The Wins, the Learnings, the Plans! What NHA is Up to This Year…
Staff really got down to business last year, and the results are in the pudding. We had lots to celebrate at our first team meeting of 2024 and plenty to fill the coming months, as well.
Here’s a peek at what we’re celebrating, what we’ve learned, and what’s coming in 2024.
The 2023 Wins
The City of Calgary’s new affordable Housing Strategy was a hard-fought win by the Housing Task Force and Norfolk was proud to be a part of that effort, both with our CEO, Maya Kambeitz, sitting on the Task Force and with the advocacy she and others did to sway Council to consider this very necessary effort to meet the housing crisis in our city. A team effort, to say the least, and proof of the power in our sector!
We completed our long-awaited wellness study, already implementing many of the findings!
Read more here: https://www.norfolkhousing.ca/blog/nhas-resident-wellness-strategy
And find a deeper dive in the Learnings and Plans section of this blog, below.
We're a little, mighty engine, but as we prepare for more growth opportunities in the new year (if you’re curious about what a partnership or growth opportunity could look like, please reach out!), we’re preparing by improving policies and processes now, across the organization, and looking for ways to increase organizational efficiency. The added benefit? It’s helping us manage rising costs.
Read More on Managing Our Costs Through Increased Efficiencies: https://www.norfolkhousing.ca/blog/increasing-efficiencies-helps-nha-manage-inflation
NHA became an official Champion of the Enough for All strategy, working to make poverty history in Calgary. There are many levers that will help the sector and partners achieve the vision of a community where there is enough for all including housing, early education, literacy, financial empowerment, food security, justice and others.
And while there are already many things NHA does to support these levers, we’ll be working with the Enough for All team to consider how we can influence better outcomes and search for new opportunities to collaborate and contribute meaningfully in driving change in our city.
Something that residents share often is that they feel their units and buildings are cared for consistently, with quality work, and that they’re empowered to make their houses a home. At Norfolk, we’re not shy about sharing our viewpoint on maintaining quality, dignified homes – and how it ultimately serves everyone.
Read More on Asset Preservation at NHA: https://www.norfolkhousing.ca/blog/asset-preservation-the-nha-way
Our small staff are mostly long-term, and all dedicated, individuals who believe in and share our organizational values, many of whom also live and play in our same community. Staff often share the importance that NHA places on having a true work-life balance, recognizing that there are times when everyone must go above and beyond, but that in return they receive the flexibility they need to care for themselves and their families.
In our annual staff survey, staff really wow-ed with their (anonymous) responses:
100% indicated that NHA inspires them to go the extra mile in their work
100% indicate that they strive to demonstrate the values of NHA
100% felt cared for and appreciated for their work
Read More on What Makes Staff Proud to Work at NHA: https://www.norfolkhousing.ca/blog/staff-share-proud-nha
We dedicated time to understanding whether our feedback loops with residents were working and how we can evolve them into the future to ensure that as we offer more affordable housing, we aren’t losing that communication with residents. And beyond that, that the efforts we’re using right now (the quarterly Community Advisory Group meeting, monthly Resident Newsletters, open-door policy) are actually working – but how they can remain flexible and change with changing needs.
Our 5 year pilot program of a Portable Housing Benefit came to a close in 2023. Over five years, utilizing a designated $100,000, Norfolk supported 7 single parent households in pursuing their post-secondary education without the additional stress associated with inadequate or unaffordable housing.
94% of those surveyed stated that it allowed for them to save money for extra expenses.
100% of those surveyed stated it allowed them to achieve their goals.
A few shares from those recipients:
“From the depths of my heart, I want to express how much receiving housing benefits has meant to me. It has been a lifeline, a helping hand that has eased the burden of life's challenges.”
“If I were a millionaire today, I would give back to Norfolk housing in a heartbeat. I would donate one million dollars to this remarkable organization that has made such a significant difference in our lives.”
We'll be sharing more about the impact, the takeaways, and the learnings from the Portable Housing Benefit in the coming months. Stay tuned.
The 2023 Learnings
At NHA, we are nothing if not dedicated to taking what worked, learning from what didn’t, and doing a little pivot to get on track.
The Resident Wellness study illuminated that while there is a lot we ARE doing well, there are also a few areas with room for improvement or a change of tactic when it comes to our residents’ wellbeing.
Specifically, we’ll be working to continue improvements to our aging buildings that will help us – and residents – maintain their health and safety (and that of our buildings), as climate and economic pressures continue to accumulate.
And we’ll continue our intensive process of updating every policy and procedure we have, while also improving communications with key stakeholders around those pieces that directly affect them.
There's also a few areas staff self-identified as hoping to improve as a team, looking for trainings or opportunities to learn directly from folks with lived experience:
Improved communication with folks who are in crisis, whether residents or folks searching for housing (this training is ongoing, but as the need increases, so does the frequency of conversations staff are having on the “front line” so to speak).
Learning how to communicate and provide housing that’s more considerate of, and where appropriate, tailored to, Indigenous folks and other minority communities.
These action items will generate the bulk of our work plans this year, outside of regular operations, and hopefully at this same time in January 2025, we’ll be reporting on them as wins!
The 2024 Plans
As mentioned above, we’re also getting ourselves ready for the next opportunity to provide more quality affordable housing, now that our last acquisition, Riley Park Place, has seen some major upgrades and been moved naturally into our model – and community.
We are working on strategic alliances and partnerships that can help us grow in the number of units we provide and evaluating opportunities to develop new housing and/or acquire existing properties.
But we are very mindful of our commitment to our existing residents, our guiding values, and continuing to ensure affordability for everyone we serve. This means that we will be looking to get creative in how we secure land and capital with the ultimate goal to expand our portfolio in 2024-25.
In order to meet the needs outlined in the Resident Wellness study, we are expanding our team to focus on resident and staff wellness, the benefits of which include our ongoing social and financial sustainability. This addition will also help us develop and improve aging in place strategies, considering how best to refine our approach to keeping folks in their homes as long as possible.
And we’ll be getting a little more active – or RE-active in our local community again this year. The pandemic definitely saw us going inward (I think that was common) but we’re being conscious of looking OUTward a little – or a lot more – once again. We’re excited to take part in Neighbour Day (as we always do), and get involved with more of the fun events that the Kensington BRZ and others are hosting throughout the year.
All in all, it’s shaping up to be another great year of improving the way we engage, the way we serve, and the way we do what we do best – provide more Calgarians with quality, affordable housing.
As always, thanks for being here and supporting us in the very many ways you do!