Thaddeus Miles honored for statewide leadership in crime prevention and his dedication to families and youth affected by violent crime
BOSTON – October 30, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Thaddeus Miles, MassHousing’s Director of Public Safety, has been awarded the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for his public safety efforts at housing communities and their surrounding neighborhoods across Massachusetts.
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Miles, of Lowell, was honored for his work with law enforcement and diverse communities in designing and implementing crime prevention strategies as well as his efforts to help traumatized family members and residents affected by violent crime.
Miles also works with youth in programs like Think Big, Dream Big, which encourages them to pursue their goals and talents and to a make a difference in their community. Miles was presented the award by Vincent Lisi, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office.
“I can’t imagine anyone being more deserving of this award based on what I have seen and the compassion he has,” said Lisi. “He has a determined, compassionate work ethic that is absolutely impressive.”
Throughout the year, dedicated and selfless individuals and organizations make extraordinary contributions to their communities across the United States. And every year, the FBI honors the very best among them with its Director’s Community Leadership Award. Each FBI Field Office selects one individual or organization for the award. At a later date, all winners are brought to FBI Headquarters in Washington to be presented with their award by FBI Director James Comey.
“On most days, Thaddeus is out on the streets of Boston and in our housing developments around the state trying to keep residents safe, to provide them a better life and to give the kids who live there a better path to the future. He does the work of the angels,” said MassHousing Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason. “There is no higher calling than the one he has responded to. I can’t think of a better person to do it than Thaddeus Miles.”
In 2009, Miles was named Boston’s Crime Fighter of the Year by Mayor Menino for his work with the Boston Police Department in making city housing developments administered by MassHousing safer and for creating opportunities for advancement for youth and residents.
Over the past 19 years Miles has worked closely with all levels of the Boston Police Department to improve safety and the quality of life in 280 Boston housing communities overseen by MassHousing containing approximately 30,000 housing units. He also works in housing communities across the state where MassHousing oversees more than 900 housing communities with more than 100,000 units.
Apartments financed by MassHousing are privately owned and privately managed. Many are mixed-income communities with market-rate tenants and low-income subsidized renters. MassHousing also contracts with HUD to provide limited oversight to several hundred other HUD-subsidized properties. Thaddeus Miles works with management companies and local law enforcement to improve public safety and to provide access for residents – especially young people – to constructive programs and services.
“All of these things have been done with partnerships. I have done nothing here alone,” said Miles. “I try to make a difference in people’s lives. I work here at MassHousing with so many creative people that understand this is not about having a job; it’s about changing a life each and every day. That’s what we do here, we change lives. Let’s continue to change lives and create safe families, homes and neighborhoods for residents of the Commonwealth. Let’s continue to allow those seeds of hope, dreams and love to grow in us.”
About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 and charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $17 billion for affordable housing. For more information, visit the MassHousing website at www.masshousing.com, follow us on Twitter @MassHousing, subscribe to our blog and Like us on Facebook.
Media Contacts
Eric Gedstad: 617.854.1079 | egedstad (at) masshousing (dot) com
Tom Farmer: 617.854.1843 | tfarmer (at) masshousing (dot) com
