, cockroaches “everywhere” and mice. One resident said that the Board of Health judged her apartment as “unsafe to live there” and it is “beyond disgusting and no one is doing anything.” In Cusack Terrace there were reports of unheeded maintenance problems, closed garbage shoots and lack of hand sanitizer near the elevators during Covid. Meeting participants have been yelled at and denigrated, one was called “rude and obnoxious” by the Executive Director.

Personally, I have heard Menotomy Manor residents ask for help at Arlington Housing Authority (AHA) Board meetings. Instead of being listened to, they are ignored. Instead of being thanked for bringing forward their concerns, they are publicly denigrated, even sworn at. Yes, in public meetings. Where are the recordings of these meetings? They were destroyed. Until recently the AHA routinely violated Open Meeting Law.

Another email I received from a Menotomy Manor resident said "They don't like to fix anything, our bathrooms flood... it leaks into the kitchen light fixture and ruins the ceiling". They are not alone. I spoke to a resident who lived for months with a HUGE hole in their family’s kitchen ceiling from unfixed leaks. They showed me photos. They repeatedly brought this issue forward at Board meetings.

Arlington - these are OUR neighbors. They pay taxes, share our parks and restaurants and attend Arlington’s schools. Each deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and has the human right to live in safe and sanitary housing. Change is desperately needed at the Housing Authority.

I invite you to come and listen to residents yourself. Find the next meeting here https://www.arlingtonhousing.org/

Disbelief should not be an option for unsafe housing conditions at AHA
By Judith Garber

In November 2020, I attended my first public meeting of the Arlington Housing Authority (AHA), which operates many of Arlington’s housing assistance programs. I was shocked to hear some of the board members dismiss tenants’ concerns about rodent infestations, call them names, interrupt them, and blame them for the rodents. One tenant, on the verge of tears and tired of being silenced, wrote “Help us” on a piece of paper and held it to the computer camera.

There is a clear need for better communication and more accountability from the AHA board. The AHA needs leadership with understanding and empathy for tenants’ concerns, who are committed to transparency. That’s why I’m voting for Kelda Fontenot for the AHA board. Kelda has dedicated the past ten years to being a volunteer housing advocate and understands first-hand the struggle in trying to be heard by the Housing Authority. She is passionate about eliminating hardship and dehumanizing treatment of all residents experiencing housing instability.

I believe Kelda will be an empathetic, responsive, and hard-working board member. I hope you will join me in voting for Kelda for the AHA board.

Kelda Fontenot will listen to AHA residents
By Geoff Freed

This current pandemic shines a light on the need to address issues of inequity. Across the nation our most at-risk community members; those living in public housing, our seniors, people with disabilities, and people of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Throughout her work as a housing advocate and her personal interactions with the Arlington Housing Authority (AHA), the most frequent concerns that Kelda hears from residents are about:

• Improving transparency and communication

• Ensuring that ALL residents benefit from equal treatment and representation, especially our seniors and residents with disabilities

• Promoting a culture that celebrates the diversity of AHA residents

• Creating a system that elevates residents’ voices without fear of retaliation

• Eliminating the hardship and dehumanizing treatment of residents experiencing housing instability

Kelda is an experienced project manager and has both created and worked within budgets, while running an international non-profit for musicians. She is culturally competent and an effective team player. Following a disabling injury due to unsafe housing in 2010, she dedicated the past ten years to housing advocacy and to learning as much as possible about the factors surrounding access to safe and affordable housing. In that work she gained critical experience understanding housing codes, rules and regulations. More importantly she intimately understands the barriers and challenges AHA residents face and will center and raise their voices.

Kelda Fontenot is experienced and passionate about helping AHA residents
By Sandra Mostajo

I am writing to encourage you to vote for Kelda Fontenot to be the newest member of the Arlington Housing Authority (AHA) Board. The AHA oversees housing for over 1,500 of our most underserved and ignored residents, including around 400 children in 67 different buildings in Arlington! Kelda Fontenot has over 10 years experience as a housing advocate. In her work she has dedicated herself to improving the lives of some of the most marginalized members of our society. She is experienced, intelligent, kind and empathetic. Kelda will use these skills to work cooperatively with Board members to provide fair and equitable treatment of all residents, safe and healthy living conditions, and opportunities for social interaction and personal growth. She will be a caring, compassionate, well-informed advocate for everyone.

Kelda is committed to work with other AHA Board members to follow through on the recommendations of Arlington’s League of Women Voters after they completed a comprehensive 5 year study of the problems with AHA. Kelda’s priorities include:

• Implementing a streamlined, effective, well-documented complaint process
• Creating a culture where calls/emails are responded to promptly and courteously, within 24-hours
• Building and maintaining an informative, content-rich website
• Updating the resident handbook with real information, including emergency information and contact information, and making it accessible to non English speaking residents
• Improving the partnership with the Board of Health to boost the quality of life for all AHA residents, even before problems arise
• Creating accountability metrics such as tracking resident complaints to make sure issues are addressed in a timely manner
• Completing professional training for Board members and employees on how best to interact with people with challenges including but not limited to hearing, sight, language, cultural, financial, religious and physical and mental abilities
• Promoting monthly chats with board members to create informal opportunities to engage with residents

Kelda has the support of many Housing Authority residents. They know that through her personal and professional experience, she understands the complexities of affordable housing and the challenges they face daily. They know that they have a champion in Kelda. Now it is up to the rest of us to center their voices and respect their wishes and vote for Kelda as well. To learn more, visit www.voteKelda.com

It is time for change at the Arlington Housing Authority - Elect Kelda Fontenot
By Robin Bergman

Sometimes it just happens that someone serves on a board or organization for so long that they lose sight of what motivated them to serve in the first place. They get too comfortable because they have not been challenged. It may not be intentional; they probably don't even realize it themselves. But the result is that they have lost their vision, their ability to see new solutions, and lost touch with the needs of those they are there to serve. When this happens, it's time for them to step down and allow someone new to serve. Unfortunately, this is what's happened with long serving board members of the Arlington Housing Authority (AHA).

AHA residents deserve board members who are caring, empathetic and passionate about their work and who believe in transparency. They deserve board members who are tireless advocates for the individuals and families who live there. They deserve Kelda Fontenot. For over ten years, Kelda has worked as a housing advocate to help others understand complex housing codes, rules and policies. She has witnessed the unresponsive administrators, and the dehumanizing treatment of human beings who are experiencing housing instability. She is intimately aware of the challenges that low income and housing insecure residents need to overcome and the inadequacies of the current Housing Authority Board. She is ready to get to work, to learn from and to work with fellow Board members to change things for the better.

A vote for Kelda Fontenot is a vote to support the 1500 residents who live in AHA housing.