Aneva Yazzie, the housing agency's CEO, was in Phoenix recently to accept the 2013 Brian Mickelsen Housing Hero Award, which is given to housing officials who work hard to help serve the housing needs of their community.
NHA was recognized by the Arizona Department of Housing, which gives out the annual award, for its efforts in conducting a housing survey that identified a need for the construction of 34,000 homes across ther reservation.
NHA has come under attack by some members of the Navajo Nation Council and officials for the U.S. Department of Education for having $400 million in the bank at a time when Navajo tribal members are clamoring for new homes.
Yazzie, however, said NHA is getting ready to start building the first five demonstration housing sites on the reservation, which will be used as a model in upcoming years for similar projects all throughtout the reservation.