October 2013
| Business World Magazine | 261
so, HCHA has provided communities
with jobs, has established neighborhoods
and has promoted balance and stability
for families, as well as individuals, who
might not have access to such social sup-
portive services in the absence of HCHA.
Those services have been particularly
crucial to area seniors, and to put that in
perspective, Burns explains that too many
seniors struggle to live on a Social Secu-
rity check alone. “Our residents are in
need of affordable housing and services;
most of them are just normal people liv-
ing on a social security check that never
had a connection with a housing authority
before... retired teachers, or seniors now
single because of death or divorce. They
come from all gambits of life and they
struggle to pay their rent and afford food
and medicine at the same time. It’s an eye
opening experience to move into retire-
ment, and many seniors unfortunately are
not prepared. Normally, housing authori-
ties only serve very low income house-
holds, but HCHA takes pride in knowing
that we are also providing housing for
