We know that affordable housing can be used as a platform for helping low-income families to move up and out of poverty, but Alexandra Nassau-Brownstone, Director of Resident Services for Somerset Development Company, also works to use housing as a platform to reach residents in need of essential services.

Nassau-Brownstone has directed Somerset Development’s resident services program since 2009. She creates holistic on-site resident service programming – including systems for financial and outcomes tracking and measurement – and works to build community partnerships for the organization. As a developer, Somerset has invested more than $429 million in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore by creating retail spaces, new community buildings and more than 1,750 affordable residential apartments in the cities.

At the program level, Somerset believes resident services are part of the property management team. This dynamic works to create a healthier, happier and more stable housing community.

What’s the biggest challenge in your industry, and how have you addressed it?

The greatest challenge in the industry continues to be sustainable funding. At Somerset we’ve been successful in pairing a   limited budget that comes from a percentage of the property’s cash flow with resources that partners can bring on-site. However, this model really works if there are partners in the community that are funded to work at our sites. For the most part, we’ve been fortunate to work with properties that are in resource rich neighborhoods – meaning full of organizations and agencies that are able to help our residents. However, not every neighborhood has that same level of services, or access to services, and without those resources communities suffer.

One way to help address this is better collaboration and communication with city agencies. Healthcare and social service funds could be used to help build housing-based resident services programs. It’s essential city agencies work together to collaborate and create mechanisms for funding services that reach residents.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish you had gotten sooner?

It’s essential to slow down and talk with those you are serving. We get caught up in what the funders are looking for or what the next deadline is or with what we believe the bigger vision of our work to be, and the voices of those we’re serving gets drowned out.

It’s a simple thing, but really listening to someone is how to connect with them. This is the greatest inspiration and the only way to build trust. And trust is the first step towards a successful community program.

How has being a member of HAND helped you with your community development efforts?

HAND’s forum for exchange and learning has been a wonderful resource over the years. It has provided a platform for peer exchanges on accessing healthy food, the earned income tax credit and free tax preparation, outcome measurement and funding. These are important training opportunities for our onsite coordinators and resident service practitioners.

Additionally, we also appreciate HAND’s commitment to, and celebration of, resident services. We have been the beneficiaries of HAND’s summer intern program which really helped us to ensure a strong summer program for our youth. Also, we were thrilled to celebrate HAND’s recognition of one of our Hubbard Place youth for her artwork depicting “home” at the last HAND annual event.

Click here for more information on Somerset Development Company.

In keeping with its name, Victory Housing is committed to winning for its residents, its supporters and the community it serves. Since 1979, Victory Housing has operated as the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s nonprofit development arm for affordable housing in the D.C. Metropolitan region.

Missioned to build, acquire, renovate, manage and operate affordable housing – and related services – for low- to moderate-income seniors and low-income families, Victory Housing owns 29 communities, comprised of almost 2,000 apartments.

Recently, the developer opened another apartment community located in the city of Rockville, a municipality known to have a marked need for affordable housing.  Victory Court was officially dedicated on October 24, 2013. An 86-unit mixed-income apartment community for seniors 62+, Victory Court provides upscale living for seniors needing affordable housing.  The property provides 45 one-bedroom apartments for households earning 50% or below of AMI and 20 two-bedroom apartments with households earning at or below 80% of AMI. The remaining apartments are leased as market rate units.

The property was made possible through collaboration with community and fiscal partners, such as Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County and Capital One, North America.

Aside from its affordability and close proximity to Rockville Town Square, the Rockville Metro and MARC stations and other amenities, the developers worked very hard to create a “home” like atmosphere at Victory Court by providing the residents activities seniors come to need and expect within a comfortable home-like setting. The property provides its residents a well-rounded lifestyle experience by providing an on-site library, community room, café, arts and crafts room, wellness center and exercise room.

Victory Housing finds its HAND membership an invaluable resource in helping it deliver on its mission. Due to the informational sessions, communications and networking opportunities HAND provides, Victory Housing has learned a great deal about the broader affordable housing community within the region.

HAND is pleased to spotlight Victory Housing, which certainly contributes to our organization’s COLLABORATION, INNOVATION, and TRANSFORMATION for the metropolitan area!

Peoples Consulting, LLC provides research, policy, advocacy and real estate development consultancy services to Washington, D.C. area community development organizations. Since 2009, Peoples offers a broad array of services to its development partners, including orchestrating advocacy campaigns, structuring and securing financing for affordable housing and community spaces and helping to navigate regulatory and government processes. While specializing in these varied aspects of community development, Peoples is also able to provide all of these differentiated development components simultaneously, a unique aspect that serves its clients well.

In partnership with Sheridan Ventures, Peoples recently co-consulted on the rehabilitation of a Jubilee Housing property located in DC, an exceptional community which was being designed to provide needed affordable housing with supportive services for women returning from incarceration in the District.

Extremely low-income individuals re-entering society after incarceration have critical challenges to overcome including physical and mental health issues, poor job skills and history, and severed family ties, among others. Additionally, housing serving this vulnerable population is extremely hard to finance due to bleak long-term revenue projections and the residents’ own inability to consistently, if at all, pay rent until they are gainfully employed, and even then, rent payments may be relatively small.

“Funding, such as rent subsidies used to operate properties long-term, is often in short supply and/or are for relatively brief terms, like service subsidies and contracts,” said Angie Rodgers, Peoples Consulting. “All these factors can give extreme heartburn to anyone who might invest in your project!”

But invest, they did. An amazing number of public, for-profit and nonprofit partners came together to ensure Jubilee was successful with the venture. While navigating the complex levels of funding needed for the community, Peoples was also able to help its client make the public policy case highlighting the need for supportive housing for women re-entering society. Despite the continual and complicated development process, Peoples was able to maintain their client’s vision for the final product.

Success was realized earlier this month when 10 women began to move into the beautifully rehabbed property in Northwest DC. As proof to the winning model, a second property focusing on men re-entering society will be completed by the end of the year!

Some of the top benefits Peoples enjoys from its HAND membership are organizational training, peer networking and a strong affordable housing platform for regional issues.

“HAND is a consistent source of valuable information relaying what’s happening in the different parts of the region that affects the issues we’re working on,” said Rodgers. “Similarly, we have been able to turn to HAND to highlight issues we are involved with that need a broader audience than what we could reach on our own.”

Through its information sharing and events, HAND helps Peoples stay on top of needed industry intelligence.

HAND is pleased to spotlight Peoples Consulting, LLC, who certainly contribute to our organization’s COLLABORATION, INNOVATION and TRANSFORMATION!