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January 3, 2021, Submitted by Hingham Unity Council
On January 11, 2021 at 7pm, the Hingham Unity Council (“HUC”) welcomes members of the public to join us via Zoom as we continue our journey to understand local action being taken to ensure the right mix of housing options for our community. We will meet the Hingham Housing Authority (HHA) Chair, Janine Suchecki, and James Marathas, the executive director of the Quincy Housing Authority.
A local housing authority (LHA) plays a critical role in providing affordable housing to low-income families and individuals in Massachusetts. The HHA, Hingham’s LHA, is responsible for a broad range of issues, including setting policy and by-laws, advocating for low-income housing and the interests of the residents, maintaining good community relations, supporting tenant participation in the administration of public housing and ensuring adherence to Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development rules and regulations. The HHA operates with a five-member board compromised of residents, the Quincy Housing Authority in its entirety as the role of executive director, and a local staff.
“Housing is such a complex and challenging topic. Who is able to afford to live in a community shapes the culture of that community and touches all of its members,” says HUC member Anne Morin. “Right now, the HUC is just trying to understand all the local efforts already being undertaken with respect to housing options here and determine opportunities for enhancing them.”
Last month, the HUC hosted a similar question and answer session on the topic of affordable housing with state representative Joan Meschino. Please bring your questions on the 11th!
About James Marathas
James Marathas has over 30 years of experience in housing and construction. Before working as the Executive Director of the Quincy Housing Authority (QHA), he worked for the Department of Housing and Community Development holding various positions including Director of Facilities which allowed him to travel throughout Massachusetts and work with hundreds of public housing authorities. In 2014, he joined the QHA and uncovered and corrected several serious health and safety violations. In 2015, he became the QHA Executive Director. In late 2019, the Hingham Housing Authority invited the James and QHA to be the Executive Director for Hingham. Since taking over this role, residents have received access to new programming, health and safety corrections were made, and HHA was awarded an $100,000 placemaking grant.
About Janine Suchecki
Janine, a lifelong Hingham resident, was elected to the Hingham Housing Authority in 2019, and currently serves as chair. In her short time on the HHA, Janine has helped set over 20 new policies, hired a new executive director with a management agreement, and connected the residents at Thaxter Park and the Commander Anderson House with community services and student projects. When she is not busy with the HHA, Janine stays busy as the Public Affairs Officer of the Hingham Veterans Council through her work in substance abuse prevention for the town of Cohasset. Janine is also a co-founder of the Hingham Link, a a volunteer service connecting people that want to help with people that need help.
The Hingham Unity Council uses readings, films and facilitated conversation to encourage respectful dialogue about systemic issues that affect human dignity with a goal of fostering a more inclusive community. Learn more at our website, hinghamunity.org.
For more information, please contact Katie Sutton at info@hinghamunity.org.