MISSION STATEMENT

To facilitate the ability of all Dalton and Whitfield Co. Residents to acquire and maintain safe and decent housing.



HISTORY



In 2002 a committee concerned about the availability of sewer facilities, known as the “Appointed Sewer Service Expansion Team “ (“ASSET”) recognized that one of the major challenges facing the City of Dalton and the County of Whitfield was the lack of quality affordable housing for the workforce.  The provision of sewer services, necessary for the creation of workforce housing, was only one of the challenges facing the city and county.  Among other variables contributing to this need were: 

  1. Influx of Spanish-speaking populations creating greater demand for housing in a community already short of housing stock for the workforce, arriving with minimal resources and great needs (e.g., housing, health, education, employment); Scarcity of bi-lingual personnel to serve a burgeoning elementary school population with nearly 62% Hispanic enrollment in the City and 26% in the County, contributing to language barriers in schools as well as the service  industry and all professions;
  2. Increased demand and competition for laborers from a growing industry, especially the carpet industry;
  3. Relatively high-wage laborers earning nearly twice the minimum wage but lacking money-management skills or experience in understanding credit usage;
  4. A deterioration of in-town neighborhoods that have lost identity and with housing being over-crowded and poorly maintained;
  5. Growing number of low-income owner-occupied households without resources or knowledge of how to repair their properties;
  6. Owners of rental units that have become slum lords, milking rent from their properties without any concern for health, safety, or normal maintenance;
  7. Limitation of only 1300 public housing units by a PHA that has maintained the status quo and privatized rather than being proactive in creating additional housing such as mixed-income projects; and
  8. Some low-end new construction of homes by private developers to address the housing shortage using inferior construction specifications that are likely to deteriorate within a few years.
•      In 2003 the ASSET committee formed the Dalton-Whitfield County Community Development (CDC) Corporation and its members agreed to serve as the initial board of the non-profit corporation with the understanding that board membership would expand to represent major sectors of the community. Given the nature of the CDC, as a tax-exempt entity under provisions of Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, its board members would elect future directors rather than having them appointed by governmental units as was the case with the ASSET committee.

Mission Statement

"To facilitate the ability of all Dalton and Whitfield County residents to acquire and maintain safe and decent housing."

Upcoming
In the pipeline for 2007-2008 are:

•To increase the percentage of Homeowners

•To decrease the number of Foreclosures

•To decrease the number of homeless and unstably housed residents

•To improve the physical condition of substandard housing

•To replace or remove dilapidated housing wherever possible

To develop good tools that will be effective toward the owners of substandard an dilapidated rental property
 
To improve the design and construction quality of affordable housing and therefore the sustainability


Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from various organizations such as:

Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce
Whitfield County
City of Dalton
Urban Redevelopment Plan Area Resident
United Way of Northwest Georgia
Dalton Homebuilders Association
Local Church
Educator
NW GA Healthcare Partnership – Promotores  de Salud Program

http://www.dwcdc.bizland.com/org_chart.htm

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