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Hometown for all

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3 min read

This spring, engineering professors and students from universities across the country descended upon the sprawling, tree-filled campus of Stony Brook University, just a few miles from where Long Island meets the Sound, to explore technical innovations aimed at helping people age in their homes. In a presentation on a community organizing to best serve the aged, Fuad Abujarad, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, highlighted the vital role played by workers, such as fire marshals, police, emergency medical technicians and mail deliverers. “Ninety percent of the dispatches by the fire department are not related to fire,” he said. “They are responses to calls for other kinds of help. Mail deliverers who stop at homes every day are often the first to see that something is not quite right and help is needed.”

To be able to best serve a community, people need to understand that community. And the best way to understand a community is to live there. But it is becoming increasingly difficult for the workforce to afford to reside in communities they serve. And this is not good for anyone.

Workforce housing was not a topic I heard much conversation about when I joined NH&RA nine years ago. But over the past couple of years, it has raced up the priority list. And that is resulting in innovative approaches throughout our country to enabling those who serve communities to find homes in the communities they serve, some of which we are excited to share with you in this issue.

Montgomery County in Maryland (which happens to be where I live) is just across the city line from Washington, DC, and thus is home to many who work in government, or get paid extremely well to try to influence the government. There are cranes all over the area constructing new multimillion-dollar condos. But, as staff writer Mark Fogarty reports, the county government seems to appreciate the value of accommodating the local workforce and has incentivized even some of the most exclusive new buildings to set aside affordable units. (A Tale of Two Counties)

In southern California, Bridge Housing has collaborated with both local government and school districts to develop housing that keeps school employees living among, and engaging with, the students and families they serve at work. The son of a teacher would best understand the value of this. Staff writer Mark Olshaker fits that bill, so we sent him to report on this initiative. (Teacher Housing)

Residents of Boston like to refer to the city as the Hub and it truly has been a hub for affordable housing innovation, both as a result of so many of the leading developers making it their home base and continued support from both the city and state governments. To look at how a city administration can encourage workforce housing, we asked associate editor Darryl Hicks to interview Sheila Dillon, the city’s chief of Housing and director of Neighborhood Development. (Talking Heads)

Workforce housing is defined differently by different folks. In Columbus, OH, the Residencies at Career Gateway Homes broadens the definition by not only housing but also providing training for the local workforce. (Career Gateway)

It feels as if we are still early in the evolution of workforce housing solutions. We look forward to continuing to track your innovations.

Marty Bell
Editor