SE Arizona News

The mission of the Housing Authority of Cochise County (HACC) is to expand affordable housing options, promote home ownership and improve the quality of housing in Cochise County. 

Historically, HACC has administered the Housing Choice Voucher Section 8 Program for all of Cochise and Graham counties with the exception of the City of Douglas, whose City of Douglas Housing Authority (CDHA) operated independently. 

With effect from January 1, 2023, the whole county will be served under one roof, which will increase efficiency and provide a cohesive service for the whole county. HACC will take over all Public Housing functions for the City of Douglas. Prior to this transition HACC was allocated 493 tenant based Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) and the City of Douglas, 193 HCVs. All 686 HCVs will now be allocated to HACC.

Anita M. Baca, Executive Director of Housing for Cochise County, expressed her appreciation for the hard work and diligence of the Public Housing team at the City of Douglas, especially Housing Director Xenia Gonzalez, who has worked closely with Baca and the HACC staff during this planning and transition process to ensure a smooth transfer for the city and county teams and most importantly, the service users county-wide. 

“We do not anticipate any gaps in service to program participants or landlords.” said Baca. “My staff is excited to serve the people of Douglas and fully committed to providing a smooth transition and continuing to provide efficient and timely service to all clients in our county. We take great pride in the important work we do.”

Douglas Mayor Donald Huish and Ann English, Chair of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, said in a joint statement,

“We are excited about this transition and both housing authorities are committed to working together to ensure a successful transition of their housing programs.”

In-person services will remain available to service users in Douglas every Wednesday from 9:00am – 4:00pm at the Cochise County Regional Service Center located at 1012 N. G. Avenue in Douglas, and Douglas residents will also be able to access services in person at the main Bisbee HACC location at the Melody Lane offices which are located in the same building as the Health Department (1415 Melody Lane, Building A).

Letters have been mailed to Douglas landlords, voucher holders and those on the waiting list there, and will be sent to Cochise County stakeholders this week.

Questions about the transition or other housing matters can be addressed to the HACC team at 520-432-8880 or via email to: housing@cochise.az.gov.

Original source can be found here.