Stefan’s Story

AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer Stefan Gehrman made an impact during his time at MHP. As an Economic Empowerment Coordinator with the Neighborhoods Department, Stefan helped implement several programs that supported our low- and moderate-income residents in gaining access to important services that improved their lives. His stint at MHP was inspired by his passion for anti-poverty services. “I really wanted to do something related to the built environment, like housing. It just so happened that I got lucky, and MHP popped up [during my research on the AmeriCorps portal]. I looked at what MHP does as a nonprofit. I saw that it was primarily affordable housing. And I said, that seems like exactly the root of where a lot of good services can come from,” he said. 

As a volunteer, Stefan helped with capacity building and worked with the Neighborhoods team on programs such as helping residents access financial and rent forgiveness programs; social media marketing; and management of a scholarship portal, and so on. While Stefan had many successes at MHP, he specifically mentioned the Stores Next Door event in the Long Branch business district as being a huge success. “We planned that with about three weeks or a month of planning time, and we ended up bringing out 200 local residents in the Long Branch business district,” he said. “Besides that, there’s also the scholarship portal, which got launched during my term.” 

Watch and learn more about Stefan’s work in the video below.