Executives and staff from the 39 public housing authorities that participate in the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration program gathered in Washington, D.C., this week for the 2019 MTW Conference, Bringing Innovation Home. The meeting featured learning tracks focused on improving resident outcomes, improving the quality and quantity of affordable housing, peer-learning among executives, and opportunities for PHA executives who are new to MTW or considering whether to apply for the next cohort to learn more about the program and application process.
The conference kicked off with the launch of the MTW Collaborative, a new organization created to represent existing and future MTW PHAs and advocate for MTW. Hunter Kurtz, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, offered keynote remarks on the first day of the convening. “Affordable housing is not one-sized fits all...allowing local flexibility is key to providing additional affordable housing across the country,” said Kurtz.
Panel sessions and roundtable discussions enabled practitioners at all levels to share innovative ideas, best practices, research findings, and practical guidance for using MTW flexibilities to meet residents’ needs. Speakers covered: affordable housing accreditation, resident engagement and self-sufficiency, cross-sector collaborations, evaluations, staffing, housing mobility, intertwining MTW flexibility with the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, and more.
During the closing panel of the conference, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman congratulated attendees on effectively implementing the full range of MTW flexibilities to best serve their residents. She also called on practitioners, the innovators in the field, to think about how their local solutions can be scaled up to support the whole public housing portfolio.
Conference materials are on the HAI Group website.