Resident Services Now Valued as Essential Element in Successful Affordable Housing Development

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For many years, Jubilee Housing has combined supportive services as part of how it manages its deeply affordable housing portfolio.  However, while affordable housing is the most critical building block for a stable life, housing by itself is not enough. And for the first time, DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is recognizing that fact.

After many years of advocacy, Jubilee was excited to see in July that one of the primary funders of affordable housing in the city, DHCD, amended their central housing financing tool to prioritize affordable housing that also includes a resident services plan. For the first time, affordable housing developers like Jubilee can improve their chance for funding based on how many, and how well they deliver, services to their residents.

Platform of Hope (POH) participants creating family vision boards. POH is one of the partner organizations that Jubilee works with to provide services to residents.

On an annual basis, DHCD releases a notice of funding availability (NOFA) to build or preserve different levels of affordable housing throughout the city.  The NOFA released in July 2019 has added a new category, which prioritizes projects that include a resident services plan. This new prioritization affirms what Jubilee has known for a long time – affordable housing that combines effective resident services will create conditions for residents being able to reach their full potential.

For years, Jubilee has provided resident support services on-site or in partnership with other neighborhood non-profits. For example, what we consider our “Newborn to College and Career Pathway ” spans early childhood learning centers at Jubilee Jumpstart & Martha’s Table, Youth Services provided through Jubilee Housing, tutoring from For Love of Children (FLOC) and arts enrichment from Sitar, and Jubilee Housing’s own teen programming preparing older students for college and career. And over the years, we’ve seen many children growing up in Jubilee Housing succeed and go to college as the first one in their family, often using a Jubilee to College scholarship, or working with Jubilee Jobs to get their first employment opportunity.

Because Jubilee Housing has witnessed the success of this model, it has advocated at a city-wide level that the public financing of affordable housing should prioritize the combination of housing and resident services. Through its leadership at the Coalition for Non-profit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) and at a number legislative hearing opportunities, Jubilee Housing has shared its successful model and advocated for a housing policy that promotes justice.

Jubilee Housing believes that DC can be a place where every resident has an equal opportunity to thrive. But the residents of affordable housing developments, often the lowest-income residents of DC, often have the biggest barriers to reaching their potential. Safe, stable, and affordable housing removes one of those barriers. But to create a truly even playing field for all DC residents, those in affordable housing often need more support to reach their dreams. Combining affordable housing with services, in thriving neighborhoods that offer opportunity, creates justice. This is justice housing.

Jubilee applauds this new direction of DHCD. Our city is recognized nationally as a leader in affordable housing, spending more per capita on affordable housing preservation and development than any other city in the country. If we can continue to advocate for the city to embrace the principles of justice housing in its policy decisions, we can truly create a city where every resident has an equal opportunity

By: Martin Mellett, Jubilee Housing, Vice President of External Affairs

Jubilee Senior Club

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Jubilee Housing has a diverse community of residents from many backgrounds, income levels, and age brackets. This tapestry of people is one of the things that makes Jubilee so unique. We are fortunate that our community includes a large number of senior citizen residents. Thirty-two percent of Jubilee residents are 55 and over and that number is growing. With more and more seniors aging in place, we expect our senior network to become even more robust.

Romaine Johnson, one of Jubilee’s 55+ residents, noticed that while Adams Morgan was a vibrant neighborhood with many restaurants, bars, and shops there were not many activities geared towards senior citizens. Ms. Johnson envisioned a Senior Club that would serve as a convener of Jubilee Housing’s seniors and a coordinator of activities. After the Jubilee Housing annual beach trip, Ms. Johnson reached out to Jubilee staff to ask for help in making her dream of a reality.

After working closely with Jubilee, Ms. Johnson held two focus groups to gauge interest and collect ideas about what seniors in the community wanted out of a club.  In September 2018, the first focus group was held. Twenty residents came together to discuss and brainstorm the activities, and structure the senior club could take on. A month later, a a second focus group was held to help fine tune the role of the senior club. The senior club was formally created at this second focus group.

The senior club held their first event on Thanksgiving of 2018 .  The event was a potluck-style dinner held in the Rouse Room with all familiar holiday fixings such as turkey, stuffing, side dishes, and deserts. Jubilee Housing contributed food and drinks to the dinner as well. It was a great way for the senior club members who did not have family in the area to come together and enjoy the holiday with their neighbors.

The Jubilee Senior Club currently has 43 members. The membership dues are $5/month to keep them affordable and insure that cost is not a barrier to participation.

Senior club members have access to a no-cost lunch program provided by Terrific, Inc. and free access to Washington DC YMCA centers. In addition to regular activities such as dinners, game nights, and movie nights they also have a buddy system where club members exchange contact information and regularly check up on each other.

Ms. Johnson’s excitement about the club is contagious! She recently said, “We are the change we want to see!”

Staying socially engaged is important for adults as they age. Connecting with other community members through activities and groups can give seniors a sense of purpose and a chance to make new friends who share their interests.

The Jubilee Senior Club has multiple trips planned for upcoming year including an overnight beach getaway, formal dances, and field trips to local attractions. If you want to get involved with the senior club, please contact Connie Bryant at cbryant@jubileehousing.org.

Jubilee Housing Hopes to Boost Bike Access

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DC is increasingly a bicycle-friendly city. As traffic congestion worsens with the influx of new residents and housing costs push people further away from job centers, many commuters in D.C. are turning to biking to work as an expedient alternative. Everyone from city planners to climatologists to health experts are lauding the benefits of ditching the car and dusting off the old ten-speed.

The expansion of bike lane infrastructure accelerated about eight years ago under Mayor Adrian Fenty, who created space for cyclists to travel safely on shared roads. In 2016, nearly 17,000 cyclists regularly rode to work, constituting about 5% of the city’s commuters. This burgeoning trend puts D.C. right behind Portland, Oregon as a cycling city.

But even as cyclists become commonplace on city streets, observers note that this bike-boom is demographically lopsided – most cyclists in this historically black city are white. According to a 2016 survey of Capital Bikeshare members, only 4% of their members were African-American, while Asian-American and Latino members comprised 7% each. White members made up 80% of membership.

Not surprisingly, many long-time D.C. residents consider bike-sharing services to be hallmarks of gentrification, a kind of service that announces impending and intrusive change. But city planners envision cycling as an everyday activity that should be accessible to everyone, instead of a specialized activity for only the hardcore.

It’s against this backdrop that Jubilee Housing is partnering with Capital Bikeshare to offer steeply discounted memberships to Jubilee residents and staff members.

“[Cycling] can be something the family does together,” said Christi Johnson, the Jubilee staff member responsible for helping residents sign up for the service. “Physical activity doesn’t have to be strenuous.”

Through Capital Bikeshare’s Community Partners Program, Jubilee Housing is among several D.C.-area nonprofits that is offering reduced membership fees for the people in its network. Though memberships are normally $85 a year, Community Partners participants who are 16 or older may pay an annual $5 fee and get unlimited rides on Capital Bikeshare bikes, which are stationed at docks throughout the city. The rides themselves are free, as long as the bike is docked again at any station within the hour. Bikes can then be rented again immediately. Along with the membership, riders receive a bike helmet, an introduction to the bike-share system, and free cycling classes with partner Washington Area Bicyclist Association, headquartered within Jubilee’s neighborhood footprint.

Partnering with Capital Bikeshare is a perfect fit for Jubilee’s mission. Capital Bikeshare was one of the first programs of its kind in the country, and studies show that bike-shares work best in high-density, mixed-use neighborhoods – in other words, exactly the kind of community Jubilee envisions for its justice housingTM model. There are bike stations within three blocks of every Jubilee Housing property.

“It’s a really great deal,” said Kevin Sharps, Vice President of Programs, who was the first in the Jubilee network to sign up. “I hope it makes biking more accessible for our residents.”

Learning the Pulse of Jubilee Residents

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Jubilee Housing is enhancing the way it carries out its mission, and it starts with more and better listening to Jubilee residents.

Even before Jubilee launched its new five-year plan, “Justice Housing in Action,” the organization already was attacking Goal 1 of the plan: Create a resident centric experience that supports individuals and families in Jubilee communities in achieving success through justice housing. Jubilee undertook its first-ever resident survey, in which an impressive 80 percent of Jubilee Housing households participated.

The survey was designed to enable Jubilee to better understand the life circumstances of Jubilee residents—for instance, whether they can pay their bills each month and are able to save—and the kinds of supportive programming that could help them reach their goals.

Findings from the survey are informing changes to services Jubilee Housing offers and set the stage for more in-depth opportunities to hear from residents.

“The main thing we learned from the resident survey is that we need to make listening a permanent method of operating,” said Jubilee Housing Executive Director Jim Knight. “We are building practices that will enable us to perpetually listen.”

Jubilee is now conducting deeper, follow-up discussions with Jubilee Housing parents. Observations from this research will inform the design of future programming to support Jubilee Housing families and youth. Jubilee expects to draw conclusions from these listening sessions in late July.

Meanwhile, the organization already has started to adjust its work based on the original survey research. For instance, one-third of residents said they could use food assistance and many requested that Jubilee establish a food pantry, where they occasionally could pick up healthy food for free. Reflecting the concern with food security, a significant majority of residents requested Safeway—versus Target or Best Buy—gift cards, which Jubilee offered them for sharing their time and information. Consequently, Jubilee is working on opportunities to provide residents with tips for preparing healthy, low-cost meals and the ingredients to create them. And, the renovated Maycroft, will feature a Lobby Market, by Martha’s Table, where neighborhood families can shop for healthy food at no cost.

“We’re redesigning the way we relate to the resident community,” Knight said. “The survey is a first pass.” Jubilee expects to conduct a second resident survey in late 2019.

Grocery Plus a Big Help for Our Senior Neighbors

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Food insecurity is often an invisible issue that affects our most vulnerable neighbors. Older residents, who are frequently on fixed incomes, sometimes struggle to stock food that is healthy, sustaining, and affordable. Jubilee Housing partners with the Capital Area Food Bank to provide supplemental food assistance to a couple dozen of our senior residents through the Grocery Plus Program.

Available to D.C. seniors aged 60 or older who meet income guidelines, the program serves 23 Jubilee residents. Each enrolled resident receives a 40-pound box of groceries on the second Friday of every month.

The boxes contain a variety of nutritious foods needed for a healthy diet, including canned meats and vegetables, pasta, cereal, cheese, grains, proteins, juice, and powdered milk. In the summer, residents also receive vouchers they can redeem for produce at area farmers markets.

Jubilee resident Harry Hines, a participant in the program, believes it’s a useful support. “Grocery Plus helps me immensely,” Hines said. “I can use the money I save on food for things like transportation, doctor visits, and other needs. The program helps my budget a lot.”

Jubilee’s Resident Life team has coordinated the program for several years now, with the help of Gloria Ramsay Boone, a resident of the Ritz.

Boone, an alumna of Jubilee’s Leadership 101 course, has overseen the grocery pickup for four years and is always looking for ways to make the program work better for the senior members of Jubilee’s community.

“We used to call the residents on the day of the delivery to remind them to pick up their groceries,” she said. “But it was hard to reach people the day of. I started calling them the night before, and more people remembered to come.”

Boone says at least 15 more residents would benefit from the much-needed program, if there were space. The number of slots in the program fluctuates year to year, as the D.C. Food Bank administers the program all over the city and must balance need with supply.

Jubilee is excited to have Martha’s Table sharing space in our new property, The Maycroft.  In addition to early childhood education, Martha’s Table will offer a Lobby Market that will provide additional access to healthy groceries once renovation is complete this fall. The market will serve community members at no cost and offer both fresh produce and non-perishable items. Jubilee residents will be able to shop the market once a month.

Celebrating Black History and Culture

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Jubilee residents and staff celebrated Black History Month together with an evening of performance, history, food, and sharing on Friday, February 23.

Jazz by saxophonist Andre Prailow, Jubilee resident Curtis Prailow’s cousin, greeted guests as they arrived at The Festival Center, at 1640 Columbia Road, for the event.

A committee of residents, led by Aurora Milas, planned the event, which featured a variety of opportunities for guests to deepen their understanding of African-American history and culture. Edmund Bell, Antoinette Burriss, Romaine Johnson, Curtis Prailow, and Melissa Taylor rounded out the planning committee. Jubilee staff Christi Johnson and Barbara Moore provided support.  

Local actor Chef T opened the program with a dramatic presentation on Black history and performed “Oh Freedom,” an old Negro spiritual, written after the Civil War by an unknown author, that expresses the dignity of former slaves after slavery’s end. Guests participated in Black history trivia and joined together to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a cherished song of the Civil Rights Movement written by African-American poet James Weldon Johnson and often referred to as the Black National Anthem.

Tables in the center’s large conference room were adorned with sparkling red centerpieces to highlight the celebration and many guests came dressed in their Sunday best. Residents, staff, and local businesses contributed dishes to the bountiful dinner.

Approximately 50 residents and staff enjoyed the rich and enriching celebration.