Advancing Equity for People of Color: Local Solutions for Housing Stability (SY900)

Home / Training / Training & Professional Development / Online Training / VTI Archive / Winter 2023 Virtual Training Institute / Advancing Equity for People of Color: Local Solutions for Housing Stability (SY900)

Print page

Advancing Equity for People of Color: Local Solutions for Housing Stability (SY900)

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted low-income renters and renters of color over the past three years. In December 2020, 11 million households were significantly behind on their rental or mortgage payments, putting their housing stability at risk. By July 2021, nearly a quarter of Black renters and 19% of Hispanic renters were behind on rent.

In many communities, local nonprofit organizations responded quickly to the needs of their communities. In fiscal year 2021, NeighborWorks network organizations reported deploying $271.6 million in resources to maintain housing stability, the majority as rental assistance. A recent analysis by the University of Pennsylvania’s Housing Initiative at Penn and the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that four out of five emergency rental assistance programs surveyed were working with nonprofits in some way. Indeed, choosing trusted community partners who truly understand their community is critically important to help reach vulnerable populations.

But what about your community? How effective has the response been in your area? How are partnerships working to help residents through this challenging time? And more importantly, are there strategies and approaches that can bolster your work in this area?

Join us for a solutions-focused symposium and learn how nonprofit organizations have been successful in helping to stabilize renters and homeowners in their communities. Highlighting examples from around the country, we’ll explore the importance of local partnerships to strengthen capacity and assist in outreach and service delivery, the role housing counselors play in helping people facing housing instability navigate complex systems, and ways to reach those most impacted – particularly low-income people and people of color – through trusting relationships, language and cultural competency.

Throughout the event, we’ll consider:

How tailoring solutions to the local community advances equity for people of color.
How centering resident voices improves outcomes and promotes equity.
How we can best ensure data is inclusive of all voices and informs solutions.

This timely and practical symposium is designed for:

Local community development and affordable housing nonprofits.
Local and county government.
State housing finance agencies.
Housing counseling intermediaries.
Funders.

Round out your week of learning with the following sessions:

Navigating Credit Concerns Amidst an Eviction/Foreclosure (HO045wt)
How to Talk to Your Clients About … Medical Debt (HO046wt)
Rental Housing Counseling Certification: Part 1 (HO274vc)
Government Loan Basics for Housing Counselors (HO038wt)
Delivering Effective Financial Capability Programs (HO209vc)
Strong Coalitions: Building on Common Interests (CB002wt)
Financial Coaching Helping Clients Reach Their Goals (HO310vc)
Using an Equity Lens in Financial Coaching Approaches (HO041wt)
Foreclosure Intervention and Default Counseling Certification: Part I (HO345rqvc)
Foreclosure: Changes, Trends and Updates to Help Consumers (HO051wt)

Symposium Pre-Session: Feb. 7

Roundtable– Housing Stability: Research, Resources and Racial Equity

This roundtable will set the stage for the symposium - what happened, who was most impacted, what impact did moratoria have, what role did nonprofits play, etc. Recap the unprecedented resources allocated and explore what we know at this stage about how funds reached those most impacted, particularly communities of color.

Post-symposium workshop sessions Feb. 9, 4:30 -6 p.m. (open to all VTI registrants)

Solutions Lounge – Housing Stability

Leveraging Technology for Service Delivery: Balancing Speed and Equity
- A discussion about tech equity, including key lessons learned for tech adoption to facilitate service delivery.
Unlocking Local Resource for Housing Stability
- What are the resources available and how can organizations work with their local jurisdictions to support prioritization for housing stability and effective deployment?
Resident Engagement Strategies to Support Housing Stability
- A conversation showcasing efforts in which organizations effectively leveraged community building and/or resident services strategies.
Cultural and Linguistic Outreach
- Best practices for effectively and efficiently reaching underserved residents.