PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Do you know what a Privatized Housing Resident Advocate does? Or who this individual is at your installation?
The Privatized Housing Resident Advocate (PHRA) position was established under the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act as a direct result of congressional inquiry into oversight of Military Housing Privatization Initiatives across military services. Peterson and Schriever Resident Advocates work directly for Space Base Delta 1 Command and serve as key advisors, liaisons, and force multipliers to identify and resolve quality of life issues relating to resident’s rights, responsibilities, and advocacy in privatized housing. PHRAs promote mission readiness by driving a culture which ensures military members, and their families live in safe, healthy, and secure homes.
The PHRA for Peterson Space Force Base is Jess Schroeder and the PHRA for Schriever Space Force Base is April Burnette. Together, they serve SBD 1 families and mission partners residing in our privatized housing community.
“SBD 1 PHRAs seek to empower residents, educate on issues, execute resolve, and enhance a sense of community for military members and their families residing on Peterson and Schriever SFBs,” stated Ms. April Burnette. One way they do this is through quarterly Resident Council meetings between residents, SBD 1 Command, and other key stakeholders. The SBD 1 Resident Council seeks to provide a collaborative space where housing initiatives, great ideas, unresolved issues, and suggestions for improvements are heard and discussed among key stakeholders that foster a sense of belonging and community engagement. Chief Apodaca, SBD 1 senior enlisted leader, stated, “When it comes to taking care of our members and their families it is crucial that we ensure they have everything needed to live in a safe and livable environment. Having a Resident Council ensures that our families have a voice and that they get all help that they are entitled to.”
There is tremendous value in residents becoming involved in our privatized housing community, and one opportunity to do that is by serving on the Resident Council as a Neighborhood Representative. Chief Apodaca stated, “When residents get involved with the Resident Council, they have a chance to drive change for themselves and for the rest of the community. What better way to stay in the know and make things better, than to be directly involved?”
Rachel Johnson serves as a Neighborhood Representative at Peterson SFB. She shared, “Neighborhood Representatives serve a vital role in the housing community by being the eyes and ears on the ground for the Resident Council. We are the ones who listen for and often experience first-hand the praises or problems. By physically living in the privatized housing community, we share and speak from personal experience. Serving this community as a Neighborhood Representative is personal because we are impacted by our own investment.”
Our Resident Advocates are also working to offer opportunities for residents to connect and build community on our installations. When asked about the importance of investing in our community, Johnson mentioned, “I believe that it is important for our military members and families to invest in our military community in order to impact lives and preserve our military way of living. We are unique in that we can live, work, and play with people in the same stages of life as us who have shared common experiences such as uprooting frequently for PCSing, knowing the hardships of deployments, or living far from friends and family. These shared experiences set us up to play a vital role in the lives of our fellow military members. We have the potential to become like family to them with our service and support. We have the potential to impact their quality of life by our investment back into their lives. And we have the potential to be “the one” who made the difference of whether they stayed or separated. When we invest back into our military community lives ARE changed.” Building our Peterson and Schriever resident communities is an important aspect of quality of life and well-worth our time.
If you would like to contact your Resident Advocate, or to volunteer to be a voice serving your community as part of the SBD 1 Resident Council, please call:
Ms. Jessica Schroeder Peterson Privatized Housing Resident Advocate, (719) 556-1923
Ms. April Burnette, Schriever Privatized Housing Resident Advocate, (719) 567-2880
You can also email SBD1.CVH.ResidentAdvocate@us.af.mil.