In 1995 the Texas Legislature directed all public housing authorities to place a resident on their boards of commissioners. This led to an increase in resident involvement in the management of public housing.
Residents patrol the housing development and elect block captains.
Residents have eliminated many of the drug problems by holding family problem hearings. If a child has problems with drugs, then the resident board informs the parent of the problem and works with the parent solve the problem. Residents solving problems in their own community is the priority of public housing resident leaders. This public housing resident put her three children through college while a resident of Allen Parkway public housing in Houston. After years of struggle over a court ordered desegregation plan, the Dallas Housing Authority built a 74 unit public housing development in an upper middle class area in North Dallas.