HAND members are working day in and day out to address the growing housing affordability challenge across the Capital Region. Five Minutes With is a series highlighting these individuals and organizations within our membership. This informal conversation asks HAND members about their recent projects, the affordable housing industry and more. In the latest edition, we chat with Moha Thakur, Public Engagement and Policy Associate for National Housing Trust (NHT).

Moha first joined NHT in 2018. In her role, she focuses on state and federal public policy initiatives to preserve affordable housing and create sustainable, vibrant communities for low-income families with the goal of providing tailored policy recommendations based on best practices from around the country.

Most recently, she helped develop a housing policy framework designed to preserve existing subsidized and naturally occurring affordable housing in San Diego and contributed to a feasibility study on the creation of a naturally occurring affordable housing preservation fund in Houston. Her next project is with the City of Falls Church and will focus on updating their Affordable Housing Preservation Study. She also coordinates NHT’s policy work in D.C, focusing on the impact of policies and programs on the preservation of affordable housing in the District.

Moha was also a part of the Where Will We Live? campaign team, where she traveled around the country interviewing residents, property staff and community leaders on their lives, perspectives and what affordable housing means to them and the important role it’s played in both their lives and that of their community. As the National Housing Trust wraps up its two-year campaign, we spoke to Moha about Where Will We Live? and the storytelling toolkit, and what she hopes those in the affordable housing and community development industry can learn from it.

Check out our conversation here:

HAND: Tell us a little about your journey. How did you land in the affordable housing and community development industry?
MT: I’m originally from Canberra, Australia. I moved to Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2016 to start my Master of Public Policy at the McCourt School at Georgetown University. I didn’t know how long I’d be in D.C. and so I took the time to learn more about the city while I had the opportunity. In my time at McCourt I was a part of the Policy Innovation Lab and along with classes in Urban Policy and Law, Community Development Policy and Land Use and Zoning, I realized and pursued my interest in urban policy focused around housing and the often-overlooked importance of this vital piece of infrastructure.

The racial and social dynamics in Australia are very different to the US, and in learning and understanding what these were and how they have materialized in the housing and community development space, I wanted to continue my professional career in Washington, D.C. and work towards making an impact in local communities around the country. In my second year at McCourt, I was offered an opportunity to intern at the National Housing Trust, a non-profit organization that is committed to the preservation of affordable housing through policy, real estate development, lending and energy efficiency solutions. That internship turned into a full-time job after I graduated, and I’ve never looked back!

HAND: What does this work mean to you?
MT: The work I’ve done with NHT has been incredibly meaningful. It’s been really exciting to learn about the field of affordable housing and to seek out opportunities within the organization to support and advocate for affordable housing from a number of angles. Throughout the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination process, housing has been highlighted as an important issue and knowing that NHT is making such an impact on people’s lives around the country has been rewarding. Whether it’s walking the halls of Congress and meeting with congressional committee staff on appropriations, to being invited into someone’s home to learn about their often heartbreaking experience of homelessness and how they have created a home for themselves now in affordable housing, or speaking to fellow advocates and city officials who are trying to make their communities a better place, there are so many ways to make an impact in this field and to learn from others. I feel like in my two and half years I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

HAND: Earlier this year NHT launched the Where Will We Live? Storytelling Toolkit. Can you provide a little background on the campaign and why this toolkit is important for our industry?
MT: As part of supporting the federal advocacy work of NHT, I worked on our Where Will We Live campaign. Where Will We Live? is a storytelling campaign launched by the National Housing Trust and Enterprise Community Partners in 2017 in response to the threat that federal funding for affordable housing would be halted. There were two goals in mind when we started this campaign: break down barriers and misconceptions by shifting the narrative around affordable housing, and uplift resident voices to the forefront of the conversation. My role was to build and maintain a network of regional alliances across the US, with the goal of increasing civic engagement among residents of affordable housing. Through this work, we interviewed more than 160 low-income residents across the country and shared their stories with congressional members, housing advocates and cross-sector allies to highlight the necessity of federal funding for affordable housing programs through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Through this campaign, we were trying to personalize these stories, and show that these were not just facts, numbers and figures we were presenting; these were the constituents of members of Congress and members of our communities who need access to affordable housing in order to live.

The storytelling toolkit includes lessons learned from the campaign that other organizations can use to integrate their resident stories into their own communications efforts. Storytelling is a powerful tool, and when done well can enact social change. We hope that other housing advocates can join us in this effort.

HAND: What do you think are some of the most important takeaways from the toolkit?
MT: There is a lot of helpful information there, but the key takeaways would be to clearly identify your audience and define your key message. I would also say a really simple, and practical tip, is the guidance on how to contact a property manager to conduct an interview with residents.

HAND: What is your greatest hope for the toolkit over the coming months?
MT: We hope that our colleagues who work in housing communications or policy and advocacy can use this guide to keep our residents’ voices to the forefront of the conversation when we advocate for affordable housing. It’s important for us to always remember that these are the people we are serving in our work each day, and it’s their basic needs that we should strive to meet in ensuring that there is adequate funding and affordable housing stock around the country. Through sharing their stories and raising their voices, they can be the loudest advocates in increasing funding and support for affordable housing around the country.

I’d be remiss to not mention that this toolkit, while created and used by NHT in the affordable housing field, is a vital resource that can be used in any advocacy work in any field – be it education, health care, disability rights, or immigration. Reframing the narrative to highlight the voices of individuals who typically lack access to the decision-making process on housing is one long term goal that we hope the toolkit can achieve.

HAND: Do you believe there is a “secret sauce” to addressing housing affordability? If so, what do you think that is?
MT: If my travels and interviews with residents through the Where Will We Live? campaign taught me anything, it’s that housing instability is extremely common in this country and it could happen to anyone. I hope the idea that any of us might one day need these resources generates compassion and empathy and empowers advocates and policymakers to push for big ideas to address the affordability issues faced by so many in our communities.

HAND: If you weren’t working in this industry, what might you be doing?
MT: I’m not sure what I’d be doing if I wasn’t in the affordable housing or community development industry – my life has changed a lot in the last five years so there are a lot of what-ifs or turning points that I could look to. Maybe I’d still be in Australia!

I feel incredibly privileged to have found this path, to have been able to move to Washington, D.C. and learn so much about the culture of this country and this city that I’m now truly starting to call home. In addition to that, I’m grateful to have the chance to contribute to the work of our fellow housing and community development organizations in supporting people struggling with affordable housing access.

Many thanks to the cohort of 120 members & partners who joined us for the kickoff of Red Lines, White Papers, & Blue Prints: A Four-Part Learning Series Exploring the Dimensions of Racism and Strategies Towards Racial Equity in early March! Hosted at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Total Health, the first session laid the foundation for the series with the topic of Structural Racism. We were pleased to welcome New York Times Bestselling Author of How to Be An Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi, as the featured speaker. The powerful program delved into racism in its institutional and structural forms, and challenged cohort members to reflect on how racial equity can play a role in the work of affordable housing and community development.

We asked a few of our cohort members to share their initial reflections from the session:

• Kahlil Gross, Senior Vice President–Director, City First Bank
• Joanna Hoffschneider, Founder, Resolute Consulting LLC
• John Spencer, CPA, HAND Founder & Senior Vice President, Victory Housing

More on what they had to say can be found below, followed by key moments from the speaker himself.

Thank you to our sponsors, Kaiser Permanente and Wells Fargo!

REFLECTIONS FROM THE COHORT

What struck you most about Mr. Kendi’s remarks? 
KG: His comment about needing to have hope in order to be a change agent is what has stuck with me the most. Our problems often look very bleak and overwhelming and it feels like people will never change enough to solve the problems we’re facing. Especially when you consider how long we’ve been dealing with them. What also struck me was his knowledge of how these issues present themselves globally. It reaffirms the common denominator I see in most effective change agents and that’s that they eventually approach these issues from a global perspective…or at least understand them from that perspective.

JH: Considering when our actions help an individual in need who may be oppressed by a racist power structure, versus when our actions actually work to change a racist power structure.  Acknowledging that while each of these actions are positive, they are not the same thing. We should not fool ourselves that individual help equates to systemic change.

JS: In some respects, Mr. Kendi’s remarks upset our affordable housing development paradigm by applying a different, and likely new, lens to the work we have been doing for years to preserve and create housing for low- and moderate-income families. While we all know the housing crisis has yet to be solved and is worse now facing new challenges in higher costs, reduced supply, gentrification and income equality, we also could take some pride in our successes along the way. Mr. Kendi’s remarks helped us understand we still have a long way to go and that instilling a racial equity lens in all that we do will truly help individuals, families and communities. To be an antiracist is to be an active participant in achieving racial equity.

If you had to describe how you felt leaving the program in one word, what would it be?  

KG: Cautiously-optimistic.

JH: Humbled.

JS: The most appropriate word for me would be “challenged.”  Though preserving and providing affordable housing is already demanding work, it is not enough to go work with the current processes and programs available.  Rather, you need to consider the outcomes of the housing and services you are providing, and if those outcomes are not equitable then you need to change those programs to truly achieve success.

Have you reflected on how structural racism impacts you in your career and other areas of your life? What are your initial observations?

KG: Absolutely.  It became obvious to me in grad school that the driving forces behind the community development industry is the white middle and upper-class establishment.  The solutions that come through the community development industry to address the problems in our neighborhoods don’t get funded or implemented until they understand the problem.  That means that the pace of progress, as it relates to most federal and philanthropic dollars, is always limited by their ability to view us as equal…needing the same systems, advantages and supports that they have.

JH: I’ve thought a lot about the twin concepts of individualization/generalization: When do we (I) observe a behavior by an individual (such as a homeowner) and see that behavior as representative of a group – most commonly a racial group?  When do I see an individual’s behavior as representing simply that individual? When do I benefit from these extrapolations myself?  When do I make them?  How do I hold myself accountable for the uncomfortable truth that I do make them?  And how can I challenge myself and others to see individual behaviors as just that?

JS: You definitely reflect on where you are in your life and that not everything you are or you have achieved is because of your own efforts. Whether it is the home and community you grew up in, the schools and educational opportunities you had, and the career ladder you followed, at some level you know that it was because of structural racism that was prevalent and perpetuated during those times in your life. I’m thankful that the area I’m from, the experiences I’ve had, and the career I chose, gave me opportunities to understand those disparities and try to do something about it.

NOTEWORTHY REMARKS FROM IBRAM KENDI

Like many of you, HAND has been closely monitoring developments as it relates to the outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel “coronavirus disease 2019” (COVID-19). As health officials urge extreme caution in public spaces and large gatherings, the health and safety of HAND members and the communities we serve is our top priority.

If you are registered for an upcoming HAND program, your registration still stands and we are looking forward to you joining us. HAND has several Training & Capacity Building activities scheduled over the coming weeks and months, so we are staying in close touch with all of our registered guests and speakers to ensure you are kept abreast of any scheduling changes specific to these sessions. Due to the evolving nature of the pandemic, some sessions will be converted to live webcasts, while others will be rescheduled. For the latest updates to HAND’s schedule of activities, please visit our Training Calendar on our website. Trainings that have been converted to webcasts are noted by the COVID-19 icon. We are prepared to make the appropriate shifts to ensure we can still provide content to our members, while keeping your safety top of mind.

Most importantly, we encourage you to be mindful of the communities we are missioned to serve. The most vulnerable among us will suffer the greatest impacts. HAND plans to share opportunities for us to support our neighbors in upcoming communications. In the interim, we advise you to follow the guidelines and updates provided by the CDC and state health departments:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• District of Columbia Department of Health
• Maryland Department of Health
• Virginia Department of Health

For the most up-to-date information regarding implications to HAND’s Training and Capacity Building series, you can refer to our Training Calendar on our website. HAND is a community that represents many communities, so we also plan to keep our blog updated with information our members can use as you explore ways to fill in the gaps for the communities we serve. If you aware of other resources we can add to this page send us an email at info@handhousing.org.

HAND members are hard at work across the region addressing the growing housing affordability challenge. “Five Minutes With” is a series highlighting these individuals and organizations within our membership. This informal conversation asks HAND members about their recent projects, the affordable housing industry and more. In the latest edition, we have a dialogue with Ernst Valery, Co-managing member of SAA | EVI and member of HAND’s Board of Directors.

Check out our conversation with Ernst here:

HAND: Tell us a little about your journey. How did you land in the affordable housing and community development industry?
EV: I started out developing market rate row homes in Philadelphia – but my background as a planner did not allow the one-for-one exchange and ultimate displacement of low income families – often people of color and immigrants from the very communities that were redlined and starved of resources to sit well as a viable business model.  Inclusive development is the opportunity to serve a greater purpose and what the American Dream is really about.

HAND: Why is this work important to you?
EV: If you believe in what our Country stands for – the notion that genius is in every zip-code and we can dream of a better future – fueled by hard work and determination – the foundation of that world view is housing and community – our affordable/ workforce and community development industry! But we can’t stand still – we have to keep innovating and connecting the pieces – as well as broadening our scope beyond bricks and mortar.

HAND: Your latest project is Ministry of Brewing based in Baltimore. Can you provide a little background on how it got started and why you got involved?
EV: The start of Baltimore’s newest brewery began over two decades ago on the campus of Cornell University.  David Wendell and I were both on the football team, and the only two players living on north campus, because we lived in multicultural housing: I lived in the International House and David in the Native American program house.  Our walks back to north campus after practice revealed a shared value system of maintaining a sense of purpose and identity, strength in diversity and family, while reaching for life-long goals.  Thus began a decades-long friendship which now has them opening a craft brewery in the former St. Michael’s Church.

HAND: Can you speak to how it will impact the surrounding community?
EV: Along with great beer, an unmatched atmosphere and a fully-restored historic space, the brewery will feature an educational component aiming to teach under-represented young adults the art & science of microbiology and brewing, opening the door for them to participate not only in this emerging economy, but also in public or private research labs and any business where these skills are valued.  This is what it means to look beyond bricks and mortar and push to have a real positive impact on the lives of the people we serve.

HAND: You have extensive experience in affordable housing development as well. Do you believe there is a “secret sauce” to addressing housing affordability?
EV: The secret sauce is first recognizing how we as a society have perfected classism and racism – both conscious and unconscious.  A longer conversation is required if that does not immediately make sense to you.

HAND: What advice would you have for emerging leaders in our space who are in the early stages of their careers?
EV:The current model is not perfect and still broken, and we need innovation.  Don’t be afraid to speak up when something just does not make sense and be relentless.

HAND: If you weren’t working in this industry, what might you be doing?
EV: I would be an immigration attorney or a journalist in oppressed places.  Something that deals with giving people a chance at a better life.

The Housing Authority of Prince George’s County (HAPGC) is soliciting proposals (RFP 2020-01) from experienced law firms and solo practitioners to provide legal services for the Housing Authority of Prince George’s County, Maryland. 

The Request for Proposals, including scope of work, instructions for submission and evaluation criteria are available at: Housing Authority of Prince George’s County, 9200 Basil Court, Suite 500, Largo, Maryland 20774 or by contacting Josephine Clay, Special Assistant to the Executive Director via email at: jbclay@co.pg.md.us . 

The Request for Proposal is also available on HAPGC’s website https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/bids.aspx?bidID=73 beginning January 23, 2020. The deadline for submission is February 24, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.