News – Sanford Housing Authority

PRESS RELEASE

Contact Information:

Hope W. White, Sanford Housing Authority (SHA) Board Chairperson

(919) 776-7655

hr@sha-nc.org

Release Date: November 26, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sanford Housing Authority selects Next Generation Collaborative Leader as its new CEO

Sanford, NC, November 26, 2024 – After a six-month nationwide search, the Sanford Housing Authority (SHA) is excited to announce Dr. Michael C. Threatt as its new leader and CEO.

Dr. Threatt’s impressive career spans 19 years in the real estate industry, encompassing the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Notably, he has served in leadership roles for 12 years, including 9 years in executive leadership at public housing authorities (PHAs) in Alabama, as COO in Dothan, CEO in Sylacauga, and VP in Birmingham. He also spent time with the Hillsborough County and Tampa Housing Authorities in Florida earlier in his career.

Since 2019, he has been awarded 15 state, regional, or national affordable housing best practice awards for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of PHAs. This includes a 2019 CEO of the Year for Alabama PHAs. He has worked in urban, rural, and suburban areas, demonstrating his versatility and adaptability. His innovative experience establishing a Moving to Work (MTW) Agency under the Landlord Incentives Cohort #3 and Continuum of Care (CoC) homeless nonprofit in Dothan will be an asset to SHA.

“Our entire Board is thrilled to welcome Dr. Threatt as our new CEO. The changing business needs of the affordable housing industry requires the skillset of an innovative, collaborative leader with a modern-day leadership approach and entrepreneurial worldview. He understands that the future of affordable housing will require “outside the box” thinking, investing in technology, and collaborative partnerships, the hallmark of his nearly two decades in the industry.” – Hope W. White, SHA Board Chairperson.

As a licensed REALTOR®, Dr. Threatt’s diverse background uniquely positions him to contribute to SHA and its nonprofit development affiliate, the Central Carolina Strategic Developers, based on his understanding of the private, public, and dual housing markets. His unique perspective and real estate development experience with the HOPE VI, Choice Neighborhood, Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), and Rural Development (RD) programs have prepared him to lead SHA’s real estate development strategies, asset repositioning plans, neighborhood revitalization, and homeownership programs.

“I look forward to working with the Board of Commissioners and the staff at SHA. As the new CEO, I plan to provide healthy, safe, and sustainable affordable housing that promotes economic self-sufficiency programs, high-level aging-in-place supportive services, and workforce development opportunities that improve the quality of life for all Sanford and Lee County residents.” – Dr. Michael C. Threatt

Dr. Threatt obtained his Doctor of Public Administration from West Chester University (WCU), where his research focused on HCV landlords. He received his Master’s in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of South Florida (USF) and his Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He wrote the game-changing affordable housing book, The Price of Bureaucracy, on housing policy reform and building better public-private partnerships through PHA-landlord relationships.

The growth of Sanford and Lee County and the need for affordable housing solutions led him to the region. Dr. Threatt’s leadership will drive the strategic planning efforts for SHA based on his innovative “Housing Authority of the Future” model, which he successfully implemented in Dothan. This will guide SHA in its new endeavors of providing affordable, supportive, and workforce housing options.

Throughout his career, he has understood that the greatest asset to a PHA is the housing professionals he has led, mentored, and worked with. He is dedicated to developing and ensuring that the SHA team is ready to pursue housing opportunities and supportive services to meet the needs of today’s households.

Dr. Threatt is committed to changing the affordable housing narrative in the region through mixed-income, mixed-finance, and mixed-use development by offering a range of housing options to bring the City of Sanford’s 2024-2025 Strategic Framework Goal #2: Preserving & Creating Affordable Housing to fruition.

Dr. Threatt is an Adjunct Social Work Professor at Troy University, and he completed the Executive Director Education Program (EDEP) certification through the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association (PHADA). He serves the industry as a Board Director with the Southeast Regional Section 8 Housing Association (SERSHA) and on the Legislative Advisory Network and Community Revitalization & Development Committees for the National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., NAREB, NACCP, & Rotary.

He is married to Dr. Jennifer M. Threatt, a Nursing Professor at Galen College of Nursing. They have three daughters: a college sophomore, a high school senior, and a junior. The Let’s Do It Together Foundation will host a welcome reception for Dr. Threatt and his family on Thursday, January 2, 2025, at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic & Conference Center, 1801 Nash St, Sanford, NC 27330, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Threatt’s first day with SHA will be December 2nd.

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCES

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Information

CDC.gov is a great source of information about COVID-19. The site has information about that you may take to reduce the chance of infection with Coronavirus. It also provides information on social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting recommendations, what to do if you are sick, etc. The link to the COVID-19 page is here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

COVID-19 text information and updates are available. To sign up, text COVIDNC to 898211

Financial Assistance

NC 2-1-1 by United Way of North Carolina is now available for people to call for assistance related to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Dial 211. Enter Zip Code.

Utilities

Cleanenergy.org– This site is tracking which utilities are suspending disconnections during the Coronavirus outbreak.

EBT/Food Stamps

Expensify.org Offers Reimbursements to SNAP Recipients

During the COVID-19 crisis, Expensify.org will reimburse families on SNAP benefits to purchase additional essential goods. Individuals will need to share a receipt (dated on or after March 1st) and the organization will reimburse up to $50 for essential goods and groceries purchased with a SNAP card.

Food Pick-Up and Delivery Services

Food Lion: Order online and pick up in store. Go to foodlion.com

Lowes Food: Online order and drive through pick up. Go to lowesfood.com

Walmart: Online order and drive through pick up. Go to Walmart.com

Instacart: grocery shopping and delivery service – Instacart.com

Door Dash: Free delivery for orders $10 or more. Visit doordash.com

Uber Eats: Free delivery on your first order of $15 or more. Visit ubereats.com

Grubhub: grubhub.com

Texting Tool Available for Information on How to Access Food for Children

Parents who need food assistance for their children can text FOODNC to 877-877 to locate nearby free meal sites. The texting service is also available in Spanish by texting COMIDA to 877-877

Pharmacy Delivery

CVS

Sanford Pharmacy

Student Loans

During the COVID-19 crisis, Department of Education owned loans now have an interest rate of 0% effective March 13, 2020. You may also apply for a forbearance during this time with your loan servicing company. For continued updates go to StudentAid.gov

Mental Health

Isolation from friends and family, job loss and death are challenges we’re all facing during these days of COVID-19. You are not alone. COVID-19 is affecting families across the world. If you or someone you care about feels overwhelmed with emotions like sadness, depression or anxiety, or like you want to harm yourself or others call 911.

You can also contact the Disaster Distress Helpline at 800-985-5990, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text MHFA to 741741 to talk to a Crisis Text Line counselor.

Internet Service Providers

During the COVID-19 crisis, many internet service providers are providing free service for several weeks including Spectrum. Additionally, the National Locator Tool for Low-Cost Internet Service is available. Just type in your zip code and it shows the best offers in your area.

www.everyoneon.org/find-offers

Low-Cost Devices

Computer refurbishers are a good source of low-cost devices. To find one near you, go to the Alliance for Technology Reuse and Refurbishing.
PCS for People offers tech support for individual customers of its low cost devices: https://www.pcsforpeople.org/

E-Commerce for Extra Cash

Selling items online can be a quick and easy way to earn cash, especially during a period of unemployment. Here are a few examples of websites where you can sell your items.

PoshMark – www.poshmark.com

ETSY – www.etsy.com

Shopify – www.shopify.com

Mercari – www.mercari.com

3D Cart – www.3dcart.com

Healthcare Providers

Central Carolina Hospital

1135 Carthage St.

(919) 774-2100

FirstHealth Primary Care, Sanford

2919 Beechtree Dr. #1120

(919) 897-2256