Toni Coats
Toni had a significant impact on the lives of many Evansville residents through her work at the Evansville Housing Authority
Toni Coats is an Evansville native who grew up in the house on the northwest corner of Lincoln and South Second Streets, the residence for the Allen family for 50 years. She is the daughter of Rolland and Faye Allen. Toni’s grandmother was Jerdis Wolff, who served as the City’s Deputy Clerk under Rollie Zilliox and as a pianist at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Her grandfather, Braden Wolff, was the Superintendent of Public Works, for whom the former Public Works building was named. Toni grew up here and had a significant impact on the lives of many Evansville residents.
Faye married Rolland Allen when she was nineteen. She was a stay-at-home mother who was very musically talented. When she was in High School, she played saxophone in the band and sang in a quartet that performed live and on the radio. Her father was their manager. She played the guitar, piano, and accordion, wrote music, and was an artist, poet, and writer. She practiced all these hobbies even while raising their children, who soon began to arrive. Traveling local accordion players even stopped at their house and played music with her. Toni still remembers how she loved those occasions.
Speaking of love, Faye’s desire for several children led her and Rolland to become foster parents, even though they intended to have their own birth children. And eventually, they had four birth children and five foster children. In no particular order, their names were Scott, Toni, Audre, Eric, Laura, Russell, Chuck, Richard, and Dennis, although others stayed for a shorter time. Toni remembers Margaret Antes, who worked for Rock County Social Services, showing up at their front door with a child in tow who carried only a small bag of clothes in their hand. Some of the kids had been abused in addition to being neglected. Toni was excited to share her things with her new siblings; she felt badly for them. She felt a lot of empathy when her mother shared the foster children’s background. Toni recalls that their father helped in a special way by making breakfast every weekday morning for the nine children before work. Rolland and Faye would sit down together to plan the breakfasts Rolland would make during the upcoming week. The youngsters ate in the kitchen, and the older kids in the dining room. Speaking of rooms, the house consisted of two bedrooms on the main floor and three upstairs. So, the kids doubled up in each of their rooms. There was only one small bathroom in the house.
Toni played the piano for seven years and the clarinet in middle and high school. She quit playing in the band when she joined the Pom Pom Squad and Pep Club. She later developed a love of art and German. A few days after her high school graduation, Toni went to work for American Family Insurance in Madison; she rode to work and was back in the commuter van that operated in those days. She loved working there for seven years, and it was a great career opportunity, but she wanted to marry and have children. When she was 19, she was called for jury duty in Beloit, a six-month commitment. It was here she saw but did not serve with her future husband, Chris Coats.
Instead of waiting to be married, Toni wanted to adopt a foster child, preferably a boy in Kindergarten. So she acquired a license for foster parenting, moved into a two-bedroom apartment, and waited for a young boy to arrive. In the meantime, Chris played tennis with Toni’s brother Scott and her boyfriend at the time. When Chris heard she had broken up with her boyfriend, he called her out of the blue for their first date five years after their brief encounter on jury duty. They were married on May 16, 1980.
Although Toni still hoped to adopt a child, and Chris was willing, her sister Laura became pregnant at age 15. Laura asked Toni and Chris if they would adopt the baby, which they did. The baby girl, named Kira, was born on December 16, 1980. Toni was still working at American Family, and Chris was laid off from his job at Dana Corp. in Edgerton. So Chris took care of Kira until April of 1981 when Toni quit her job at American Family. Chris got a job at Wisco Industries, and Toni became a stay-at-home mom. Two years later, she had her first birth child, Alana. Toni started sewing to make clothes for the children. Braden was born two years later, and Garth came three years after Braden. In 1985, after moving into larger and larger apartments with a growing family, they eventually purchased their current home at 314 S. Second Street.
While Toni was a stay-at-home mother, she babysat for Glenn and Susan Kruser’s children thrice a week. The Kruser children were close to the same ages as Toni’s. Toni took care of them for 10-12 years while Susan worked. Toni returned to work at H&R Block in Evansville after Garth entered Kindergarten. She managed the front desk and liked the job, partly because it was seasonal from January to April. She also didn’t need to commute to Madison. Thus, she had more time to spend with her children.
After seven years at H&R Block, Toni noticed a blind ad in the Evansville Review for part-time office help. Even though she didn’t know what business was advertising, she applied anyway. Unfortunately, she learned by letter that the position had already been filled and the company was the Evansville Housing Authority. She and Garth visited her parents in Virginia Beach, VA, shortly thereafter. While there, Trudy Gard, the Executive Director of the Evansville Housing Authority, called Chris. Apparently, the person who had been hired for the position hadn’t worked out, and Trudy wanted to speak to Toni when she returned from her vacation. The day after Toni and Garth returned to Evansville, Toni met with Trudy and was hired as her assistant. She began working at the EHA on June 15, 2000. Toni seemed to fit the bill, as she was organized and used to detail work. It was only fifteen hours a week. Also, Toni loved working with people, particularly the elderly.
About fourteen months into her new job, Trudy shared with Toni that she wanted to retire in the spring of the following year, and she felt Toni was the one who should take over the position of Executive Director. But Toni felt she wasn’t ready to take it on since she was still learning the assistant’s duties. After considerable thought, she reconsidered. She spoke with each of her children, three of whom were still in school. They all encouraged her to apply, so Toni submitted a resume one day before the deadline. Two other applicants besides Toni were also offered an interview. Trudy had great faith in Toni and recommended that the board hire her.
When Toni arrived at work the following day, she found that Trudy had put flowers and a balloon on her desk, revealing that Toni had been chosen for the position. Trudy was very emotional because she felt the right person was taking over. Toni assumed the role of Executive Director on April 1, 2002. She didn’t look at it as a job; she looked at it more as a mission for which she was very grateful. Toni had to learn all HUD (Housing and Urban Development) regulations. At that time, there wasn’t a job duty manual, so she trained for three months with Trudy and took a lot of notes. She consulted many files and government books and contacted other Housing Directors. She also had to find and train a replacement for her old job. In addition, her father, Rolland, had a massive stroke prior to her working at the Housing Authority, which left him paralyzed on his left side. After receiving several years of care living with her brother Scott’s family in Virginia Beach, Rolland moved in with Toni and her family shortly after she began her new position. Toni took care of her father full-time for one and a half years before he finally moved to the Evansville Manor. Then, her mom declined in health, and Toni encouraged her to move back to Evansville so she could take care of her. Shortly after returning and trying to live alone in a house she purchased, she moved in with Toni’s family until she moved to a nursing home in Janesville. Toni was constantly driving back and forth between nursing homes, and she remembers this as a very stressful and emotional time. Her parents finally passed away three days apart after nearly 52 years of marriage.
Toni has given me an overview of the Evansville Housing Authority (EHA) 's mission.
When she was hired, the EHA administered three housing programs for the City:
1). THE SECTION 8 HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM
The EHA has administered this program since October 1, 1970. It is funded by HUD, a Federal Agency a/k/a Housing and Urban Development. It provides rental assistance in the City for low-income individuals and families. The original Board comprised Richard Eager, a local attorney at the time, and a few city council people. At that time, the EHA had 59 rental vouchers. When Kenwood Apartments changed hands, all of their vouchers were given to the EHA to administer, thus bringing the total under the direction to 79. The EHA recently acquired three more, bringing the current total to 82. Therefore, 82 families and individuals may receive housing assistance with sufficient funding.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program subsidy operates as follows: an application is submitted by an individual or a family. Assuming they qualify because of their income, they are then offered a voucher to subsidize the rent for an apartment the applicant selects. The number of bedrooms they are eligible for depends on their family size. The voucher program requires two people to share each bedroom unless there are children five years or older who are of opposite sexes. Once they are issued a voucher, they search for housing. In today’s economy, it’s not uncommon for recipients to pay up to 40% or more of their adjusted monthly income for rent and utilities. The Housing Authority pays the rent balance. Younger recipients can deduct childcare expenses from their income, and the elderly/disabled can deduct eligible medical expenses from their income. The Housing Authority uses the applicant’s gross income as the determining factor, minus child care for younger families and eligible medical expenses for the elderly. Once the applicant has found a property that suits them, the landlord provides the proposed rent, utility costs, and what is included in the rent to the Housing Authority. The Housing Authority then determines if the property is eligible based on that applicant’s income.
Each apartment is inspected before occupancy and every other year thereafter to verify that it is maintained to housing quality standards. This ensures that both the tenant and landlord are required to keep the property decent, structurally sound, safe, and sanitary.
Currently, there are no specific areas in Evansville that do not accept housing vouchers, although landlords reserve the right to decline participation in the program. Toni says many landlords in Evansville promptly comply with repair orders.
Toni has issued 595 vouchers since she started in April of 2002. This month, 68 families are using vouchers on the program. Recently, the number of vouchers in effect has ranged from 67-71. There was a time when all vouchers could be funded monthly. So, it is a very popular and sorely needed housing assistance program. The EHA currently has more approved vouchers than they can fund. Those who live or work in Evansville get preferential treatment. Out-of-town applicants are next in line. The Housing Authority issues vouchers to people who live outside of town only if there isn’t a waiting list for Evansville families. EHA’s monthly assistance needs have become more significant than their HUD budget can sustain. EHA’s expenses exceed the funding received from the administration and staff. The only way to balance the budget will be to cease issuing new vouchers until the existing costs are within the budget provided by HUD. On the other hand, there are now instances in Evansville whereby people on Section 8 can afford apartments that employed, NON-SUBSIDIZED people cannot.
2). MULTIFAMILY HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY/DISABLED, AND THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM, A LOAN PROGRAM TO REHABILITATE HOMES AND RENTALS OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.
The CDBG program was administered by the housing authority from 1983 until 2020, at which time it was turned back over to the city to administer.
Two multi-family housing facilities for the elderly and disabled are within the city limits. One of these is South Meadow Apartments, located on the South side of town. The Housing Authority is located in the center of the apartment complex, which was built in 1979 and comprises two single-story buildings that provide twenty (20) one-bedroom apartments. Applicants must be income-eligible to live there and pay 30% of their adjusted monthly income toward the rent. This subsidy is funded by WHEDA.
Arbor Glen Apartments is another multi-family apartment complex on the East side of Evansville. It is, too, only for elderly and/or disabled people. The complex has about 24 one—and two-bedroom apartments.
People on housing assistance are recertified every year. The EHA reviews and may adjust the portion of the rent paid by the tenant based on income and medical expense changes. Their apartments are also inspected every year. Toni is the apartment manager for South Meadows, and she oversees the day-to-day functions, including hiring contractors when necessary.
South Meadow Apartments had low rent contracts until EHA entered into a new 20-year contract with WHEDA eleven years ago when Toni hired an appraiser of the apartments based on their rental value. The contract rent increased to $597/mo per unit the first year, with all utilities included. Effective December 1, 2024, the new contract rent is $946/mo. The tenant pays 30% of their adjusted monthly income toward the rent, and WHEDA pays the difference. There is no effect on the tenants when WHEDA approves a contract rent increase. The increase in contract rent has provided the financial means to replace the roofs on the two buildings and install a new, state-of-the-art fire alarm system.
Toni works hard to build a relationship with the program participants so that she and they feel comfortable with each other. She makes herself available, even after hours. She believes having a good and open relationship with tenants, and landlords is essential for treating everyone fairly and building trust. She enjoys the job's administrative side, including paperwork, just as much as the interaction with the tenants.
She also compliments the local Police Department for their excellent relationship with her. They work together to help people among EHA’s client base who struggle with mental health issues.
Despite Toni’s love and enthusiasm, there are clouds on the horizon. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of affordable housing in Evansville. Rents in Evansville are substantially increasing while funding for subsidy programs is decreasing.
Toni says she could never have imagined that answering a blind ad so many years ago would lead to a meaningful, purposeful, challenging, and rewarding career. She looks forward to keeping in touch with past and present program participants she has become so close to, finishing the remodeling of her family’s historic home (especially the kitchen), where she loves to spend time cooking and baking and simply making herself available to those she loves. She is especially looking forward to welcoming a new grandson in April 2025. She is thankful for the gift given to her to serve the people of Evansville. It has been a great blessing and a privilege.
Toni comes from parents who loved their children and others who needed to be taken care of. She inherited that trait, and her husband, Chris, was there. She is very caring, and the Evansville Housing Authority hit a home run by hiring her. She has done a lot of good for Evansville residents who need help the most. I am sure they greatly appreciate her, and we should too.
