Pamela R. Williford

Pamela R. Williford

The ball was definitely dropped , no doubt about it , says Pam Williford , executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless , which helps administer the application process.I don't want to , and I wouldn't , and it doesn't do anyone any good to blame anyone..

Despite the outward diplomacy , the submission of a flawed grant application to HUD has triggered a flurry of backstage finger-pointing among local housing officials.With millions of dollars at stake every year , questions have been raised about how Harris County applies for federal money , as well as who's ultimately responsible for the results.

For years , local social service agencies that provide shelter for the poor , including Harris County and the City of Houston , submitted their own grant applications to HUD.
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As I understand it , the grant writers deliver it to Harris County , and they get it signed off by Commissioners Court , assemble it and mail it off , says Williford.I'm assuming what the grant writers told me is true.I wasn't there..

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Williford says the Coalition for the Homeless will take over as project manager and assume the ultimate responsibility of getting the application to HUD.Williford is also supporting MHMRA's efforts to convince the city and county to cover Safe Haven's operating deficit until next year.

The possible loss of Safe Haven is a headache MHMRA doesn't need.The agency , which finished its last budget year about $3 million in the red , has trimmed its clinical services to the bone.Poor and uninsured patients have to wait eight to 12 weeks for appointments , and most of them are forced to rely on only medication.

Ironically , Safe Haven was a program MHMRA thought it didn't have to worry about.The agency was mostly concerned with securing $2 million from HUD to continue its permanent housing program.

Pam Williford , executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County Inc. , called the news devastating.

There's no appeal process , really , she said.Nothing can be done other than to look for other sources ( of funding ) and to rally the community to make sure this doesn't happen again..

Reacting angrily to the Texas reductions , U.S. Rep.

Congratulations!! to Pamela R. Williford the New Executive Director for the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County.She came to them from the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast.She began May 3rd.