RESIDENT SERVICES

Resident Services positively affect the preservation of newly developed assisted and mixed income communities. HOU has been providing Resident Services for over twenty-five years, and all communities in which we have been involved continue to be the kind of quality communities envisioned by those that built them.

Resident Services has played a critical role in the success of these communities, particularly during the initial transition years when the new community is being established. The following are key areas in which Resident Services can be involved to maximize the success of a new community:

• Resident Service providers must perceive themselves not only as case managers but also as community builders and preservers. They can and should be the bond that brings the new community together. The earlier this perception takes root with service providers and on-site staff, the greater impact it will have on the community.
• The development of a common purpose (i.e., the preservation of a quality community) among all residents, market and subsidized, new and old, is essential to community success. This is particularly important for old residents, who can be supported in seeing new and market-rate residents as assets and allies, rather than threats and strangers. Resident Services can and should play a major role in bringing residents together to support this common purpose.
• Fostering strong buy-in by all residents to agreed-upon community standards and reinforcing the consequences of continued violation of these standards (i.e. eviction) is another critical element that Resident Services can help to facilitate. While always advocating for residents, Resident Services must also communicate the value of established community standards to the long-term success of a community for all its members
• Resident Services must also address lease compliance. Although access to jobs and other needed resources will continue to be an important service that Resident Services can offer, an effective resident referral system, in which management refers residents who have issues with rent payment, housekeeping, conflicts with other residents, and other lease violations, should necessarily be developed. Resident Services early intervention in lease violations will help address problems that could be harmful to a successful community. Such intervention also provides management with a strong alternative to the court system and eviction, for addressing lease violations. The use of this alternative helps to diminish community frustration when, despite the efforts, a resident is unable to address their lease violation and eviction ensues.

• Security and Neighborhood Watch coordination is another important function of Resident Services. Responding to referrals from Security on possible problem areas or families and helping develop a dialogue between community youth and security are areas in which Resident Services should be involved. Resident Services can also have a significant impact in facilitating positive communication between the resident organization and Security.
• Resident Services can work to ensure that positive working relationships continue to exist between ownership and the resident organization, beyond the period of redevelopment planning and implementation. While specific, post-revitalization roles for resident organizations vary by project, it is always important to keep lines of communication open with resident representatives, so that ownership stays connected to the site and its quality of life, and residents feel there is a continued commitment from ownership to sustain the changes that have been made on the site.

Neighborhood Network Centers
HOU operates more than ten computer centers in affordable housing communities, of which eight are HUD certified Neighborhood Network Centers. Since 2000, we have played a leading role in bridging the digital divide in low-income housing communities by developing and maintaining computer technology centers. Specifically, we have provided quality computer-based services to thousands of individuals and raised close to $1 million in grants and resources to support computer centers in low-income communities. HOU is also the lead agency in the Maryland Neighborhood Network Consortium.

Elderly Service Coordination
HOU coordinates with management at the following sites to provide supportive/"aging in place" services for the elderly including recreational activities, social service and health-related referrals, and assistance with lease compliance issues.