[0:00] (lively music) [0:09] (lively music) [0:18] - Hi, I am Anna Salvador. [0:19] I am the assistant HRA administrator here [0:23] in the Bloomington HRA. [0:24] I was attracted to the city of Bloomington [0:26] for a number of reasons. [0:28] I think especially within the housing space, [0:30] there's a lot of opportunities [0:32] to work on a variety of different projects. [0:34] I saw a place that I could add value [0:36] based on my experience first in urban planning, [0:38] but also administering housing programs in other cities. [0:42] The HRA does all things housing. [0:45] We work both in the built environment [0:47] in terms of helping to make sure [0:49] that housing gets developed in the city, [0:51] but then also providing a lot of programs and services [0:54] for renters and homeowners to improve their experience [0:57] in their homes and allow them to stay in their homes [1:00] as much as possible. [1:01] One of my biggest responsibilities is overseeing [1:03] the housing choice voucher or Section 8 program [1:06] for the city. [1:07] We administer around 650 vouchers, [1:10] and for those households, [1:11] we provide ongoing rental assistance based on their incomes [1:16] in rental properties throughout the city. [1:18] The HRA also owns and operates 42 [1:21] scatter site rental properties [1:23] within the city of Bloomington. [1:24] So the team that I oversee [1:27] completes the property management components [1:29] of those properties, but also administers programs [1:33] and services to the households that live in those units. [1:36] One of the major programs in those units [1:38] is the Rental Homes for Future Home Buyers program, [1:41] which is a five year home ownership readiness program. [1:45] Households who are participating in that program [1:46] rent from us for five years, [1:48] and in that time they're saving up [1:50] for a down payment for a house, [1:51] completing first time home buyer courses [1:54] and things like that to prepare them to move on [1:57] and potentially purchase a home after those five years. [2:01] Other exciting things in the HRA, [2:04] we're currently rolling out [2:05] the Bloomington Affordable Home Ownership program [2:08] where we'll be developing 27 new homes [2:11] that will be sold to income qualifying households. [2:13] So that's a really new, exciting initiative, [2:15] and we continue to just seek out opportunities [2:18] to expand rental assistance [2:20] and other services that we can offer [2:22] directly to Bloomington residents. [2:23] The work of housing touches so many other outcomes [2:26] in terms of health outcomes, economic outcomes, [2:29] educational outcomes, and so the work of the HRA [2:32] really is at the core of success [2:35] for so many households within Bloomington, [2:37] and that's why I think the work that we do here [2:39] is really important.