It’s likely that you’ve seen announcements about Resident Advisory Board Meetings on the Bristol Redevelopment and Housing Authority website. What exactly is a Resident Advisory Board (RAB), who can attend meetings and why is it important? Take a look at the explanations below, to better understand the impact it may have on your life, if you are a BRHA resident or voucher participant.
A Resident Advisory Board (RAB) is a group of residents that advises your housing authority about its Annual and 5-Year PHA Plans. That means that they look at the Plans and give the housing authority feedback. PHA Plans are developed by your housing authority. There is an Annual Plan, which is produced every year at the same time. There is also a 5-Year Plan, which talks about long-term goals. They contain a lot of information about your housing authority’s rules, including:
- How tenants are admitted and evicted
- Decisions on collecting and raising rents
- Plans for resident programs, such as youth groups and job training seminars
- Decisions about spending money on maintenance, repairs, security, and other programs
The PHA Plan Process is a step-by-step process that your housing authority must follow each year to produce the annual PHA Plan. The housing authority must follow strict rules—and resident participation is important. The RAB is made up of public housing residents and resident leaders. The members should come from many different properties. The purpose of the RAB is to participate in the PHA Plan Process and to represent the views of the residents. RAB members should find out what issues are important to residents and what issues the housing authority should know about. Tell your housing authority that you want to be a member of the RAB. Be sure to check the housing authority’s website for meeting announcements.
