Peter Routsis-Arroyo                      Joseph D’Alessandro

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 6, 2014) – The Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers has reappointed Peter Routsis-Arroyo as chairman of the board and Joseph D’Alessandro as vice chairman for another four years.

Appointed by the mayor of the city of Fort Myers, the board serves as the governing officers of the HACFM. Through formal adoption of policy, they ensure the housing authority’s purpose and accompanying responsibilities are carried out in as efficient and economical a manner as possible. The seven board members volunteer their services to the housing authority. Commissioners ensure the housing authority operates within the law and according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations.

Routsis-Arroyo has been president and CEO of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. since 2001 and is responsible for the total operation of the organization, overseeing 27 locations covering a 10-county area in Southwest Florida. A graduate of New York University’s Master of Social Work program, he is a licensed social worker. From 1998 to 2001, Routsis-Arroyo was the district director for Catholic Charities of Lee County. Prior to that, from 1993 to 1998, he worked for Catholic Family Services in Hartford, Conn. as clinical director/senior management team and director of the Institute for the Hispanic Family.

D’Alessandro is a native Floridian, born and raised in Fort Myers. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1961 and later received his Juris Doctor degree from Stetson College of Law in 1964. In 1967, D’Alessandro was appointed the assistant state attorney for Lee County. Two years later, Governor Claude Kirk appointed him the state attorney for the newly created 20th Judicial Circuit. At age 30, D’Alessandro was the youngest state attorney to ever hold such a position. After his appointment in 1969, he was elected to office for eight consecutive terms. After serving Lee County in this capacity for 35 years, D’Alessandro retired from the State Attorney’s Office in 2002 and is now a partner of the firm Goldberg, Racila, D’Alessandro and Noone, LLC. He is a member of The Florida Bar and United States Supreme Court Bar. He is past president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorney’s Association and past vice president of the National District Attorney’s Association. He served on Governor Lawton Chiles’ Criminal Justice Task Force, former Governor Robert Martinez’s Drug Policy Task Force and Criminal Justice Information Systems Council. D’Alessandro has served on numerous committees of The Florida Bar and has lectured at the Cooper Institute for Advanced Studies in Medicine and the Humanities on the legal issues relating to the right to die. D’Alessandro is also involved in many community service organizations and has received a number of awards for outstanding community service and citizenship including being selected for “Who’s Who in American Law Enforcement,” awarded the Florida Outstanding American Award by the Florida Jaycees and voted Man of the Year in 1983 by the Italian American Federation of the State of Florida.

The Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers serves as a catalyst for increasing access to safe, affordable housing and to help develop, preserve and revitalize communities through affordable rental housing. The agency is dedicated to empowering families with the means to become as self-sufficient as possible, encouraging and facilitating movement toward financial independence beyond the need for HACFM services, while recognizing the needs and limitations of the mentally and physically disabled, aged and infirmed.

The HACFM provides high-quality, stable and sustainable housing and related services to people in need. In addition, the staff works diligently in providing programs such as Resident Services/Family Self-Sufficiency and HOPE VI Community Supportive Services. The goal is to help families become self-sufficient, therefore strengthening the communities that use public and private resources efficiently and effectively.

The HACFM aims to instill pride and a desire for an enhanced quality of life for families and serves the greater Fort Myers community in a manner that demonstrates professional courtesy, respect and caring.

For more information, visit www.hacfm.org or call 239-344-3220.