By: Alex Johns

Angela G. Jiménez gets emotional when she stands where Daniel Brooks Homes once stood. Not from nostalgia, from vindication. She grew up in High Point Public Housing, carried the stigma that came with those addresses, and now leads the Housing Authority of the City of High Point as its first female CEO. She has spent the past decade proving Public Housing doesn’t have to be what everyone thinks it is.

“Without question, it’s standing on the grounds of what used to be Daniel Brooks Homes and seeing Legacy Ridge come to life,” Jiménez says of her proudest achievement. “Watching former residents come back to see a place once marked by hardship transformed into a thriving, mixed-income community—that’s the definition of the next chapter for me.”

Legacy Ridge is more than bricks and mortar. It’s proof. Proof that housing can be a starting point rather than a last stop. That mixed-income developments restore dignity. That shame attached to an address can be erased.

Angela Jiménez knows about stereotypes. Born and raised in High Point, she lived there. The assumptions people made shaped her early years, but they also lit something inside her, a drive to be her very best, to show that where you start doesn’t dictate where you finish.

She served in the U.S. Army, earned certifications from Brookstone College, and then bachelor’s and master’s degrees from High Point University. In 2003, she joined the Housing Authority of the City of High Point at the bottom, worked her way up to Chief Operating Officer, left for the executive director job at the Rockingham Housing Authority, then returned in November 2010 as CEO.

Making history wasn’t the point. The work was.

Erasing the Myth

The story people tell about Public Housing goes like this: it’s where you end up when options run out. Angela Jiménez wants that story gone.

“Public Housing is actually the starting line for many, the place they find stability to build better futures,” she says. “We’re changing that narrative by focusing on mixed-income, high-quality developments that restore dignity and by telling our participants’ success stories.”

The Housing Authority of the City of High Point serves nearly 3,000 households across Public Housing, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Section 8 New Construction and Permanent Supportive Housing programs, but the real work happens between those numbers: in resident services, youth development initiatives, homeownership counseling, and family self-sufficiency pathways.

Where Daniel Brooks Homes stood, Legacy Ridge thrives now, representing the physical transformation. Mixed-income housing replaced a place that carried hardship like a scar. Former residents come back to see it. Some cry. Some can’t believe it’s the same community.

That’s Jiménez’s mic drop moment. The one that still gives her a sense of true sense of giving back to the community. Because it’s not about buildings, it’s about building community pride and legacy.

The Crazy Idea That Worked

People called Seeds-to-Success overly ambitious. Youth development, mentorship, financial literacy, leadership training, all under one roof. “How are you going to sustain all that?” they asked.

Partnerships, persistence, and belief in the kids. Those were Jiménez’s answers. They still are.

Seeds-to-Success became one of those crazy ideas that worked. Youth Services consist of academics, tutoring, summer camps, athletics, and financial literacy programs. Project SOAR targets Public Housing youth ages 15 to 20, helping them with FAFSA forms, college applications, financial literacy, getting into college and trade schools, and staying there until graduation.

It doesn’t stop with young people. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program tackles employment, education, homeownership, budgeting, and credit. The Resident Services Program gives elderly and disabled residents the support they need to live independently.

It’s all connected. Housing provides stability, Services provide the pathway. Belief provides the fuel.

A mom recently brought Jiménez a graduation announcement for her daughter. Years back, that family fought through crisis after crisis just to stay housed. The Housing Authority threw everything at keeping them stable. Now that the young woman was graduating.

“That was tears, laughter, and pure joy rolled into one,” Jiménez says.

Those moments are why the work continues. Why does the team show up when things get brutal? Why handwritten notes and quiet wins matter.

The Foundation for Everything

Put Jiménez on a TEDx stage in High Point, and she knows exactly what she’d say.

“Housing isn’t just a roof. It’s hope. It’s health. It’s education. It’s an opportunity. If we get housing right, we unlock everything else. Never underestimate the power of where someone lays their head at night.”

That philosophy drives every decision, every program, and every brick at Legacy Ridge.

The Housing Authority of the City of High Point started on Jan. 4, 1940, chartered as a nonprofit to provide decent, safe housing to low-income citizens. It operates under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations and the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. A seven-member board of commissioners governs the agency.

But the mission goes beyond shelter. The goal is to provide adequate and affordable housing, economic advancement and homeownership opportunities in a safe, drug-free living environment with no discrimination.

The Section 8 Homeownership Program can move families from renting to owning. Housing Counseling and Homeownership Programs teach Financial Literacy, Pre-Purchase, Post-Purchase, Foreclosure Prevention, Budgeting, and Financial Literacy. Community and Supportive Services help elderly and disabled residents with education and enrichment.

Floor plans run from one to five bedrooms, and apartment styles include units, duplexes, townhomes, and high-rises. Occupancy guidelines match family sizes to units, keeping them useful without excessive wear.

It all serves one truth Jiménez keeps coming back to: housing is the foundation. Get it right, and everything else opens up. Education. Jobs. Health. Opportunity.

Legacy Ridge proves it. Former residents walk through a neighborhood that once carried shame and see possibilities now. Kids in Seeds-to-Success learn financial literacy because they’ve got stable homes to return to. Mothers bring graduation announcements because their families had the foundation to build on.

Housing Authority of the City of High Point Builds Partnerships That Last

The Housing Authority of the City of High Point doesn’t operate alone. They collaborate with Laurel Street, the City of High Point, federal partners, and community organizations. They co-design solutions that match residents’ actual needs.

Three subsidiaries extend the reach. Low Income Housing Opportunities, Inc. develops housing for low-income buyers. Empowering Lives and Building Foundations, Inc. provides economic, educational and support services. High Point Economic Opportunities, Inc. acquires, constructs and operates affordable housing, building mixed-income developments.

Angela Jiménez holds multiple certifications and licenses within the housing industry: HUD Public Housing and Section 8 programs, Tax Credits, Mixed Finance, Housing Development Finance Professional, North Carolina Realtor, Real Estate Broker in Charge, Certified Property Manager, Accredited Residential Manager, HUD Certified Housing Counselor.

Those credentials matter, but so does growing up in the system she now runs.

She formerly served on the City of High Point Planning and Zoning Commission, Salvation Army Advisory Board, United Way of Greater High Point and the Southeastern Regional Council-National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials Legislative Committee. Previously chaired the City of High Point Human Relations Commission, served as vice chair of Total Family Focus Board.

She has also received several awards, some of which are the 2009 Business Woman Extraordinaire of High Point, 2010 Women Pioneers of the Triad, 2010 Business Leader, 2012 Minority Achievers’ Corporate Executive, Pillars of Fame honoree and Leadership High Point graduate.

But plaques don’t measure success. Families finding their footing do. Kids graduating do. Seniors aging with dignity do.

The Fire That Drives Forward

If HPHA were a person, it’d be that relentless friend who won’t let you settle. Empathetic but firm. The go-to karaoke song? “Rise Up” by Andra Day. That’s the spirit behind every program, every decision.

Right now, the energy runs hot. New ideas. New developments. A drive to break old cycles. The momentum is real.

Give Jiménez $10 million to reimagine a High Point neighborhood? She’d build a multi-use hub. Affordable housing, job training, childcare and small business incubators. And she’d call on the city, federal partners, developers and residents themselves to co-design it.

That collaboration reflects a core belief: the people most affected should help shape the solutions. Residents aren’t just getting services. They’re building futures.

If she could advise her younger self on day one, she’d say, “You’re going to carry people’s stories home with you. That’s not a burden; it’s a privilege. And it’s also what will keep you fighting to do this work differently.”

Small wins get celebrated with shout-outs in meetings, handwritten notes, and quiet moments where someone says, “Hey, look at what we did today.”

Stereotypes still exist. Public Housing still carries stigma but the Housing Authority of the City of High Point chips away at those assumptions. One development at a time.

Angela Jimenez keeps carrying those stories home, letting them fuel the fight to do this work differently. Because housing isn’t just shelter, it’s the starting line.