What does home mean to you? For many of us in the housing industry, we are consumed with the details of the structure and its operations. We perfect safety codes, smooth workflows, and stellar marketing. But at the end of the day, we specialize in homes, the very backbone of America. The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) recently announced the winner of the What Home Means to Me poster contest. The contest is a brilliant reminder of the necessity of affordable housing and the role it plays in wellbeing of the nation’s youth. Sharing stories for nearly 20 years Founded in 2008, the What Home Means to Mecontest celebrates children’s stories and creativity. The contest is open to children ages 5-18 who are living in affordable housing developments. Participants submit artwork accompanied by messages about their homes and the impact of housing professionals and community development officials. Each housing authority holds the initial round of evaluations, followed by eliminations at the state and regional levels. The winning submissions are then evaluated in Washington, D.C. before a panel of three judges. The judges choose 13 winners to receive a $100 Visa gift card and features in the 2022 What Home Means to Me Calendar. Calendar sales contribute to the jackpot for the next years’ contest winners. The grand prize winner also receives a framed copy of their artwork, an iPad and a trip to the NAHRO Washington Conference where they are publicly recognized. When feasible, they are also able to meet their Congressional representatives. Congrats, Hector! This year’s winner is Hector from Puerto Rico. He writes: “My home means…more than a building. It means everything I do, I feel, I learn and my hobbies.” He continues, “My family is my home. They’re who taught me since I was a baby how to speak, eat, walk, study and my daily routine. They give me support, care and security everyday. They taught me to love and to have other feelings.” Click here to view a record of winning artwork. Creating home with NAHRO Yardi is a proud sponsor of NAHRO. Since 1933, the organization has supported affordable housing, its infrastructure and legislation. The organization is currently composed of 19,500 members that serve more than 3 million homes and 8 million residents. Yardi is Energized for Good! Click here to read more of our heartwarming stories of community involvement....
Super Support
Fort Wayne Honored by NAHRO
Support services can be more effective and valuable to a community when providers work together. By taking a collective approach to serving needy residents, organizations can identify synergies in services and carefully plan which are best fit for specific clients. For example, a supportive housing program may have a vacant unit reserved for disabled veterans, and a veterans’ service office may have a client graduating from a transitional housing program. Coordinating those programs would help to smoothly transfer the veteran to the permanent housing unit. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Housing Authority (FWHA) has stepped up to help local organizations work more cooperatively. For its effort, FWHA received an Award of Excellence from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). FWHA assists more than 8,000 individuals in their community at any point in time. Their clients’ needs for assistance go far beyond basic affordable housing subsidies. Some clients are formerly homeless and need assistance furnishing their new permanent homes. Others require access to discounted food and clothing. In fulfilling those types of client requests, FWHA found itself working with many local service providers. There are more than 150 in the Fort Wayne area, each with a set of services available. George Guy, CEO and director of FWHA, saw an opportunity to benefit the community by getting those providers together with a goal of forming a consortium of representatives that could exchange and coordinate services. The result of that coordination effort is what’s become known as Housing Strategies Meetings. FWHA invited 270 individuals to the first session, at which attendees saw more than 35 agencies present a high-level overview of their services. While receiving that program-level information was valuable, personal connections made in the room were also real benefits of the meeting. FWHA...
