NPOs Role in Improving Affordable Housing

In our last post (Government’s Responsibilities for Affordable Housing),we laid out some ideas for how the government at every level could better facilitate the construction of more affordable housing developments. Today, we’re going to focus on how non-profit organizations (NPOs) can ensure that once the policies are made, they’re enacted as smoothly and proficiently as possible.

In a recent survey of professionals in all areas of the housing market, NPOs ranked at the top as the most influential sector in advancing affordable housing projects. They’re on the front lines of turning housing policies into reality for thousands of British Columbians. They provide the leadership, the expertise and human connection needed to bring these types projects to communities. Once the housing is built, it is most likely that they will be in charge of managing the properties and ensuring that the policies play out as intended.

Our project manager here at ENM, Daniel Greenhalgh, has worked closely with Habitat for Humanity to develop new affordable housing in a small community in the Lower Mainland. He’s seen firsthand the many challenges that they face in getting projects up and running and securing community support. He believes that one of their most important functions is ensuring that the right people are chosen to live in the new developments.
 

“NPOs are like the filter. Not only do they have to make sure prospective tenants match the financial requirements, they also have to recognize the right kind of motivation and mindset for placing applicants in their units. It’s very important that the community trusts their judgment and that the contributions of these new citizens are positive to the community. It’s essential to the success of not just an individual project, but of the projects that are planned for other communities across BC.”
 

Dan points out that the primary benefit of affordable housing to any society is being able to provide a stable home for people who are struggling to keep their heads above water. “What the NPOs are giving these applicants is a solid foundation. By providing them with a solid foundation, it cuts down on small nuisance crimes that often end up with people serving time at a huge cost to taxpayers. Any community should see that this benefits everyone. It’s much more cost effective, not to mention humane, to help keep good people on their feet. If you have nothing, it’s hard to get started. Through quality NPOs, these developments can give people the ignition to get moving, improve their lives and improve their communities.”
 

But most of those surveyed agree that the biggest problem facing NPOs is the lack of capacity to navigate the increasingly complex affordable housing policies and markets across B.C. For smaller communities, it’s proving to be a huge challenge to effectively implement these kinds of projects and ensure that everyone on the ground, both at the NPO and in the community, has the right knowledge and know-how to roll things out smoothly. This lack of capacity increases the “soft costs” of these developments that can sometimes debilitate its potential to succeed.
 

One suggestion that’s been offered, and which ENM fully endorses, is to fund new positions of local and regional housing consultants, whose main task is to work with NPOs and local governments across the province to support this kind of crucial capacity building. Without informed conversations and collaborations between governments, NPOs and developers, affordable housing projects will have a very hard time succeeding, and housing consultants can make sure these conversations are productive and impactful.
 

From a development perspective, we rely extensively on NPOs to convey the ins and outs of housing policies and procedures both to local governments and to the community. When ENM signs on to partner with governments and NPOs to develop social housing, we know it won’t work without reliable expertise from the staff of the NPOs. Too often, this isn’t the case. We see the effort and dedication of NPO staff and volunteers to ensure that the projects benefit everybody. But we also see that NPOs are often internally unstable and have trouble attracting qualified professionals. We strongly believe that the creation of publicly funded housing consultants will go a long way towards ensuring that everyone involved on the ground succeeds.

“NPOs are like the filter. Not only do they have to make sure prospective tenants match the financial requirements, they also have to recognize the right kind of motivation and mindset for placing applicants in their units. It’s very important that the community trusts their judgment and that the contributions of these new citizens are positive to the community. It’s essential to the success of not just an individual project, but of the projects that are planned for other communities across BC.” 

Dan points out that the primary benefit of affordable housing to any society is being able to provide a stable home for people who are struggling to keep their heads above water. “What the NPOs are giving these applicants is a solid foundation. By providing them with a solid foundation, it cuts down on small nuisance crimes that often end up with people serving time at a huge cost to taxpayers. Any community should see that this benefits everyone. It’s much more cost effective, not to mention humane, to help keep good people on their feet. If you have nothing, it’s hard to get started. Through quality NPOs, these developments can give people the ignition to get moving, improve their lives and improve their communities.”

But most of those surveyed agree that the biggest problem facing NPOs is the lack of capacity to navigate the increasingly complex affordable housing policies and markets across B.C. For smaller communities, it’s proving to be a huge challenge to effectively implement these kinds of projects and ensure that everyone on the ground, both at the NPO and in the community, has the right knowledge and know-how to roll things out smoothly. This lack of capacity increases the “soft costs” of these developments that can sometimes debilitate its potential to succeed. 

One suggestion that’s been offered, and which ENM fully endorses, is to fund new positions of local and regional housing consultants, whose main task is to work with NPOs and local governments across the province to support this kind of crucial capacity building. Without informed conversations and collaborations between governments, NPOs and developers, affordable housing projects will have a very hard time succeeding, and housing consultants can make sure these conversations are productive and impactful.

From a development perspective, we rely extensively on NPOs to convey the ins and outs of housing policies and procedures both to local governments and to the community. When ENM signs on to partner with governments and NPOs to develop social housing, we know it won’t work without reliable expertise from the staff of the NPOs. Too often, this isn’t the case. We see the effort and dedication of NPO staff and volunteers to ensure that the projects benefit everybody. But we also see that NPOs are often internally unstable and have trouble attracting qualified professionals. We strongly believe that the creation of publicly funded housing consultants will go a long way towards ensuring that everyone involved on the ground succeeds.