Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority Wins Prestigious National Award for Service Excellence

Date Published: 
September 22nd, 2021

From the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority’s press release:

An innovative collaboration launched last year between the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and the Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus (HCGC) is among only four organizations in the United States to receive 2021 NMA Housing Awards, regarded as one of the affordable housing industry’s premiere achievements that recognize the outstanding service excellence of individual agencies.

CMHA and HCGC were honored with the NMA Large Agency Resident Service Award, named after the founder and president of California-based Nan McKay and Associates (NMA). The award is given annually to leaders in the affordable housing industry nationally with more than 2,500 units in their agency portfolio and whose community outreach efforts improve the future of the residents and families they serve.

“This years’ service award recipients exemplify the best of the best at helping their communities’ most vulnerable citizens resolve unmet needs for transportation, food, education, job training, healthcare, housing and more,” NMA CEO John McKay said during a virtual celebration announcing the winners on Friday, Sept. 17.

“In a year when so many faced extraordinary challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public housing authorities like CMHA and their affiliated partners such as HCGC stepped up to develop new ideas and build new partnerships while continuing to work toward the goals of providing safe, high quality and affordable housing for low-wage-earning households, people with disabilities and the elderly,” McKay said.

CMHA joined with nonprofit HCGC last year to help broaden support for the Central Ohio Pathways HUB (the HUB) that HCGC has managed since 2019 and to date serves approximately 600 individuals per month. HCGC’s HUB is a nationally certified program dedicated to supporting the emotional, economic, behavioral, social, learning and health outcomes of vulnerable populations in Franklin and surrounding counties.

Over the past year, the new CMHA-HCGC partnership contributed to the delivery of nearly 30,000 meals to the hungry, connected 650-plus youth with out-of-school programs, distributed over 1,600 COVID-19 wellness kits and provided almost $114,000 in emergency rental and utility assistance. The community health workers (CHWs) in the HUB aim to understand the root of why an individual needs assistance and provides them with the tools to address their challenges. CHWs then guide clients on a path to success, through improvement of their physical, mental and economic well-being. With over 75% of connections to care and services successfully completed in the program, CMHA residents are experiencing the lasting impact of participating in the HUB.

Read CMHA’s press release. 

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