NONPROFIT
2022 REAL ESTATE EDITION
Children participate in CHR Partners’ after-school programming.
SUCCESS STATS Young residents participate in after school programming hosted by CHR Partners as part of the social services provided within each community. 5 Properties then o er these residents social assistance, such as an on-site after- school program for children, job readiness programming or food assistance. 2 CHR Partners sells those credits to investors who want to reduce their taxes. 3 Proceeds from the sales of those credits are then spent on the mortgage to build the housing. 4 The savings make it possible for CHR to then o er reduced rents for eligible low- income residents. HOW IT WORKS Community Housing Resources Partners utilizes the federal Low Income Housing Tax to fund its operations and a ordable housing developments. 1 The process starts with a proposal from CHR Partners. If accepted, the state awards the nonpro t Housing Credits needed to build multifamily housing.
Emerald Village is an a ordable housing complex just north of Loop 1604 at Redland Road where some tenants pay market-rate and others pay less based on their income.
PHOTOS COURTESY COMMUNITY HOUSING RESOURCE PARTNERS
Community Housing Resource Partners San Antonio nonpro t o ers a ordable housing and support services
C ommunity Housing Resource Partners is a north side San Antonio-based nonpro t working to bring a ordable housing to San Antonio and other cities across the United States. CHR Partners got its start in 1983 in Ohio as the Painesville Housing Advocates, when a group of active neighbors and church parishioners from the United Methodist Church of Painesville led by the Rev. Jerry Kalb took up advocacy e orts to turn a piece of land across from an elementary school into a ordable housing, said Meghan Cano, presi- dent and CEO of CHR Partners. “They were just an advocacy organization [working] to build community and giving truth to what a ordable housing really means,” Cano said. “The message really hasn’t changed. A ordable housing equates to poverty, crime, drugs and blight. But that’s not true.” The organization came to San Antonio in 2005 landing on the city’s west side and rebranding to CHR Partners. CHR Partners now has commu- nities in four states, with more than 7,500 housing units that serve 13,000 people each month. The nonpro t’s model is 100% self-sustaining, meaning it does not BY TRICIA SCHWENNESEN
rely on donations from individuals or foundations to maintain its operations, Cano said. The organization instead partners with residential developers and applies for funds through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Program to build multifamily projects that o er a mix of a ordable and market-rate housing options, Cano said. More a ordable housing is needed in San Antonio and across the United States, Cano said. In the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the housing problem for low-income families, Cano said. Across San Antonio there are six CHR Partners communities, including Emerald Village, located just north of Loop 1604 at Redland Road. Each community has its own resource center where low-income residents can receive on-site social services and support, such as job readiness programs, nancial literacy education and after-school homework assistance for children. Residents can also get help with transportation. There is no cost to services to these families,” Cano said. “Everybody who lives with us has some form of income, but that doesn’t mean they’re maximizing their potential.” residents for these services. “We provide critical social
She said 85% of their residents are underemployed, meaning they are being paid less than their value, or they are not working a maximum number of hours. Through its social services and programming, the nonpro t is helping residents improve their lives and achieve self-su ciency through education, health and wellness, and by o ering a safe and stable commu- nity to live in, she said. A key component of the social services provided at each com- munity is an after-school program called Homework First, which o ers children of residents homework help or tutoring, mentorship, a snack and recreation. The program o ers children a hand in greater academic progression, giving them a chance to work at or above grade level, Cano said. It also gives them a safe place to land after school and provides a place where they can be themselves, minimizing behavioral issues stemming from a stressful home environment, Cano said. And it cuts down on truancy, she added. “When we’re successful, the entire community ourishes,” Cano said. “Heads of households perform better at work; children do better in school; and families grow stronger and more independent.”
100% of students who live in a Community Housing Resource Partners community are engaged in its after-school program and are performing at or above grade level. 3 million pounds of food were delivered by CHR Partners to residents over the pandemic. 60% or more residents in a community are engaged in at least one long-term service.
HOW TO HELP Interested individuals and
Community Housing Resource Partners 110 E. Houston St., San Antonio 210-580-6238 www.chrpartners.org To make an appointment or get information, call or email info@chrpartners.org. residents. To o er help ll out the online form at www.chrpartners.org/contact-1 companies can volunteer, provide in-kind donations or participate in the nonpro t’s programming that directly bene ts
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NORTH SAN ANTONIO EDITION • JULY 2022
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