T H I S I S S U E

Dates

Closed

2

Door

Decoration

Contest

2

Coloring

Contest

2

Winter

Reminders

2

Stop

Smoking

Resources

3

Crisis

Response

3

Free

Clothing

3

Reminder 4

Healthy Me,

Us, We

Group

4

Scholarship

Opportunity

4

Heart

Attack

Signs

4

Letter from

Executive Director

5

Winter Car

Items

5

Midland

Area Agency on Aging

5

Word

Search

6

Recipe 6

THE HUD HERALD N O V E M B E R , D E C E M B E R , J A N U A R Y W I N T E R I S S U E

2017

We have two new staff at the Favorite Food: Italian HCHA Office. One new staff is Heather who is the Favorite Hobbies: Scrapbooking, traveling to new Accountant. places, and spending time with family A Little About Heather and friends. Favorite Color: Purple Please welcome Favorite Animal: Lab Dogs Heather when you see her. Favorite Sport: Football

**************************************************************************** The second new staff at Favorite Food: Stir Fry HCHA is Jean who is the Housing Choice Voucher Favorite Hobby: Reading Supervisor. A Little About Jean: Please welcome Jean when Favorite Color: Purple you see her. Favorite Animal: Dog Favorite Sport: Volleyball

**************************************************************************** There have been employee changes in the HCHA Office. These include:

Andy-Inspector Leanna-Project Coordinator Jenny-Housing Choice Voucher Specialist

Staff Changes at HCHA Office

P A G E 2

T H E H U D H E R A L D

Winter Door Decoration Contest It is time for HCHA’s win-ter door decoration contest. This contest is available to Public Housing residents who live in Centennial Towers, Golden Towers, Pletcher Terrace, Rainbow Terrace, Island Terrace, Broadwell Court, Western, and Orleans apartments. Rules of this contest: *Tape only.

*No nails. *Nothing electrical unless it uses batteries. *Doors must be able to be shut. *There must be nothing put on the door to damage it or be dangerous in any way. HCHA may award prizes up to 3rd place. Those who participate in this con-test, will be given a “gift”.

HCHA staff will be taking pictures of the door decora-tions on Thurs-day, Decem-ber 14, 2017.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Veteran’s Day

Thursday & Friday, November 23 & 24

2017 Thanksgiving

Monday,

December 25, 2017 Christmas

Monday,

January 1, 2018 New Year’s

Monday,

January 15, 2018 Martin Luther King

Jr. Day

Winter Reminders

*Watch your step. Be care-ful when walking in the snow and on the ice. *Do not use stoves as heaters as this is a fire hazard.

*If your home has an out- side hydrant, remove the hose to keep it from freez-ing and causing water dam-age. *Wipe shoes off well be-

before entering your home or apartment, particularly on the tile floors. *If you live in a scattered site home or a home that requires you to remove snow, you are responsible for snow removal.

Coloring Contest

HCHA is having their annu-al coloring contest. There are three age groups: birth through kindergarten, 1st grade through 5th grade, 6th grade through 12th grade.

ALL children who live in Public Housing and in the Housing Choice Voucher program can participate. ALL children that enter a colored page, will be given a “gift”. One person in each of the three categories will be awarded $25 in prizes.

HCHA may award prizes through 3rd place. Each winner will be offered a chance to be featured in the next newsletter. You can pick up your col-oring page at the HCHA Office. Coloring pages are due by Friday, December 22, 2017.

P A G E 3 W I N T E R I S S U E

T H E H U D H E R A L D

Crisis Response is just a phone call away. This ser- vice is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. A li- censed mental health practitioner answers the calls and provides crisis intervention for youth, adults, and families experiencing a crisis Crisis Response includes de-escalation, stabiliza-tion of the crisis situation, crisis assessment, and safety planning. The phone number for Crisis Response is (308) 380-5973.

Crisis Response

Stop Smoking Resources Check out these resources to stop smoking and get the assistance you need to be successful.

Nebraska Tobacco Quitline Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669) for free, confidential counseling from a trained Quit Coach. In addi-tion to telephone coaching, receive self-help materials and referrals to community programs. Quitline ser-vices are available 24/7 for all Ne-braskans.

QuitNow.ne.gov Go to the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline website for information, support, encouragement, and helpful links in

one handy spot.

QuitNow Mobile App Get motivation and support wherev-er you go plus track the money saved since quitting and the days added back to your life. Find the app under “Tools for Quitting” at QuitNow.ne.gov

Web Coach Access motivational tools, social support and information about quit-ting tobacco. Web Coach is free for anyone enrolled in the Quitline Pro-gram and can be found at quit-now.net/nebraska

Smoke-Free Counter App on Facebook

See how much money you’ve saved since quitting and what it could buy. Log onto your Facebook account and search “SmokeFreeNE”.

In-Person Support Opt for face-to-face assistance through a local cessation class. Go to the “Tools for Quitting” page at QuitNow.ne.gov to get started. The Tobacco Cessation Programs list provides locations and contact infor-mation for classes throughout the state.

HCHA prefers that people not endanger themselves by standing or sitting in the street

to smoke, but rather look at the cessation options through either Hall County Smoke

Free or CHI St. Francis. Free Clothing

There will be free clothing on December 17, 2017

from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the 7th Day Adventist Church,

636 Shady Bend Road, Grand Island.

P A G E 4

T H E H U D H E R A L D

Carts need to be returned within 24 hours, or

individuals will be fined.

Heart Attack Warning Signs

Some heart attacks are sud-den and intense, but most of them will start slowly with mild pain and discom-fort. Here are some signs that can mean a heart attack is happening: Chest discomfort-Most heart attacks involve dis- comfort in the center of

the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. It can feel like an uncomforta-ble pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Discomfort in other areas in the upper body-Symptoms can include pain or discom-fort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Shortness of breath-This feeling often comes along with chest discomfort. But, can also occur without

chest discomfort. Other signs-This may in-clude breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness. If you or someone you’re with has one or more of these signs, call 911 imme-diately. For more information, call the American Heart Asso-ciation at 1-800-242-8721.

Healthy Me, Us, We Group

Healthy Me, Us, and We will empower youth ages 16-26 years old with men- tal health and behavioral

health challenges. Discov-ering skills and strategies that you can utilize to self-advocate for your mental health. Learn the skills to main-tain healthy relationships with romantic partners, friends, family, and peers.

This group meets at the Evangelical Free Church 2609 S. Blaine Street Grand Island, NE.

For more information

contact:

Siera Schwanz (308) 440-2290 or

sschwanz@familiescare.org

Scholarship Opportunity

There are scholarships available for graduating seniors. Applicants must reside in Public Housing or have a Section

8 Rental Voucher. Interested residents can pick up a scholarship application at the HCHA Office.

P A G E 5 W I N T E R I S S U E

THE HUD HERALD

Items to Have in

your Car for Winter

Blanket

Extra winter clothes Ice scraper Flashlight

Shovel Small tool box Hand warmers Small tool kit

A Letter from the Executive Director *Establishing a relationship with the Grand Island Police Department to provide additional resident services and security *Converting our business model to the HUD required Asset Manage-ment model *Upgrading elevator equipment and performance in our two high rise facilities *Modernizing our software pro-grams which included converting multiple individual software facili-ties throughout our inventory *No audit findings during my tenure from our independent auditor or

After nearly 20 years, fifteen of which I have serviced as the Execu-tive Director of this great agency, I have announced that I will be leav-ing the Hall County Housing Au-thority in late December of this year. During that time, we have accom-plished a lot together. Some of the things I am most proud of include: *Making our homes and buildings more energy efficient *Building Shady Bend Villas *Building Island Terrace *Establishing Social Work services for those we serve

from the periodic reviews held by the federal agencies that provide monetary assistance The Hall County Housing Authority is currently working on a succession plan and I have no doubt that the Hall County Housing Board of Commissioners will employ a capa-ble and caring successor in the com-ing months. I have truly appreciat-ed the ability to get to know many of you. I wish the work was such that I had the time to get to know all of you. Thank you for a great 20 years. Sincerely, Rick Ruzicka

Midland Area Agency on Aging

Midlands Area Agency on Aging gives individuals information about long-term care, support, and living options. This service is for elderly and adults with disabilities.

A Coordinator can provide information and advice to help you

decide about:

*Driving to medical appointments *Help with medication and therapy *Housecleaning and chores *Help with eating, dressing, bathing,

and toileting *Help with cooking *Help with laundry

Coordinators can also: *Provide an evaluation of your needs, resources, and support *Explore services to meet your needs *Assist in finding ways to help you pay for services *Help arrange for the services *Stay in contact to help you as your needs change

For more information, contact

Midlands Area Agency on Aging 1435 N. Webb Road

Grand Island (308) 384-8212

P A G E 6

T H E H U D H E R A L D

Winter Olympics Find the words associated

with winter Olympics.

Hall County Housing Authority 1834 W. 7th Street, Grand Island, NE

(308) 385-5530

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Cookie Ingredients: *1/2 cup butter *1 cup sugar *2 eggs *1 cup canned pumpkin *2 cups flour *4 tsp. baking powder *1/2 tsp. ginger *1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients: *1/2 cup butter *8 oz. cream cheese *3 tsp. vanilla *4 cups powdered sugar *1 tsp. cinnamon *nutmeg Cookie Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and sugar. Add eggs and pumpkin. Sift flour, bak-ing powder, salt, and spices together and fold into the cookie batter. Mix until well blended. If you would like to add walnuts or pecans, stir those in. Drop a spoonful of the cookie batter onto a cookie sheet. Bake approximately 15 minutes. Frosting Directions: Mix butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and cinnamon. Mix well. Frost the cookies after they cool. Then, add a drop of nutmeg to the top of the cream cheese frosting for spice.