JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst now has a Privatized Housing Resident Advocate (PHRA) for military members and families of the community. The PHRA’s purpose is to assist with privatized housing-related issues, pertaining to safety, health and security.
Kenneth Boria, 87th Air Base Wing resident advocate, acts as a liaison between the Wing commander, the privatized housing owner and military housing to promote safe and secure housing for military members and their families.
Boria explained why he was drawn to join the PHRA.
“I saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community,” Boria stated. “Since I retired from the Air Force, I always wanted to assist military members and families with their problematic issues, due to being heavily involved in community-related activities throughout my career.”
As he expressed his passion for helping people, Boria acknowledged that his military experience contributed in helping him become a resident advocate. He was the type of individual who wanted to find solutions for people.
Boria believed that acknowledging the importance of a resident advocate will inspire more residents to speak up on issues rather than staying silent.
“There are residents out there that need assistance on how to address certain housing-related situations, whether they pertain to safety concerns or policy changes. We do not want to make residents feel that they are living beneath their standards,” said Boria. “This is where resident advocates come in. We want to provide residents with helpful information that will educate them to exercise their residential rights. We do not want people suffering in silence.”
Acting as the middle man, Boria communicates with residents, the Wing commander, and military housing organizations, like the United Communities, on implementing new ways to improve living standards on Joint Base MDL. Boria sees this approach as “expectation management,” while he continues to maintain positive relationships within these groups.
While discussing his experience working as a resident advocate, Boria mentioned that residents should join the Joint Base MDL Privatized Housing Resident Council. The council gives residents, military members and families the opportunity to share and discuss with wing leadership on health and safety concerns, identify issues and required improvements, and present suggestions and solutions for privatized housing processes and infrastructure at Joint Base MDL.
“My goal for the Privatized Resident Housing Advocate is to build trust in the Joint Base MDL community, all the way. What I like about being a resident advocate is that it allows me to experience such challenges as a way of creating solutions to improve residents’ standards of living. Helping people is what drives me every day!”
If you want to learn more about the Privatized Housing Resident Advocate and become a member of the council, then please call Mr. Kenneth Boria at (609) 754-8199 or email at kenneth.boria.2@us.af.mil.