Holiday Reflections
It’s hard to believe that 2023 is almost over! As you and your staff work to give the families in your care a joyous holiday season, I hope you’re also able to take the time to rest and recharge in the company of loved ones and friends.
One of the best gifts I’ve received this year is the opportunity to visit with so many of you in person, both at regional and chapter conferences, and at NAHRO’s three signature events: the Washington Conference, the Summer Symposium and our sold-out National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans! While we’ve all become adept at navigating remote and hybrid meetings, there’s nothing like sharing a smile or a handshake in the same room.
Ideate
In-person meetings not only help strengthen bonds, but they facilitate group work. Two weeks ago, nearly 100 NAHRO leaders and staff gathered at President George Guy’s strategic leadership retreat to roll up our sleeves and continue the strategic planning process, with the goal of transforming our current two-year plan into a more robust and ambitious five-year plan. Thank you to all of you who participated in our strategic plan survey and/or our online town halls – your insights and comments guided our work throughout. While the retreat’s over, the work continues; we’ll have more to report in the next few months.
There were a lot of high points at the retreat: Sunny Shaw’s kick off leadership rumble got us started; our visit to Atlanta Housing was inspiring; David Lipsetz from the Housing Assistance Council addressed small agency and rural issues; the Corporation for Supportive Housing and Atlanta Housing addressed the challenge of homelessness with a service and prevention focus; and Major Galloway and Damon Duncan focused on our opportunity to connect with HBCUs. Most importantly, we seriously wrestled with the challenge of meeting our mission by envisioning strategic goals and how to address them. I’m deeply appreciative of all our leaders who took the time away from their families and workplaces to help ensure that NAHRO is positioned to lead through the next 90 years!
Getting Ready for 2024
Rest while you can, folks, because 2024 is shaping up to be a challenging year. We’re looking at a possible partial government shutdown in January (we’ll keep you up to date on the latest news and preparations with our Direct News emails, our Housing Update from Washington webinars and our website), both local and national elections – and of course, a worsening affordable housing crisis! All this is happening in a highly polarized environment that makes it all too easy to pit folks against each other. As housers, as community members – and above all, as leaders – we look to collaborate and minimize division as we seek large scale collective impact. We need to keep doing the vital work we do: keep residents safe and housed and tell our elected officials what we need to keep serving our communities. Above all, we need to stay united in our belief that everyone deserves a safe and affordable home in a thriving community, and do everything in our power to make that happen. You can support this work today by visiting our Action Alert Center to tell Congress to responsibly fund housing and community development programs in 2024 and pass legislation to improve LIHTC.
Wishing you a happy, peaceful and joyous holidays.
Mark