Jan Brown: Community Leader and Advocate
A community leader and advocate, MHP resident Jan Brown testified to the transformative power of affordable housing at the Montgomery County Council public hearing on April 9. For the past seven years, Ms. Brown has been a proud resident of MHP Bonifant senior apartments in downtown Silver Spring. “It’s a community that has significantly enhanced the quality of my life,” Ms. Brown, an MHP Board member, told the hearing. “I have my grandson Christopher to thank for helping me find affordable housing. Christopher discovered the Bonifant while it was still under construction. He was impressed by what he had seen and learned about the Bonifant, and he recognized what a great opportunity it would be for Grammy to live there.” Before moving to the Bonifant, Ms. Brown, her daughter, and her grandson were living in a single-family home in DC. She is grateful to her family for their foresight in encouraging her to move to the Bonifant. “Had my grandson and daughter not encouraged me to move to the Bonifant, I would have been an old lady sitting in the living room looking out the window all day or sitting on the front porch watching the world go by. Living in affordable housing at the Bonifant has given me a new lease on life. I feel rejuvenated, almost 20 years or maybe more than that younger than my 84 years,” she said. Bonifant not only provides Ms. Brown with a safe and comfortable home, but it also offers a vibrant social network with a wealth of activities. While being grateful, she is concerned that there are countless seniors like her who are yearning for such opportunities. Ms. Brown noted that the demand for affordable housing far exceeds the supply, particularly in communities like downtown Silver Spring. “The housing crisis has only worsened since I moved to the Bonifant almost eight years ago. As a community, I think we need to find a way to provide housing for low-income people,” she urged.
Click below to watch Jan’s testimony at a Montgomery County Council hearing.
