Upon matching a client with a unit, Housing Connector comes in with two years of guaranteed rent, damage mitigation and two years of housing stability support for property owners. Properties on the program adjust or waive criteria like credit and rent history for residents. Through Zillow’s search tool, case managers and their clients can access listings of affordable housing. More than 1,300 properties in the Seattle and Denver areas were listed with Housing Connector, consisting of more than 73,000 homes. The program partners with property owners, managers and landlords. “Our technology has helped achieve that in real estate and we want to offer this expertise for those facing the challenge of finding a way out of homelessness.” “We were founded on ‘Turning on the Lights’ for people navigating a complex and often difficult journey when trying to find a home,” said Aldona Clottey, vice president of corporate social responsibility at Zillow. Homelessness affects people of color at a higher rate than white people in the country. HUD waived the count of unsheltered homelessness in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to a further increase in homelessness.Īccording to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 326,000 people experienced sheltered homelessness in 2021, a decrease of 8% from 2020. is more than $2,000 nationally, an increase of 15% year over year and a 37% increase since 2017. “I’ve been able to use the search tool with clients to find affordable units in the Denver area that can work for them, and then Housing Connector steps in to either help take care of deposits or troubleshoot with property managers to make sure everyone can stay housed,” said Nicole Brown, case manager for Volunteers of America Colorado, in a release. The program also eliminates the need for case managers to manually review or contact properties to check if their clients are eligible for long-term housing since they can access available units through the listing platform. Housing Connector offers financial guarantees, damage mitigation and local community support, which makes renting homes for families easier. “Tapping into existing, available homes is an effective and efficient way to remove barriers to housing for people living unsheltered.” “This business-to-business approach is a win for everyone, serving as a bridge for property owners with vacant apartments to connect with case managers and ready-to-rent tenants,” Kelmendi said in the release. Kelmendi says the program was created to ensure that homes do not sit empty while there are people looking for a place to live, especially vulnerable people who are already unhoused. with his family as refugees from Kosovo and since they did not have a credit history, they faced challenges in finding housing in a new country. The organization’s founder and executive director, Shkëlqim Kelmendi, moved to the U.S. In 2021 the program expanded into Washington’s Pierce County and into Denver in November, with the help of housing-focused organizations like Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) and HousingFirst Lab. In Seattle a renter will spend about $27,420 every year for housing and one in Denver will spend $24,335, according to Zillow. The initiative was launched in Seattle in 2019 and expanded to Denver in 2021 and aims to house families and individuals who face trouble finding a place to live due to past evictions.Ī majority of the people helped by Housing Connector earn less than $28,000 a year. The organization uses Zillow’s technology to match private landlords with vacant units with people looking for affordable housing. Nonprofit Housing Connector has helped house 3,754 people over the last three years, 66% of which are households of color.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |