How to Make Housing Safe and Affirming for Older Adults
Housing concerns impact many older adults, but for some communities there are added challenges that have built up over a lifetime, making their path to safe and affordable housing more difficult. This session will provide background on the housing challenges facing different communities, the importance of housing for older adults that invests in the needs of those communities, and perspectives on strategies to develop and sustain affordable housing that is safe and open for all people.
Addressing Homelessness for Expectant Parents, Infants, and Children 3 and Younger: Convening Partners to Build and Communicate a Policy Agenda and Messaging Campaign
Homelessness during pregnancy or in the first three years of a child’s life has lifelong consequences for physical health and mental well-being. With support from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, Housing Is is working with a coalition of organizations to build a policy agenda and messaging campaign addressing homelessness for families with children prenatal-3 years old and promoting strong early childhood development and economic security.
In this session, coalition members will participate in a moderated discussion to provide an overview of our work to date to elevate the message that homelessness is preventable, and that stakeholders must take action to address it. The session will also include time for a listening session to hear from attendees about what messages and policy agenda items are important in their sectors and communities.
Strategies for Community-Building: Nurturing Social Connectivity through Partnerships in the Built Environment
This interactive session will explore strategies for community building and peacebuilding through a collaboration between university, community-based organization (CBO), and housing authority personnel in multi-family affordable and public housing. Focused on fostering social cohesion and resident organization development, the session highlights how disconnected neighbors can become a supportive community. Drawing on over 30 years of partnership, the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), and UWM’s Institute for Systems Change and Peacebuilding will share their cross-sector solutions and project curricula.
- Paul Williams, Choice Neighborhood Initiative Coordinator, Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM)
- Sandy Short, Food Justice & Community Wellness Coordinator, HACM
- Silvia Patricia Gelvez Delgado, Graduate Project Assistant, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM) Institute of Systems Change and Peacebuilding
- Segun Daniel Okeowo, Graduate Project Assistant, UWM Institute of Systems Change and Peacebuilding
- Marie Sandy, UWM Institute of Systems Change and Peacebuilding
Specialized Cohorts and Partnerships-The Power of One Single Parent Program
The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) will provide an eight-year overview of “Power of One,” a program for single parents receiving Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance. “Power of One” is funded by SDHC’s Moving to Work funds. It was designed to increase the opportunities for public housing authority program participants receiving training and securing employment and services. SDHC will share an in-depth synopsis of the program, which has served over 430 Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher participants. This will include a summary of the program, services, and partnerships that worked well for the program through eight cohorts spanning eight years. Partnerships include healthcare training providers, financial education and loan programs, personal training programs, and parenting programs. The session will also highlight the partnerships that worked well and how SDHC’s Workforce and Economic Development Department navigated issues, including COVID-19, that arose. An overview of eight years of tracking, providing outcomes for all programs and partnerships, will be shared.
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Stephanie Murphy, Vice President of Workforce and Economic Development, San Diego Housing Commission
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Azucena Valladolid, Executive Vice President of Rental Assistance and Workforce Development, San Diego Housing Commission