Over 250 leaders in the supportive housing industry made their way to Philadelphia last week from throughout the Eastern Region despite Mother Nature’s best attempt at a Nor’easter. CSH CEO Deb De Santis charged the group with moving forward in the current and daunting environment.

olmstead panel

The conference highlighted many of the issues we are all facing today, most notably the issue of the Olmstead ruling and its implementation in states across the country. Our panel of Olmstead experts included Alison Barkoff from the U.S. Department of Justice, Lynn Kovich, New Jersey Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Estelle Richman, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (pictured below with Ryan Moser of CSH).

The bus tour featured visits to Project HOME supportive housing developments including, a visit to Connelly House with a welcome by Sister Mary Scullion and then the group split into two tracks of Healthcare and Real Estate Development to visit Honickman Learning Center, Rowan House, Saint Elizabeth’s Community Center and Saint Elizabeth’s Recovery Residence.

Our Keynote speaker, Dr. Thomas O’Toole, offered a great outlook on the VA’s efforts towards homelessness.

Supportive housing awards were given to:

Supportive Housing Advocate – John Joyce – RI HAP (Homeless Advocacy Project)
Supportive Housing Champion – Governor Dannel Malloy, CT
Supportive Housing Project Award – Newark Clinton Avenue Homes/HELP USA(pictured below)

The conference offered 15 informative workshops including from a HUD Hearth Training, a Veterans Track with workshops that include development, targeting and healthcare; Quality & Data; Development and Finance; Services; Partnerships and Collaborations; Systems; and Policy & Education.

Thank you to our conference sponsors:

Champion: United Way of Hudson County, NJ
Leaders : National Equity Fund and LISC
Partner: NJHMFA, TD Bank, Hudson Housing Capital, National Church Residences, Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, Nixon Peabody, and Forsyth Street Advisors
Friends: BCUW/Madeline Partnership, Butler Woodcrafters, EisnerAmper, KSK, CCEH and Chicago Title Insurance Company