Championing affordable housing in CT: Housing Development Fund, Inc.

It has been nearly a month since I started work at the Housing Development Fund (HDF) in Stamford, CT. So far, I've really enjoyed the process of learning and getting involved at work. HDF is a community development financial institution serving three counties in the state of Connecticut. The mission of HDF is to facilitate the development of affordable housing, both rental and homeownership, and to assist individuals and households to enter into responsible homeownership. Thus, HDF provides services such as counseling, lending and homeowner education, supporting a range of clients from those who aspire to become first-time homeowners to people seeking to avoid foreclosure on their properties. At the moment, HDF is working towards incorporating energy efficiency financing into its portfolio. That's where my fellowship comes in!

My focus area at the moment is supporting program innovation in residential energy efficiency for the state of Connecticut.  This involves co-ordinating a series of stakeholder discussions that will feed into the planning process of the state's Energy Efficiency Board. To say that I jumped into the deep end right at the start would not be an exaggeration. On my second day at work, I attended a energy efficiency workshop in New Britain, CT where representatives from the state government, utility companies, nonprofits and home energy contractors engaged in a day of presentations and best practice sharing. I was tasked with taking notes and following up with the event via a survey and the launch of working groups that would craft recommendations for the Energy Efficiency Board.

Last week, my organization sent several staff members including the two PP55 fellows to a training conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. We were there for almost the entire working week.  I attended a course entitled "Green Building Fundamentals for Affordable Housing" where I learned about building science principles and how they could be applied to green building projects. The course provided great basic knowledge about the importance of good insulation, ventilation, air sealing and energy efficiency. Beyond that, I got to visit several nonprofit organizations who were engaged in neighborhood revitalization in their areas. It was inspiring to see how groups such as Gabriel's Place and the Northside Business Association and Community Council were bringing about real change in the community through their work. Gabriel's Place hosts a community garden which brings fresh food to a food desert community where the last supermarket closed down in 2009. Their youth employment program hires local youth to work on the gardens (two paid hours every three hours of work) which encourages young people to adopt healthier eating styles while providing a source of part-time income for them. Northside Business Association has been buying and redeveloping abandoned buildings to attract new homeowners and businesses to the neighborhood - literally taking over streets controlled by druglords and gangs. In addition to learning about these "green" community transformations, I also got to watch a Reds game at the stadium and taste Cincinnati chili! It's been a really fun first month on the job and I look forward to sharing more soon.