One agency, one voice.

That's the mantra of Houston Housing Authority (HHA), an agency that prides itself on operating with excellence and passion for the community it serves.

Over the years, man’s best friend has transformed from a protector of livestock and household pets to a contributing member of society. As a service dog, canines of any size and breed take on critical responsibilities to ensure their owner is safe, such as identifying when their owner will have a seizure, or by getting the medicine they need to treat an illness.

For professionals in public and affordable housing, this is a time of both tremendous need and immense opportunity. Affordable rental housing is scarce, disrupting the availability of homes for workers and families across most demographics—ranging from recent graduates embarking on their careers to working families, low-income individuals, and those reliant on fixed incomes such as senior citizens, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

As we say goodbye to another transformative year, join us in exploring HAI Group's most popular blog posts, risk management resources, and HAI Group Online Training courses of 2023. These resources serve as essential tools for housing professionals navigating an ever-evolving landscape.

While the cost of employee training may total a few hundred or few thousand dollars, it pales in comparison to $20.2 billion. That staggering figure is what workplace misconduct cost U.S. businesses in 2021.

HAI Group is a leading sponsor of the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC), a nonprofit that researches the impact that affordable homes bring to families and communities. In this guest blog, Kelly McElwain, PAHRC’s industry intelligence and research manager, explains how a recent federal program can be leveraged to address housing needs.

Despite an estimated shortage of 7.3 million rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income families, public housing authorities (PHAs) nationwide have not received congressional funding to build new deeply affordable housing in their communities in decades. PHAs’ hands became even more tied after Congress passed the Faircloth Amendment, which capped PHA public housing stock at the number of public housing units they operated as of October 1, 1999 (known as their ‘Faircloth Authority’). This created a de facto ban on building new public housing.

We relaunched our company blog in 2022 with the goal of delivering timely insurance, risk management, and professional development tips for the affordable housing industry.

Marianne Krager, an associate trainer with Nan McKay and Associates (NMA), sits at a desk covered in black felt as she dutifully prepares for a long day’s work. It’s early morning, and there’s a sense of calm about Krager, even with a formation of cameras aimed at her. She’s clearly at ease about the task at hand.

The traditional workforce landscape we once knew has seen a complete overhaul over the past few years, thanks in large part to the pandemic, which demonstrated that many jobs can be done well remotely.