Is Decatur a city that welcomes people to live such as teachers, fire fighters, retired people or police? Even though living in Decatur continues to become more exclusive and expensive, Doug Faust and the Decatur Housing Authority believes all kinds of people and income levels should be able to live there. 

 

Decatur is an expensive with property valued at $2 million an acre, so it’s a tough environment for affordable housing. Doug reminded us that many people looking for affordable housing are in the 40 to 55 age bracket or seniors and also work full or part time or are on social security. Affordable housing means that people pay according to their ability. Most of the DHA clients are working people but cannot afford the prices in Decatur which average $1,800 to 2,100 for a two-bedroom apartment.  

 

 
To overcome and break the cycle of poverty, the Decatur Housing Authority has a focus on education providing scholarships to all high school seniors living in affordable housing and more as seen in the slide below: 

 

 
The Decatur Rotary Club was very appreciative for Doug’s visit and thanked him for championing the many affordable housing projects that make Decatur a city that continues to welcome many people of different income levels.

 

DHA Background
The Decatur Housing Authority was established in 1938 with its primary focus being on building housing for low-income households. Over the years, the Housing Authority has expanded its focus to include the revitalization of the Decatur community as a whole through the renewal and redevelopment of substandard housing, as well as improving facilities in the downtown area.

 

Today, the Authority's philosophy emphasizes not only providing much-needed housing for the lower-income residents of our community but also providing our participants with the necessary tools to build better lives for themselves through self-sufficiency.

 

The Authority has also examined the need for diversity in the Decatur community and the inability of many of the people who work in our community to afford to live in Decatur. In an effort to address the need for affordable housing opportunities within the city limits of Decatur, we have formed partnerships in our community to build several developments that provide some of this much-needed affordable housing for our teachers, police and fire personnel, and other employees in Decatur.