Housing and Community Development Innovators Receive Awards of Excellence from NAHRO
(Washington, D.C. – October 4, 2018) – The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) recently awarded 22 prestigious 2018 Awards of Excellence to 19 housing and community development organizations for creating innovative programs that stimulate positive change in their community. The winners are listed below.
“These agencies are leaders in the housing and community development industry,” said NAHRO President Carl S. Richie, Jr. “Their innovative approaches improve the lives of their residents and revitalize their local communities, and I am proud to celebrate their achievements.”
The twenty-two 2018 NAHRO Awards of Excellence programs were selected by regional juries from a pool of 193 Awards of Merit recipients. In order to be considered, the programs must improve resident outcomes, resolve problems, and be replicable by organizations of similar size. They must also produce tangible results such as cost savings, enhanced productivity, improved client services, and better service coordination.
“Our industry is continuously finding new ways to address changing local needs and to create opportunities in their communities,” said NAHRO CEO Adrianne Todman, “Congratulations to this year’s leaders in innovation!”
Contact: Sylvia Gimenez
Email: sgimenez@nahro.org
Agency | Category | Program Title |
Bath Housing (Maine) | Resident and Client Services | Comfortably Home |
Brainerd HRA/Crow Wing County HRA (Minnesota) | Community Revitalization | Revival of Tax Forfeited Residential Subdivisions |
Cook Inlet Housing Authority (Alaska) | Affordable Housing | 3600 Spenard |
Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (Virginia) | Project Design | Residences at Government Center |
Housing Authority of Northumberland County (Pennsylvania) | Community Revitalization | Phoenix Court Apartments |
Housing Authority of the City of Meadville (Pennsylvania) | Resident and Client Services | STEM Connection After-School Program |
Housing Authority of the City of Yakima (Washington) | Affordable Housing | Cosecha Court Homeless Housing |
Housing Authority of the County of Chester (Pennsylvania) | Project Design | The Whitehall – Affordable Veterans Housing |
Housing Catalyst (Colorado) | Project Design | Village on Redwood, A Sustainable Community |
Houston Housing Authority (Texas) | Resident and Client Services | Houston’s Homeless Mayor’s Challenge: Success! |
Los Angeles County Community Development Commission (California) | Resident and Client Services | Promoting Healthy Communities for Seniors |
Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority (Virginia) | Resident and Client Services | Financial Freedom: What is it Worth? |
Oakland Housing Authority (California) | Community Revitalization | Acts Cyrene Apartments-Full of Love |
Oakland Housing Authority (California) | Project Design | Prosperity Place |
San Antonio Housing Authority (Texas) | Administrative Innovation | Cyber Security Awareness – Battling Human Error |
San Antonio Housing Authority (Texas) | Project Design | East Meadows |
San Diego Housing Commission (California) | Affordable Housing | Housing Our Heroes |
Sarasota Housing Authority (Florida) | Resident and Client Services | Attendance Matters |
Seattle Housing Authority (Washington)
| Administrative Innovation | Lean Public Housing Inspections |
Seattle Housing Authority (Washington) | Administrative Innovation | Specialized Maintenance & Repair Training Program |
Vancouver Housing Authority (Washington) | Affordable Housing | Lincoln Place Apartments Collaboration |
Winder Housing Authority (Georgia) | Community Revitalization | Wimberly Center for Community Development |
More information about the programs is available here.
About the Awards
The 2018 NAHRO Awards of Excellence winners who are recognized for outstanding achievement in housing and community development programs in five categories: Administrative Innovation recognizes innovative methods in areas such as maintenance, community relations, and interagency cooperation. Program Innovation — Affordable Housing includes special programs for homeownership, public/private partnerships, and innovative financing. Program Innovation — Community Revitalization includes innovative use of programs in areas such as economic development, neighborhood preservation, and creative financing. Program Innovation — Resident and Client Services includes innovative use of programs such as special activities for children, families, and the elderly, anti-drug programs, social services, and self-sufficiency. Project Design includes efforts such as new housing design, housing modernization, enduring design, and landscape design.
The NAHRO Agency Awards program was created 19 years ago to recognize agencies who found innovative ways of making a difference in their communities and in the lives of the people they serve by creating affordable housing, revitalizing their neighborhoods, and developing initiatives such as job readiness programs, public-private partnerships, disaster prevention projects, and more. The selected programs were innovative in their approach to creating and utilizing creative systems to implement essential housing and community development programs. These programs can be replicated by other agencies to resolve industry-wide problems.
About NAHRO
NAHRO, established in 1933, is a membership organization of nearly 20,000 housing and community development agencies and professionals throughout the United States whose mission is to create affordable housing and safe, viable communities that enhance the quality of life for all Americans, especially those of low- and moderate-income. NAHRO’s membership administers more than 3 million housing units for 7.6 million people.
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