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Latest News

World Central Kitchen Providing Meals to Bonifant Residents

World Central Kitchen (WCK), the nonprofit launched by chef/restaurateur/philanthropist José Andrés, is delivering donated meals to feed residents of MHP’s The Bonifant senior residences in downtown Silver Spring. The collaboration is part of Montgomery County’s effort to work with nonprofit partners to address COVID-19 food insecurity issues, while also supporting local businesses.

WCK provided 180 meals during the first dropoff, which were gratefully welcomed by MHP President Robert A. Goldman and Dr. Earl Stoddard, director of Montgomery County’s Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security. The meals were prepared at Nats Park. The food was delivered directly to individual residents by Humphrey Management staff to minimize residents’ exposure potential.

Dr. Stoddard said the partnership was an important way to help address food insecurity while encouraging seniors to stay healthy by sheltering in place.

Several residents sent email thank yous, including this one: “My first meal was just delivered and I am so thankful.”

Montgomery County created a short video about the donation:

April 23, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/meals-750x300-1.jpg 300 750 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-04-23 21:32:552020-09-10 13:28:06World Central Kitchen Providing Meals to Bonifant Residents
Advocacy, Latest News

MHP Advocates for Low-Income Renters During Crisis

MHP President Robert A. Goldman is urging the Montgomery County Council to support efforts to protect low-income renters during the COVID-19 crisis as a top funding priority. The recommendations are contained in submitted testimony on fiscal 2021 budget priorities.

He recommended that the Council support:

  • $20 million in emergency rental assistance for renters, with priority given to residents ineligible for unemployment insurance;
  • Temporary 100% PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) property tax abatements;
  • An additional $10 million to continue production of new affordable housing; and
  • Support for the County Executive’s Affordable Housing Acquisition/Preservation Fund

The Council is poised to respond to some of these priorities soon. As a first step, the panel will consider a $2 million special appropriation for emergency eviction prevention and housing stabilization programs to help low- and moderate-income households.

In addition, led by Councilmember Evan Glass, the Council has sent a letter to County Executive Marc Elrich requesting that he expand eligibility guidelines for rental assistance programs, and to work with landlords to provide renters with a six-month transition period to meet rental obligations for vulnerable residents once the state of emergency is lifted. The letter can be viewed here.

For more details on MHP’s testimony on funding priorities, see the full statement here.

April 20, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2019-council.fw-2-749x300-1.png 300 749 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-04-20 20:02:552020-09-10 13:07:12MHP Advocates for Low-Income Renters During Crisis
Latest News

Help Families Challenged by COVID-19 Impacts

As we connect with MHP residents about the impact COVID-19 has on their daily lives, we have identified two main needs: access to food and rental assistance.

Thomas, one of our residents, told us that he doesn’t know what lies ahead. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, his wife has been laid off and his work as a taxi driver has dried up. He doesn’t know how they will be able to continue to feed their family of six.

MHP has set up a special emergency fund for our residents who are trying to meet basic needs in the midst of the crisis.

Find out how you can help Thomas and his family and others like them here.
April 7, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/trio-of-photos-for-appeal-page-COVID-750x300-1.png 300 750 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-04-07 20:41:552020-09-10 13:04:23Help Families Challenged by COVID-19 Impacts
Latest News

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Residents of MHP’s The Bonifant apartment building in Silver Spring, seniors who are limiting their social interactions to protect themselves from exposure to the COVID-19 virus, were treated to donated meals delivered by El Sapo Cuban Social Club in Silver Spring and distributed by resident volunteers.

The delivery resulted from a collaboration that included restaurant owner/chef Raynold Mendizábal of El Sapo and Urban Butcher in Silver Spring, Montgomery County Silver Spring regional service center director Reemberto Rodríguez, and The Bonifant resident Janet Brown, who works at the service center on a volunteer basis.

The Bonifant is a high-rise apartment building constructed by MHP in downtown Silver Spring with support from Montgomery County to provide quality affordable housing in a transit-friendly location. It is home to 170 seniors, many with disabilities. Residents in the most need have been prioritized to receive the donated food.

Brown, an active and typically social senior who celebrated her 80th birthday in December, says residents were particularly thrilled to receive meals from El Sapo. “That is where we go to celebrate” in normal times, she noted. The food is being dropped off at The Bonifant. Volunteer residents in the building, recruited by Brown, deliver it to individual apartments, sanitizing their hands before and after each interaction.

“It is really heartwarming to see our community respond to this crisis in so many innovative ways,” said Rodríguez. “This is a wonderful example of how empathetic our entrepreneurs, faith community, and civic activists can be. The idea is to demonstrate what can works in small ways. Hopefully others will replicate this example and take it to scale.”

In describing his motivation in preparing and sharing free food, Mendizábal said, “I am a human being. This community has been very good to me. It is the least we can do.” He plans to continue the project providing meals, which will be funded through his donation of profits from his restaurants’ takeout and delivery businesses.

He noted he and his staff are working to expand these aspects of his businesses, which are the sole operations under the new Maryland restrictions to limit social interactions to combat potential exposure to Covid-19.

The Bonifant has been taking many steps to protect its residents, sharing information and following protocols recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As seniors, they are particularly vulnerable. Weekly social gatherings are on hold, in accordance with state and Federal guidelines. Onsite staff is cleaning all surfaces in the common areas, lobby, elevator buttons and light switches multiple times daily, and common areas are closed with the exception of restrooms. The building is managed by Humphrey Management.

The response goes beyond cleaning — Bonifant residents are looking out for one another as well. Brown noted that some of her neighbors have limited support systems, so neighbors have been helping neighbors.

“Yesterday a neighbor gave me her phone number because she is able to share with someone in need,” she said. “This virus situation is a bad thing. However, it shows you who people really are. There are beautiful people here at The Bonifant.”

Mendizábal says he is looking to replicate the food donation effort in other ways, scaling it up as vulnerable members of the community continue to cope with financial hardships and constraints on social interactions. If you are interested in getting involved in this or creating a similar community-based effort, contact Mendizábal at 202.246.5083 or raynold@elsaporestaurant.com

March 18, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/el-sapo-photo-March-2020-750x300-1.jpg 300 750 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-03-18 20:07:552020-09-10 11:30:55Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Latest News

Census 2020 – Make It Count!

MHP is proud to be a member of the Mid-County Complete Count Census Committee, a group charged with guiding and assisting in outreach and education strategies to ensure everyone in Mid-County is counted. Each region of the county has its own committee.

The Mid-County committee will focus on undercounted census tracts in Wheaton and Aspen Hill.  These communities are among the census tracts with highest predicted percentage of non-respondents in Montgomery County. Members of the committee include non-profits, county government representatives, business owners, neighborhood associations, faith-based groups and more.

March 5, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/census-graphic.jpg 230 434 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-03-05 22:23:552020-09-10 08:42:16Census 2020 – Make It Count!
Latest News

Black History Month Celebration

Students and staff at the Great Hope Homes Homework Club held a culminating celebration of Black History Month that included a dramatic interpretation of Harriet Tubman freeing slaves with songs and readings about her journey. The students also gave short readings about civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges: US Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker; Carter G. Woodson, creator of Black History Month; champion athlete Wilma Rudolph; and the Greensboro Four Sit-ins to protest segregation.

March 2, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ghh-black-history-month-featured-image-2020-750x300-1.jpeg 300 750 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-03-02 14:06:552020-09-10 13:01:31Black History Month Celebration
Advocacy, Latest News

Take Action To Support Affordable Housing Funding

ACTION ALERT – Montgomery County Housing Trust Fund

The Montgomery County Council’s budget deliberations are in full swing and we need you to be a champion for programs that support affordable housing in the county. Access to quality, affordable housing serves as an important source of stability for our neighbors who face economic challenges, and the county’s housing trust fund is the primary tool for building and preserving housing for low-income households.

On Thursday, Feb. 13, the Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will take up the capital budget for the County’s housing trust fund, known as the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF). The County Executive has recommended a total of $22 million for housing production, or level funding from last year. In addition, he has proposed setting aside $10 million for a new “Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund,” a dedicated private-public fund to preserve affordable housing. These additional funds will provide a needed boost to preserve affordable housing before it is lost, but we also need additional resources in the HIF to accelerate the development of new housing that is affordable to low- and moderate- income renters. At the local level, emails from residents often prove to be the deciding factor in budget decisions.

It is critical that Councilmembers hear from YOU on this issue before Thursday as the committee’s recommendation will carry substantial weight with the full Council. Please email the Council to let them know that you care about residents having access to affordable housing and support additional resources for the HIF.

Below is a message you can copy and personalize to urge County Council to support strong funding for affordable housing. Click here for a list of Councilmembers’ email addresses.

Dear Council President Katz and Members of the Council:

I am writing to express my strong support for robust funding of the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF), to support preservation and creation of affordable housing in Montgomery County, and to request that the Council increase funding in the capital budget for Affordable Housing Acquisition and Preservation. As you know, Montgomery County, and the region, are experiencing an affordable housing crisis.

The Council of Governments adopted regional housing targets to meet current and future housing needs, and the County Council took action to support this effort. In an independent effort, the Urban Institute projected that Montgomery County will need to create more than 20,000 units of housing for households with incomes of $55,000 or less in the next 10 years to meet the demand. If the County is serious about meeting the housing targets it has endorsed, we must find a way to ramp up production and preservation efforts and devote the necessary resources beginning with this budget.

On Thursday, the Council’s PHED committee will take up the HIF budget. I urge you to increase funding over and above the County Executive’s budget request, and to take bold steps to accelerate the development of affordable housing in the county.

Sincerely

February 12, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2019-council.fw-2-749x300-1-1.png 300 749 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-02-12 16:22:552020-09-10 13:26:05Take Action To Support Affordable Housing Funding
Advocacy, Latest News

MHP Calls for Strong Support of Affordable Housing

Montgomery County should take strong steps to expand the availability of affordable housing, MHP’s Chris Gillis told the County Council at a Feb. 6 hearing on the fiscal 2021 capital budget.

“MHP’s top priority in the County Executive’s proposed capital budget is additional funding to support the acquisition, development, and renovation of affordable housing, and to grow the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) to $100 million annually by 2022,” said Gillis, MHP’s director of policy and neighborhood development.

He noted the Urban Institute estimated that Montgomery County needs to create an additional 20,000 units of housing for households with incomes of $55,000 or less by 2030 to meet residents’ needs. This would require producing about 2,000 units a year for low- to moderate-income households. But at current funding levels, the county is only producing about 600 units a year, making it likely the need will not be fully addressed.

Gillis praised the County Executive’s proposal to create a new Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund. The fund would be capitalized with $10 million in county dollars for each of the next two years with the intention of leveraging additional private capital to make $40 to $50 million available to loan to developers. But he urged
caution in how funding is structured and priorities are set.

“All affordable housing projects in Montgomery County require some level of gap financing and we worry that if the HIF doesn’t increase by a commensurate amount or more, it will create a serious bottleneck on the trust fund. It potentially sets up a scenario where the lion’s share of the HIF is being used to support preservation to the detriment of new production, which is no less important.”

Gillis added,  “We recommend that the Council increase funding for the HIF by $10 million in FY21. These additional resources will ensure that we don’t repeat past mistakes and put us on the path of getting to $100 million by the end of 2022.”

Read his full statement here.

February 7, 2020/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/chris-gillis-capital-budget-testimony-feb-2020-2-750x300-1.jpg 300 750 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2020-02-07 16:00:522020-09-10 13:07:53MHP Calls for Strong Support of Affordable Housing
Latest News

MHP Earns Certification For Strong Resident Programs

MHP has earned a new certification that recognizes and validates the positive impact of our resident-centered programs, including Community Life enrichment programming. MHP is now a Certified Organization for Resident Engagement & Services (CORES) entity.

CORES recognizes organizations that demonstrate a commitment, capacity, and competency in providing resident services coordination in affordable rental homes. These certified organizations are invested in using housing as a platform for opportunity and have a record of providing robust resident services coordination in affordable housing communities. The program is administered by Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future. Learn more about the certification here.

December 21, 2019/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/multi-gen-family-750x300-1.jpg 300 750 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2019-12-21 00:10:522020-09-10 13:09:17MHP Earns Certification For Strong Resident Programs
Latest News

Purple Line Coalition Plan Seeks To Preserve Affordable Housing

The Purple Line Corridor Coalition released a housing action plan aimed at ensuring the light-rail transit system does not endanger 17,000 affordable homes across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. The recommendations were developed through a collaborative process, with MHP taking a leadership role. “The time to act is now,” said MHP President Robert Goldman. He told WAMU-FM, ““It will be a big loss if we build the Purple Line and the folks who live there now can’t find a way to stay.” With construction of the transit line already underway, the plan calls for leaders, nonprofits and private sector leaders to start implementing some of its recommendations now. The plan recommends:

  • Seeking additional state funding and public/private investment
  • Exploring innovative zoning programs and strategic development of surplus land
  • Establishing tax and loan programs and incentives geared toward affordable housing development, renovation and preservation
  • Developing tenant protections and pathways to ownership and
  • Increasing funding for local housing trust funds

More information on the recommendations is here. For more media coverage of the recommendations, see MHP’s In the News page.

December 13, 2019/by mhpactualize
https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/plcc-housing-action-plan-image-750x300-1.jpg 300 750 mhpactualize https://mhpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/logo-300x56.png mhpactualize2019-12-13 18:25:522020-09-10 13:20:53Purple Line Coalition Plan Seeks To Preserve Affordable Housing
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Housing People

MHP preserves and expands affordable housing in Montgomery County and the surrounding region. MHP has developed and owns more than 2,275 apartments, condos, and town homes.


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Empowering Families

MHP offers educational programs for residents to develop skills, expand their opportunities, and balance their lives. This includes preschool, afterschool and summer enrichment programs serving more than 450 children.


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Strengthening Neighborhoods

MHP is working with residents to implement neighborhood revitalization programs in communities affected by foreclosures, economic challenges, and mass transit construction.


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