Donte Brown

Oakland Housing Authority

Founded in 1938, the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) currently provides subsidized housing to nearly 16,500 families. The largest landlord in Oakland, OHA serves a diverse community in neighborhoods throughout the city. Our dedicated staff remains steadfast in its effort to gauge existing needs and provide meaningful opportunities for our families, in addition to expanding the availability of quality housing. As one of only a select few housing authorities in the country participating in the Department of Housing & Urban Development's (HUD) Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program, OHA works with our community partners and stakeholders to develop and implement innovative solutions to the persistent issues of access to quality affordable housing, enduring poverty and lack of opportunity in America's very low income neighborhoods. Oakland Housing Authority was selected among only 39 (out of 3,400 eligible) agencies nationally, to participate in the MTW program, which acts as one of "America's Housing Policy Labs," demonstrating and evaluating new solutions that can be replicated across the entire country. Our innovative, locally-designed strategies seek to: *Reduce costs and achieve greater cost effectiveness in Federal expenditures; *Give incentives to families with children where the head of household is working, is seeking work, or is preparing for work by participating in job training, educational programs, or programs that assist people to obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient; and *Increase housing choices for low income families. At OHA, we consistently leverage resources by working with and through experienced non-profit service providers and other local government agencies to deliver access to health, education and social services that benefit our residents and our neighborhoods. We are grateful to our partners for their commitment and work to create thriving communities with real opportunities for the residents we serve.