Tenant Participation in Supportive Housing

1. Tenant Participation in Supportive Housing Anne CoryCorporation for Supportive Housing3/17/10www.csh.org

2. Definition of Community Building • Community building involves a range of activities, which include: • connecting tenants to each other • connecting tenants to the staff • connecting tenants/the program to the neighborhood and the community at large Community Building recognized that the relationships among tenants can support housing stability.

3. By Building Community, a Tenant: • Develops a vested interest in the well-being of their residence; • Becomes more aware of how his/her actions affect the community’s well-being; • Builds self-esteem through social and interpersonal connections; • Develops skills. • Fills the void left when tenants leave the community of the street, the jail, or the drug treatment center.

4. Building Community • Each tenant represents a puzzle piece within a housing community. Thinking about how tenants fit together and interact with one another – whether positively or negatively – can be an important piece in creating community, avoiding and/or resolving conflicts, and supporting the housing stability of all tenants.

5. Elements of Community Building • ENGAGING AND FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE RESIDENCE • INVOLVING TENANTS IN DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES • CONNECTING TENANTS TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE LARGER COMMUNITY • PROMOTING POSITIVE NORMS OF BEHAVIOR WITHIN THE RESIDENCE

6. Defining the Process • How are tenants’ ideas to be incorporated into the decision-making process? • Who makes the final decisions? • What is the process for evaluating and revisiting decisions in the future?

7. Tenant Involvement • INVOLVE TENANTS IN THE PLANNING OF ACTIVITIES, OUTINGS, PARTIES AND OTHER SPECIAL EVENTS

8. Tenant Involvement • IDENTIFY NATURAL LEADERS AND DEVELOP LEADERSHIP SKILLS

9. Tenant Involvement • SOLICIT INPUT ABOUT THE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES THAT ARE BEING OFFERED

10. Tenant Involvement • CREATE OPEN COMMUNICATION FORUMS SUCH AS COMMUNITY MEETINGS • troubleshoot issues • dispel rumors • sing praises • reduce the number of “public secrets” • give community members the comfort of knowing there is a forum to express concerns

11. Tenant Involvement • ESTABLISH A TENANT COUNCIL or TENANT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

12. Tenant Involvement • INVOLVE TENANTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSE RULES AND OTHER BUILDING POLICIES

13. Tenant Involvement • Leadership can be formal or informal. • Leadership opportunities include: • tenant councils or forums • lending support to other tenants by being a part of a support network • becoming a peer-to-peer worker

14. House Rules • Why do we need house rules? • Support a safe environment • Ensuring that tenants’ rights are respected and maintained • Allow tenants to decide on the environment in which they want to live.

15. Considerations in Designing House Rules • PURPOSE OF THE HOUSE RULES • Rules should have a clear purpose that should be understood by the community.

16. Considerations in Designing House Rules • ENFORCEABILITY: • Consistency is necessary when enforcing rules in a building. Rules that cannot be uniformly enforced should be excluded from the list.

17. Considerations in Designing House Rules • LESS IS MORE: • Having a few enforceable rules is far more effective than pages of rules that cannot be enforced or even effectively communicated.

18. Considerations in Designing House Rules • ALLOW FOR CHANGE OVER TIME • Create a structure and a process to review and revise rules. • Have a process in place for grievances and appeals for rules.

19. House Rules Enforcement • How do we formalize house rules? • Can use as addendum to lease • Tenants comply as a condition of the lease • Violations of House Rules becomes breach of the lease

20. Benefits of Tenant Involvement: For the Tenant • Combats isolation, improves social and psychological ties among community members. • Helps tenant develop an interest in the well-being of the facility. • Helps to create a culture of mutual understanding and tolerance. • Increases tenant’s awareness of how his/her actions affect the community’s well-being • Builds self-esteem through social and interpersonal connections • Develops skills

21. Benefits of Tenant Involvement: For Services Staff • Allows a point-of-entry for engagement • Makes their job easier by delegating tasks and responsibilities • Opportunity to observe building dynamics on a new level • Increases positive activities and diminishes negative activities • Helps identify natural leadership in the community of tenants Benefits of Tenant Involvement

22. Benefits of Tenant Involvement: For Property Management • Early identification of property management and maintenance issues. • Increases the likelihood that the building will be maintained. • Increases buildings’ safety and security • Establishing a positive community can avert some problems before they erupt. .

23. Tenant Involvement and Positive Norms • Engaging tenants in a dialogue about the norms of the residence and how they can help promote them is an effective community development strategy. • The first step in promoting positive norms is to identify: • Existing norms • Desired norms • Undesirable but tolerable behaviors • Intolerable behaviors

24. Tenant Involvement • Questions?

25. For more information, go to www.csh.org