Athens is a GICH Community
By Sarah Hasib
A thens is a “ GICH ” community . “ GICH ” is the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing , a three‐year program that helps communities develop housing and revitalization strategies in an effort to improve their quality of life and economic vitality . To those ends , GICH provides communities with technical assistance , expert presenters , training , facilitation , networking , cross‐community sharing , and mentoring .
GICH was started in 2004 and is a partnership of The University of Georgia Public Service & Outreach and College of Family and Consumer Sciences , the Georgia Municipal Association , and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs . Funding support for the program is provided by Georgia Power and a USDA Rural Development RCDI grant , and in‐kind support is offered by The UGA Arch Partnership , UGA ’ s Carl Vinson Institute of Government , UGA Extension , and Georgia EMC .
Communities must apply to take part in the GICH program with up to five communities selected each year to participate . Cities , counties , or public housing authorities in Georgia are eligible to apply on behalf of a community housing team . Communities are selected based on need and their demonstrated commitment to community improvement . One of the key components of a competitive application is a community ’ s ability to demonstrate it will put together a diverse , inclusive housing team to represent it during the GICH program . A community ’ s housing team ideally includes representatives from : local government ( both elected and nonelected officials ), nonprofit housing organizations , the public housing authority , faith‐based organizations , chamber of commerce , the school district , major employers , development authorities , and law enforcement .
Forty‐five communities in Georgia have already completed the GICH program , and an additional fifteen communities are currently participating in the program . In the fall of 2015 , Athens‐Clarke County was chosen to participate in the GICH program starting in 2016 , along with Evans County , and the cities of Millen , Monroe , and Rockmart .
Over the course of the three‐year program , Athens ’ GICH team will attend two retreats per year with other GICH communities . At the retreats , the GICH teams have the opportunity to learn about best practices and available funding and technical assistance for housing and community development , identify and explore solutions for housing issues and needs in their communities , develop a plan for meeting community housing goals and objectives , and begin implementation of the plan they ’ ve developed .
February 23‐24 , members of Athens ’ GICH team participated in its first retreat in Dublin , Georgia . The retreat agenda offered a chance for the GICH team to hear from speakers talking about housing trends , challenges , and possible solutions . The retreat also included a tour of several community development / housing initiatives implemented by the host city , Dublin , as a result of Dublin ’ s past participation in the GICH program . Most importantly , the retreat allowed time for several team work sessions with facilitators from Georgia Power and Georgia ’ s Department of Community Affairs . In its work sessions , the Athens team had the opportunity to discuss the wide
ACC Housing and Community Development Director , Rob Trevena , Athens Land Trust Execu�ve Director , Heather Benham , and ACC District 1 Commissioner , Sharyn Dickerson at the GICH retreat in Dublin , GA .
range of community housing issues facing Athens , and begin to explore the issues the team would like address in order to develop a work plan for the program . The Athens GICH team members who participated in the Dublin retreat were :
�� Diane Bell , ACCUG Commissioner
�� Heather Benham , Executive Director , Athens Land Trust
�� Sharyn Dickerson , ACCUG Commissioner
�� Sarah Hasib , Development Coordinator , ACCUG Economic Development Department
�� Alice Kinman , ACCUG Planning Commissioner and Land Bank Authority Chair
�� David Ogunsanya , Housing Director , Athens Land Trust
�� Rick Parker , Executive Director , Athens Housing Authority
�� Delene Porter , President / CEO , Athens Area Communities Foundation
�� Marqueta Reese , Housing and Community Development Coordinator , ACCUG Housing and Community Development Department
�� Lawton Stephens , Project Manager , Athens Area Habitat for Humanity
�� Rob Trevena , Director , Athens‐Clarke County Unified Government ( ACCUG ) Housing and Community Development Department ( GICH team leader )
�� Carol Williams , realtor and Clarke County Board of Education member
Since returning from the Dublin retreat , the Athens team is meeting monthly to continue to work on focusing its community housing goals and a plan to accomplish those goals in anticipation of the next GICH retreat in September .
Winter 2016
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