Mentorship is a cornerstone of personal and professional growth, and this January, during National Mentoring Month, HAND is proud to highlight its commitment to fostering the next generation of housing and community development leaders through its GenerationHAND initiative. The program provides emerging leaders with resources and mentorship to help them thrive in their careers.

Launched in 2021, the year-long program pairs mentees with experienced mentors to provide guidance, insights, and professional development support. The program not only equips mentees with essential skills but also creates a ripple effect of empowerment, as participants are encouraged to pay it forward by becoming mentors themselves. This cycle of support is key to building a robust leadership pipeline in the housing industry.

One example of this impact is Remarno Chambers, Housing Financial Analyst at the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development, who has benefited from and contributed to the mentorship program. Initially joining the program as a mentee in 2023, Chambers has since transitioned into a dual role as mentor and mentee, embodying the program’s mission of continuous learning and collaboration.

 

“What inspired me to become a mentor is the opportunity to give back and pay it forward,” Chambers shares. Reflecting on the guidance he received from mentors throughout his career, Chambers emphasizes the value of helping others navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and grow personally and professionally. For him, mentorship is about creating a ripple effect—supporting mentees so they, in turn, can uplift others.“ 

Chambers joined several other mentor/mentee pairs on January 22 during an in-person kick-off meeting. The event featured a panel discussion with a previous mentor/mentee pair: Ayesha Hudson (A-Peace), Priya Jayachandran (National Housing Trust), and Gerry Joseph (Joseph & Browne Development Associates) moderated by HAND Executive Director Courtney Battle.

 

“Here at HAND, we emphasize the importance of relationships. Our members’ shared mission to build and sustain more equitable communities is not an easy goal, and it is not one that can be accomplished alone,” said Battle. “It’s exciting to hear from our participants about how the program is helping them succeed professionally and personally.“ 

 

By offering mentorship, fostering diversity, and championing equity, GenerationHAND ensures the housing industry benefits from a wide array of perspectives and ideas.

“A program like GenerationHAND is crucial in the housing industry because it provides invaluable support to professionals navigating a complex landscape,” Chambers explains. 

Through mentorship, Chambers has honed his leadership abilities and expanded his professional network. He credits the program with preparing him to take on higher-level roles and fostering a unified effort to address the challenges of the housing industry.

As we celebrate National Mentoring Month, we look forward to seeing our mentor-mentee pairs thrive and make meaningful contributions to building a stronger, more inclusive community development field.

With only one year left until the first major DC’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) deadline, the Building Innovation Hub recently released a new suite of tools to support you with BEPS compliance! HAND is proud to share the Building Innovation Hub’s resources below, which will help you navigate the regulations and enable easier building upgrades.

• BEPS Compliance Pathway Wizard. This will help you understand which BEPS Compliance Pathway is most appropriate for you and your building.
• BEPS Compliance Pathway Timelines. This will inform you about interim deadlines and major milestones associated with each BEPS Compliance Pathway.
• Energy Audit Scopes of Work. Building Innovation Hub offers one version specific to the requirements outlined in the Prescriptive Pathway and another to help you choose a BEPS Compliance Pathway.
• Find-A-Vendor Portal. This simple notification system will share project opportunities with local service providers and contractors via an email distribution list. The portal is now open and ready for building owners and representatives to submit their BEPS or energy-related projects to Building Innovation Hub’s list of vendors.
• Request a BEPS Presentation. The Building Innovation Hub is in the process of training local experts in all the details of the BEPS regulations. If you’re interested in holding a presentation at your office or building about BEPS, please request one.
• Contact the Building Innovation Hub. If you have any questions or need additional support, please contact the Building Innovation Hub directly at info@buildinginnovationhub.org.

Didn’t Meet the District’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS)? Help is Available.

The DC Sustainable Energy Utility, in partnership with the District Department of Energy & Environment and the DC Green Bank, launched an Affordable Housing Retrofit Accelerator program offering enhanced technical and financial assistance to owners and managers of qualifying District affordable multifamily buildings that do not meet the District’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). Apply today to find out if your building qualifies for the program, for the program, and join the DCSEU and DOEE for a webinar on December 15 to find out more.

Interested in Maryland’s relief fund distribution data? The Maryland DHCD launched its’ Emergency Rental Assistance Data Dashboard to track the progress local jurisdictions are making in distributing relief funds for tenants and landlords affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The dashboard which will be updated on a monthly basis to show progress focuses on the first round of funding through the federal ERAP that was launched in Maryland in May 2021. The dashboard has information on specific county programs, demographics and data on marketing and outreach efforts. To access the dashboard, visit rentrelief.maryland.gov and click on “Data Dashboard.”

 Heirs’ property occurs when a property owner dies intestate or with a will that leaves property to multiple beneficiaries, resulting in a fractured or entangled title. Left unresolved, this becomes a barrier to the ability to sell, collateralize, improve, or otherwise transfer the property. Because heirs’ property is disproportionately found in racial and ethnic minority, low-wealth, rural, and distressed urban communities, it is a critical barrier to minority homeownership and the creation of generational wealth and racial equity. As a significant contributor to blight and unrealized equity in poor neighborhoods throughout the country, the scale and pervasiveness of this challenge is shocking. For example, in the state of Georgia, $34 billion worth of tax appraised property is probable heirs’ property according to a 2017 USDA study. In 1980, the Emergency Land Fund estimated that 41 percent (3.8 million acres) of all Black-owned land in the Black Belt region was heirs’ property. 

On December 2, 2021 in Atlanta, GA, the Funders’ Forum will seek to bring together potential funders with dozens of nonprofit and other organizations from 22 states and the District of Columbia. The intended outcome of this forum is to establish a capital, human, and organizational support basis for heirs’ property resolution and prevention pilot initiatives in the following areas: education and awareness; pro-bono legal services; academic research; local government innovation; and developer/contractor driven affordable housing initiatives. Potential funders, including philanthropic and other grant and resource providers, law firms, financial institutions, and builder and realtor trade groups, will have the opportunity to hear from nonprofits and other organizations as they pitch scaled pilot solutions to this group in an in-person and virtual environment. The forum has been designed to allow funders and organizations with initiatives in their market to connect and determine their mutual interest in funding a proposed solution. 

INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS

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