Part 2: Engaging Community Partners for Resident Services

Quality, safe, stable and affordable housing is a foundational element of success for individuals and families across the income spectrum. It is a key contributor to overall financial well-being, which the CFPB defines as a state in which individuals “can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, feel secure in their financial future, and [are] able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life.”

Affordable housing can play a role in improving residents’ financial well-being and driving positive outcomes through resident services. Resident services are typically provided by dedicated staff and/or through partnerships developed to support greater stability and well-being for residents. Programs and services can range from onsite health screenings to access to mental health services to financial well-being and digital access. In this three-part series, affordable housing practitioners share their perspectives and insight into the impact of resident services on tenants’ financial well-being.

Lori Stanlick, Director of Social Impact at Jonathan Rose Companies, oversees the company’s program providing empowering social services across 99 properties nationwide. Jonathan Rose Companies is a leading, mission-driven developer with more than 19,000 housing units in its portfolio. Capital One has financed numerous Jonathan Rose Companies properties through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA lending, supporting both the preservation and creation of affordable housing.

Q: Can you share an overview of Jonathan Rose Companies’ work in affordable housing?
Stanlick: Jonathan Rose Companies aspires to empower residents to achieve better life outcomes by developing and acquiring affordable and mixed-income housing and providing programming and interventions to improve health and well-being. The company focuses on acquiring properties at risk of losing affordability in order to extend and preserve the existing affordability, deepen the affordability to serve lower-income households or convert previously unrestricted housing units to affordable housing. 

Q: What are some programs Jonathan Rose Companies has implemented throughout its portfolio?
Stanlick: Our social services programs and workshops, led by onsite Resident Services Coordinators, focus on decreasing food insecurity, enhancing education attainment, increasing housing stability, and driving community-building and social connection. Our work in financial education and well-being covers a broad spectrum. Using curriculum from local area banks, credit unions and nonprofit organizations, we engage residents in programs teaching them how to strategize and save in order to achieve their financial goals. We are also rolling out positive rent reporting across all our properties. Through our partnership with an on-time rent reporting fintech, we’ve seen credit repair and improvement among our residents.

We’re also leaning into existing government programs like HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency program, which has proven effective in helping participants increase earnings, build savings and improve financial well-being through coaching. Through this program, HUD-assisted families are empowered to increase their incomes without their rents increasing as a result. Beyond the savings aspect of the program, they also have access to financial coaching and literacy, homeownership counseling and employment counseling.

Q: How do you create an ecosystem of support for residents?
Stanlick: It’s important to us that we start with the residents and understand the issues they’re managing and who in the community can address those issues. We host focus groups, advisory groups and casual coffee hours to meet with residents, listen to their perspectives and needs, and build trust. We use these sessions to guide the programs and partners that will resonate across the resident population. 

Ultimately, we strive to be connectors to the broader community and coordinate programs that originate from ideas and feedback among residents. Regular, consistent and transparent communications are key to building an ecosystem of support both within and outside of the property.

Q: What does the future of resident services look like?
Stanlick: This is continuous work that builds upon itself. As you address one need, a new opportunity may emerge. That opens the door to more partners, more people coming together to build economic well-being. It’s important that we get to a place where every property is assessed for needs and opportunities, so we understand the level of programming required for that resident population. And beyond the programming, we need to invest in the people – the Resident Services Coordinators – who are driving forward this work and ensure the ratio of coordinators to residents is meaningful and effective.