Housing on Merit is a founding member of the Hunger Advocacy Network (HAN), which brings together like-minded agencies to raise awareness about the critical issue of hunger in San Diego County.  HAN works to influence state and federal policies for the purposes of improving food assistance and addressing the root causes of hunger.  Through 2017 we worked with various health, housing and social services agencies to increase access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for low-income and food insecure college students, expanded access to school meals for low-income students, and broadened the tax credit for donations of fresh fruits and vegetables.  One of the primary goals of the October meeting was to develop a Policy Working Group for HAN-sponsored legislation in 2019 and to discuss forming a 2019 Hunger Awareness Month Working Group to further address food security in San Diego.

Housing on Merit’s Executive Director Jennifer Litwak has become the newest graduate of the Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) program. The intense training course is designed to produce graduates with a comprehensive knowledge of development finance concepts, as well as a thorough knowledge of the full development finance spectrum. The course is administered by the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) and is the industry’s sole comprehensive development finance professional certification program. Graduates gain valuable experience and knowledge within the complex development finance industry. “Jennifer’s commitment to equity in all the communities in which she works makes her an excellent example of the quality of graduates we see work through the DFCP Program,” said Toby Rittner, President & CEO of CDFA.

Housing on Merit is eager to expand and promote the collaborative efforts of innovative thinkers committed to addressing the affordable housing crisis in Southern California. HOM Board Member Monica Ball and Project Management Assistant Christopher Velasco recently attended the grand opening of FlyawayHomes’ Colden Street Project in Los Angles and tour of Potter’s Lane in Orange County. Participants viewed newly constructed housing units built out of recycled shipping containers intended to function as permanent supportive housing. The event was hosted by the Downtown Community Planning Council (DCPC) Social Issues Sub-Committee and Urban People Living In Faith & Trust Transforming Lives (UPLIFT). HOM attended this event with the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, Funders Together to End Homelessness, Senator Ben Hueso’s Office, Downtown Fellowship, San Diego County, Salvation Army, PATH, Price Charities, New School of Architecture, Downtown Residents Group and the East Village Residents Group.

Joined by Mayor Bowser and City Officials, development team breaks ground on Capitol Vista.

In September, Housing on Merit along with its development team, Mayor Bowser, and leaders from DC DHCD, DC HFA, and DC DMPED broke ground on its latest project, Capitol Vista in Washington D.C. As part of the District’s RootsToRoofs initiative, this multifamily development will bring 104 additional units of affordable housing to Ward 6 serving residents earning up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI). Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2018 with completion forecasted for quarter three 2020.

Opportunity Starts at Home is a national multi-sector housing campaign and recently hosted its first Roundtable meeting in Washington, D.C. As a member of the Opportunity Roundtable, HOM was represented at the event by Associate Director of Planning and Programming, Sanam Kalhoro-Escoto. With the goal to meet the rental housing needs of the nation’s low-income populations, the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign raises awareness of how housing stability impacts other sectors and aims to expand the multi-sector network to reach a diverse array of stakeholders. The objective for year one of the Campaign is to create definitive cross-sector engagement to address housing needs. Representatives from 70 multi-sector organizations attended the event and were presented with an overview of the campaign’s mission, goals, short and long-term plans, and policy agenda. Participants then broke into small groups to discuss their own expectations for the Roundtable, to provide detailed feedback to the campaign about its ongoing strategies and tactics, and to brainstorm collaborative opportunities for the future.

HOM Executive Director Jennifer Litwak (second from left) with fellow 2018 Vanguard Fellows in New Orleans.

Housing on Merit recently participated in the annual Next City Vanguard Conference held in New Orleans. Representing HOM was Executive Director, Jennifer Litwak who joined 40 other urban leaders from around the world as a 2018 Vanguard Fellow. The conference included a three-day series of presentations, workshops and neighborhood tours with the theme “Equity as a Growth Strategy.” Key to the event was the “Next City Big Idea Workshop,” where Vanguard Fellows form groups and use their knowledge and expertise to address a challenge facing the city and work toward a vision of social and economic equity. Litwak and her group were assigned the “Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods” topic and won the “Big Idea” prize after it was evaluated by local experts. Other topics in the workshop included economic development, housing affordability, cultural preservation, transportation and environmental sustainability.

Throughout the year, the San Diego Business Journal hosts a series of high profile events that bring together decision makers and business owners from all industries. These programs are designed to recognize businesses and leaders who positively impact the San Diego County business community.  Housing on Merit’s executive director, Jennifer Litwak, is named a finalist for the Journal’s 2018 Most Admired CEO of the Year.

The BMC Dialogue Series, formerly known as the Women in Real Estate Conference, attracts more than 200 real estate professionals (women and men) and highlights important topics facing women in real estate. This year’s program addressed unconscious biases in the workplace, how they shape the workplace, and what we can do about it.

The program opened with Jerrilyn Malana, chief deputy for employment and special advisor at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, who set the stage for the unconscious bias phenomenon. Malana was followed by G. Joyce Rowland, senior vice president and chief human resources and administrative officer for Sempra Energy, who discussed her journey with Sempra and how the company is making great strides in the areas of unconscious biases and diversity.

Malana and Rowland then participated in a panel discussion with Tim Durie, senior vice president of organizational development for Newland Real Estate Group, and Jennifer Litwak, executive director of Housing on Merit. The panel explored the topic further. Stath Karras, executive director of the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, was the moderator the panel discussion.