Service-enriched housing programs enhance opportunities for residents and help strengthen the local workforce
Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation (Rainbow) and Monroe Group Ltd. (Monroe) are proud to announce a new partnership to provide quality programs and services for residents at two large family properties. The properties, which are both affordable housing communities, include Trestletree Village Apartments in Atlanta and Castle Park Apartments in St. Louis.
The properties are owned by Community Housing Concepts, Inc. (“CHC”), a Denver based non-profit focused on the preservation and improvement of affordable communities across the country. CHC hired Monroe to provide property management services at both properties as Monroe shares CHC’s mission to provide safe and decent housing to low income families and individuals. This partnership with Rainbow strengthens this commitment to the residents of these two communities.
Trestletree Village, which comprises 188 units, is located in the Grant and Ormewood Park neighborhoods of Atlanta. As part of a recent renovation, Monroe and CHC committed to providing extensive services and programs to the residents of Trestletree. These residents include more than 300 children under the age of 18, with the majority of households headed by low-income single females. This partnership with Rainbow is necessary to help ensure that enough resources are dedicated to meeting the commitments of the project in addition to the overarching goal of improving the lives of the residents and the surrounding community.
Built in 1891, Castle Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The community, which has 209 units, went through a major rehabilitation in 2011 with efforts focused on improving the safety and security of the residents in addition to unit and common space improvements. The population of Castle Park comprises 80 percent of residents 30 years or younger and houses more than 160 children. The efforts of the rehab have provided a safer environment for the residents; however, the day-to-day operating demands of the property have left limited resources and time to be dedicated to consistent and effective resident services and programs. Now, Monroe and Rainbow can work together to provide the resources and dedicate the time to bring these needed services to residents.
“These communities are a perfect fit for what Rainbow does and does well – in robust, metropolitan areas which are in need of quality, affordable housing developments,” said Flynann Janisse, executive director of Rainbow. “The service-enriched housing programs Rainbow plans to implement will not only give added opportunities to the residents, but will also aid in enhancing the workforce of the local economy and provide affordable housing for the next generation of leadership.”
Rainbow currently has a full-time resident service coordinator located at each of the properties to organize and provide a range of services to the residents. As the communities’ main demographics are millennials, programs such as financial literacy, job readiness and continuing education courses are being implemented, which are especially helpful to people new to the workforce as they give residents’ the skills they need in order to create opportunities. In turn, these programs help to stabilize the local economy’s workforce. The tenants of these properties also include families. As such, youth enrichment programs are being offered Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to residents of the communities at no cost, which include educational activities and resources, homework help and teen employment readiness programs. Adult courses are also being offered Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with programs comprising health and nutrition, safety and budgeting.
“We are very thrilled about our partnership with Rainbow,” Stuart Heller, principal owner and founder of Monroe, said in a statement. “It makes perfect sense for us to work with an organization that is as committed to improving and enriching the quality of life for residents as much as we are. Monroe has a stellar reputation for providing quality housing that residents are proud to call home. We thrive on creating a strong sense of community and through this partnership we will continue to promote resident well-being, providing them the necessary tools and skills that will make a significant difference in their lives.”
“I am thrilled that our residents will have access to these much-needed services,” said Marty Dimas, President of CHC. “The programs offered by Rainbow will greatly enhance their lives which in turn will be extremely beneficial for the surrounding neighborhood. I look forward to this excellent partnership which will further our mission to provide a quality place for our residents to call home while strengthening local communities.”
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About Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation:
Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation is a nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched housing programs for residents of rental housing communities throughout the country. With award-winning services available throughout the United States, Rainbow seeks to create and preserve quality, affordable housing for families and individuals of diverse ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds.
About Monroe Group Ltd.:
Monroe Group Ltd. is a leading property management company specializing in affordable multi-family and senior/disabled housing. Founded over 30 years ago by Stuart Heller, the company manages a portfolio of 36 properties nationwide totaling over 3,500 units.
About Community Housing Concepts, Inc. (CHC):
Founded in 2005, Community Housing Concepts, Inc. is a nationally operating 501(c)(3) organization that has invested approximately $162 million in multi-family and senior affordable housing units, including over $55 million in rehabilitation efforts. CHC, either directly or through its subsidiaries, owns seventeen affordable communities around the country totaling over 2,000 units. Of those properties, thirteen have undergone (or are undergoing) complete rehabilitations. The resulting improvements result in better lives for the residents of CHC properties, who have exclaimed time and again how happy and proud they are to call Community Housing Concepts “home.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Claire Marshall, Melinda Peffer
The Hoyt Organization
(310) 373-0103
Rob Stefanski
Monroe Group Ltd.
(303) 226-9136