The Common Good is the Common Thread

The new year always brings new hopes and the potential for a fresh start. I try to be a glass half full kind of guy, but it’s tough as we slog through the third winter of the global pandemic.

Things were looking bright for a while in 2021 as vaccines rolled out, kids went back to school and many folks started returning to the office. But it’s now clear the pandemic has become endemic. The virus isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it continues to mutate and we’re now fighting the omicron variant after months growing weary fighting the delta variant.

Meanwhile, inflation is on the rise. The supply chain still isn’t fully back to normal. And Santa even left a lump of coal in my stocking. Turns out it was a prank by one of our kids, and it was one of those novelty candies that looks like coal. Still, it was a bit of a traumatic Christmas morning to find that waiting for me.

However, there are reasons to be optimistic about the year ahead. For me, a lot of that optimism derives from the historic resiliency of the industry in which I work. This year is the 50th anniversary of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association, with which Tax Credit Advisor is affiliated.

Over the past 50 years, the affordable housing sector has seen its fair share of ups and downs with recessions, a financial crisis, changes in administrations and Congress and all the social and political changes that have swept over our country through the decades.

In talking with NH&RA members and leadership, it’s clear that the one thing that has never changed is the mission of affordable housing. Sure, the ways we build and provide housing have evolved. Yet at its core is that essential mission of providing affordable housing for the people who need it most.

Those conversations I have with developers, investors, syndicators, for-profits, nonprofits, architects and everyone in between are something that I deeply value. The common thread in almost all these conversations is the underlying will to do something good for our communities, and that is something I know will never change in the face of whatever 2022 will throw at us.

We’ll be helping NH&RA celebrate its 50th anniversary all year, along with a number of other organizations in affordable housing also celebrating their golden anniversaries. In that spirit, I invite you, dear reader, to share your memories of NH&RA with me. Were you at one of those early meetings in the 1970s? Are you a former board member with a good story to tell about the NH&RA president? What building or community have you worked on that you’re most proud of? I would enjoy hearing your stories or seeing photos, and you can send them to me at the address at the end of this column.

Congratulations to NH&RA on 50 years of great work, and here’s to 50 more!

Paul Connolly
Executive Editor

Tax Credit Advisor welcomes reader comments. Contact the executive editor at pconnolly@dworbell.com.