Published February 2002

Housing Authority works
to build up residents

Arriving via New York like many Irish immigrants at the turn of the 20th century, he picked up a job working the railroads heading out west.

Eventually, he settled in Seattle.

He married and had three children, but railroad wages were slim.

His wife died of pneumonia shortly after giving birth to their fourth child, and the man’s oldest son, my grandfather, became a man at an early age helping the family get by with whatever jobs he could find after school.

Times were tough for this proud but struggling immigrant family. For a time, they lived in a surplus boxcar. The railroad provided unused or obsolete boxcars on rail-line spurs for employees in need of affordable housing. Musty and cold most of the time, the boxcar was a critical stabilizing force for an immigrant family struggling to make ends meet.

Today, the idea of putting up families in boxcars seems twisted. But the goal of creating an affordable, stable home for people in need, many who are immigrant families, is still very American.

With stable housing, families are more likely to stay intact. Kids are allowed to be kids. Education and independence are often positive outcomes as well.

The Everett Housing Authority owns and operates 906 housing units for such needs, with another 2,200 households benefiting from a housing payment voucher program called Section 8.

According to Executive Director Bud Alkire, the Everett Housing Authority is responsible for more than $1 million of rent revenue going into the local economy every month.

For the many new immigrant families, the Housing Authority provides a platform from which to find work, get started and get ahead.

In the Northeast Everett Grandview and Baker Heights housing complexes alone, two-thirds of residents are first-generation Americans, according to Alkire.

But the Housing Authority, a prime example of well-managed public housing, is about much more than serving immigrant families.

Through another program called Enhanced Home Services, 45 EHA residents receive some sort of assistance with cooking or other needs in order to maintain their independent lifestyles. Many receiving this assistance are local families with a temporary need: single moms with kids to raise, elderly individuals on limited incomes.

There’s a certain dignity and pride that comes with having a stable home. The Everett Housing Authority provides today’s families in need with a chance for success in a country founded on the principle of opportunity for everyone.

Tom Hoban is CEO of Everett-based Coast Real Estate Services, a property management and real estate advisory company specializing in multi-family and commercial investment properties. He can be contacted by phone at 425-339-3638 or send e-mail to tomhoban@coastmgt.com.

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