An inside look at Ben Carson’s listening tour

After being confirmed as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson announced he would go on a listening tour across the nation.

Carson spent this week in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Thursday, the HUD secretary spent his afternoon at the Texas Rangers Youth Academy, where our own Ben Lane covered Carson’s speech explaining HUD’s mission is about more than housing.

Friday morning, Carson continued his Dallas stop, this time in downtown Dallas at Jubilee Park and Community Center Corp. Here, he stressed that education is key to improving housing conditions. Carson explained the demographic with the highest income per capita is Nigerians, who, he explained, are known for putting a strong emphasis on education.

However, the secretary’s comments stopped there. Friday, he spent his time listening to the community to hear what they had to say about the housing programs they use.

In the picture below, Carson, with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on his right and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas on his left, listened to different members of Dallas community groups as they explained their programs to him.

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At one point, Carson walked over to speak to one of the residents of the community. This resident, the “self-appointed, unofficial mayor” as one member of staff put it, smiled excitedly, and invited the secretary into her home.

The first picture shows Carson emerging from the home and the second photo shows the resident’s response after Carson left.

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After speaking with Carson, Rawlings explained his concerns for possible cuts that could come to the committee, saying Dallas will need to get the metrics in place to show what programs are working.

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Dallas Mayor speaks to future of local housing programs from HousingWire on Vimeo.

Carson explained that citizens who are proud of their home and the community they live in defines the success of the program.

“That’s what means they’re successful is when they have price about it; and the other second part of success would be if they do it in an affordable manner,” Carson said.