Resident Services Seminar: Recap of Introductory Session
On Wednesday, February 17th, SCANPH partnered with Enterprise Community Partners to host a unique seminar focused on resident services in affordable and supportive housing. Resident services staff are indispensable, fulfilling a role that helps provide residents with resources and skills to help individuals achieve increased mobility in their lives. Affordable housing-based resident services are integral to promote an overall sense of community, as well as a successful housing experience for low-income households. As the pandemic emphasises the need to serve those most vulnerable, resident services teams prove essential in meeting the needs of residents living in affordable and supportive housing.
Kicking off the discussion, panelist John Maceri, Chief Executive Officer of The People Concern outlined best practices to keep residents housed and navigate changes in resident services delivery. In the Los Angeles system, people have very individual needs. While some tenants navigate a history of domestic violence or cumulative trauma, others experience chronic homelessness for long periods of time. In Maceri’s view, housing retention is key and the services within affordable and supportive housing should be designed to support individuals on their path to housing retention. It is the role of resident services staff to support tenants who face a learning curve as they adjust to new tech and life skills in PSH units. Other tenants may need support to fully understand their lease agreements and tenancy rights.
The most important factor in service delivery is the understanding that individuals have their own life experiences and should be treated as such. As Maceri puts it, “think of individuals as body, mind, and spirit” when looking for ways to develop successful PSH-to-tenant relationships. If the goal of PSH is resident independence, resident services staff play a crucial part in working to develop trusting relationships with tenants. By immersing themselves into a role that supports collaboration between service coordinators and property management, service staff and property management become tenant advocates: promoting less tenancy turnover, fewer evictions, and ultimately, working towards creating a therapeutic environment that supports housing retention.
Emilie Dang, Community Impact and Programs Director of Innovative Housing Opportunities, provided insightful strategies based on IHO’s recent development, El Verano in Anaheim, CA. Providing a case study from a developer member perspective, Dang detailed how community amenities prove critical when housing low income and formerly homeless seniors. El Verano, outfitted with commissioned public art, redefines the meaning of public and private spaces in affordable and supportive housing. While El Verano’s community room allows residents to cook together while socializing, flex office space is multifunctional and can be repurposed as a private site used for resident health services. IHO programming centers on strategic partnership and community connection. In past partnerships, IHO has worked with Meals on Wheels to host a pop-up clinic that provides residents with COVID vaccinations. Although social events look different during the pandemic, IHO believes in a holistic approach to senior community health and wellness, working with resident service providers to design unique programming such as fall prevention and individual living skills development. As Dang outlined, the mission of IHO is to ensure that residents live their lives with dignity and grace. This can be seen in IHO’s cross-site collaboration model which pairs together residents through a pen-pal program to encourage and ensure resident holistic wellness through human-centered activity programming.
To conclude the seminar, Monica Molina of the Los Angeles Department of Public Health detailed essential updates regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Providing tips on educating residents and staff, as well as best practices in prioritizing health and safety in congregate living settings, Molina guided seminar attendees to make a vaccination appointment at www.VaccinateLACounty.com and informed viewers on how to check vaccination eligibility at myturn.ca.gov.