Grady picked to lead public housing agency
The Forrest City Housing Authority Board recently appointed interim director Denise Grady to be the new director.
During a recent interview, Grady, who has been with the FCHA for 16 years, said that she is looking forward to being the director of the FCHA and has many plans for the housing authority.
"I have been with the Forrest City Housing Authority since 2005," said Grady. "This year marks my 16th year with the Housing Authority. I started out at our application desk, where I moved to the project managers position, to the assistant director position all the way up to director. I worked my way up from the bottom. I began serving as interim director on April 1, 2020, right as the pandemic flared up in Forrest City. That presented a challenge as I was walking into a whole new role on top of the virus. It was tough, but someone had to do it and God chose me."
Grady stated that the current perception of the housing districts is one of crime and drug deals, but that needs to be changed.
"I am looking to make the Forrest City Housing Authority, one of the best housing authorities in the Delta," said Grady. "I want the perception of our housing areas being considered the ' projects' to be gone. I want people to think of Rice and Mann as Dawson Homes, Grobmyer Circle as Linden Heights, I want to change the perceptions of crime and drug dealing to go away and I want something positive to be thought about our housing areas. I want people to take pride in where they live."
According to Grady, resources and programs could be brought to the different housing districts to further the education and
improve the living quality of the tenants.
"I would like to bring resources and programs to our housing districts," said Grady. "For example, the Faupel Center could be used to teach GED classes or how to build resumes and find jobs. We could even have a library there. Something that we could use to help our community, because this is low income housing. We have a lot of single moms as well as young ladies and young men that did not graduate. There is nothing wrong with living here your whole life, but when we go to training programs, they tell us this is a stepping stone. This is where you start and eventually move on. I want to be able to give these programs and something positive. The next president could have come from the Forrest City Housing Authority. With the right resources, anything is achievable."
Grady stated that crime at the housing districts has been a big problem in the past, but she is looking for ways to lower criminal activity in the areas.
"We have security cameras at our housing districts now," said Grady. "In addition to this, we have also been looking at bigger cities and seeing how they have curved the crime rate in those areas. Some of them have gated communities where they have their own substations. They also have neighborhood watches in there. I think that a good step would be to make some of our communities into gated communities like Grobmyer Circle possibly. Also, a substation would be a good addition to our housing areas. Our police department does a good job, but I feel that a constant presence would significantly lower crime in those areas as well."
According to Grady, the demolition of Cope Cove solved a lot of crime issues for the Grobmyer Circle area.
"When we got rid of Cope Cove, it made a big difference," said Grady. "That back area back there was where a lot of 'hidden crime' was taking place. I don't want to make things seem like they are really, really bad, but it is more of a safety net to have these gated communities and little substations. Who doesn't want to live where there is extra security? It is just like having security cameras and alarms on your homes."
Grady stated that renovations and changes are being made to some of the current vacant buildings throughout the housing authorities properties.
"We are making moves to renovate and change some of our current buildings," said Grady. "I want to try to see what other productive housing authorities are doing to see what we can bring here that is positive to make things better. Currently, we are renovating one of the apartments in Grobmyer Circle into a three bedroom home to see if people like the idea of that better."
According to Grady, the housing authority only has 10 vacant units at this time out of 351.
"We currently only have 10 vacancies out of 351 units so we are doing excellent," said Grady. "I can't say that this is due to Covid, because people are trying to sit still. I do believe that the stimulus packages may have people wanting to move a little, but we aren't going to complain. It is our job to be here to house people if they qualify. I am proud that our vacancies are going down."
Grady stated that the accomplishments of the housing authority are not solely hers, noting that it takes a great team to accomplish goals.
"I do not want to leave out the great team of people who has been working with me to complete our many goals," said Grady. "I cannot do this job by myself. Teamwork makes the dream work. It takes a whole team to do this. I have great staff and I am so proud of the people I work with."