Podcast
Conversations about affordable housing.
This is the second episode in a series on reducing homelessness in Houston. Neal interviews people who played key roles as part of a team who helped decrease chronic homelessness in Houston by over 70% in a span of 3 years.
Here at Affordable Houser we’re interviewing people who have helped their cities and communities make great strides in developing affordable housing and alleviating homelessness. These are people using good data to make intelligent decisions to help people. They work with their hearts truly turned to the people they’ve served.
Joy Horak-Brown is President and CEO of New Hope Housing. She was their first employee in 1993 and has helped grow the organization from originally managing 40 units to over 1,500 apartment homes in 11 different communities today. New Hope Housing has been instrumental in reducing homelessness in Houston.
Check out Joy's work and New Hope Housing here:
In this episode we’ll talk a little about Joy's personal housing story. We’ll then cover how she started working for New Hope Housing and the work they continue today.
We hope in these interviews you'll learn some best practices that could help your community and others across the country.
While Neal is an attorney, none of the information in this podcast is legal advice. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.
Connect with Neal:
In this episode:
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00:00 Show preview.
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01:44 Introduction for Joy Horak-Brown and New Hope Housing.
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05:22 Joy shares her housing story and a little about her childhood.
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07:43 Joy shares how she started working for New Hope Housing.
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11:25 New Hope Housing provided the first studio efficiency apartments for the unhoused in Texas.
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11:40 Housing is the solution to homelessness.
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13:05 The mission of New Hope Housing.
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17:34 Building a brand for New Hope Housing.
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17:53 New Hope Housing’s dedication to the look and feel of their housing for their residents.
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20:00 HUD’s “safe and sanitary housing” vs “safe and attractive housing”.
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20:27 Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) pressure.
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21:45 Reasons people give for their NIMBY sentiments.
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22:30 Americans have come to realize the value of affordable housing.
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22:50 Houston is a city of renters.
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23:15 What it means to be rent burdened.
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26:23 Neal’s experience with HUD in Los Angeles.
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27:45 The rising generation is missing these opportunities. We must do more.
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28:00 Housing is not just a solution but also prevention for homelessness.
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28:30 Preventing homelessness for families.
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29:53 Gentrification and avoiding displacement.
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33:09 Biggest challenges of New Hope’s work.
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33:30 Financing is always the biggest challenge.
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35:50 The secret to New Hope’s success.
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39:00 Best practices of New Hope Housing.
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40:45 Hire high quality consultants and protect yourself against them.
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42:00 Services are what help people stay in stable housing and advance their lives.
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43:00 Real estate development from a nonprofit position.
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44:10 Advice for nonprofit affordable housing developers.
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47:10 It takes a village to build an apartment community.
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47:40 Complexity of affordable housing vs market-rate development.
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48:05 Consulting for other nonprofits.
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51:10 Reducing chronic homelessness in Houston.
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52:40 The key to permanent supportive housing (PSH).
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54:03 Houston Housing Authority, the City of Houston, and Harris County
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54:55 Economics of different types of affordable housing.
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56:10 Without New Hope Housing Houston would not have been able to significantly reduce chronic homelessness.
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56:25 Most developers won’t do PSH.
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57:35 PSH cannot carry debt.
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59:15 Linking housing with education and healthcare.
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59:30 Clinics and Bezos Academies.
Listen, watch, or subscribe
Here at Affordable Houser we’re interviewing people who have helped their cities and communities make great strides in developing affordable housing and alleviating homelessness. These are people using good data to make intelligent decisions to help people. They work with their hearts truly turned to the people they’ve served.
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