What I’m Grateful For

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. — William Arthur Ward

NAHRO family, I’m always grateful around this time of the year – grateful for my family and community, for my dedicated staff here at the Tennessee Valley Housing Services, and for the federal programs that enable me and thousands of other housers to provide homes to millions of families and children across America.

Now gratitude doesn’t make problems go away. We still have a nationwide affordable housing shortage, a rising number of people who can’t make the rent, and a federal funding deal that expires at the end of January. But being grateful helps us shine a light on the people who help and the resources we do have. It helps us see our friends and allies clearly. And when we truly see each other, we can begin to collaborate and find our way forward together.

I see you, my NAHRO family. I see you at our conferences, sharing your wisdom and learning with each other. I see you on Capitol Hill, telling your members of Congress about the important work you do at home and how they can help you make a difference. And I see you at work in your communities, providing shelter and working with your residents to open paths of opportunity. You’re a generous and dedicated group, and I am proud to share a profession and a calling with you.

And this spring, I’m going to ask you for help. In March, hundreds of us will be gathering in Washington, DC for NAHRO’s Washington Conference and Hill Day. We’ll learn about current housing policy developments, discuss how to be better advocates, and — most importantly – head to Capitol Hill for some face-to-face time with our representatives and senators. NAHRO’s making sure we have an abundance of information for them: our policy priorities, funding recommendations, and housing data from each of our states and territories. The NAHRO staff do a great job of giving us all that material. But there’s something only we can provide, and it’s the most important thing of all: compelling stories about why the work we do matters.

Statistics are vital, but numbers and data only tell part of the story. Each and every one of those data points is a person whose life has been made better by the work that we do: the honor student who rises up, the disabled veteran who receive the support she needs after serving our country, and the senior who grows old surrounded by care and loving community. Our waiting lists and communities are also filled with stories that need telling: the college student who has to drop out because she needs to work full time to help her family, the father who works three or four jobs but has to sleep in his car with his kids, the senior who moves from library to shelter to library again for lack of a permanent home. These stories put human faces on the numbers and the data. They tell our elected officials – and members of media, and our communities – how we help and how much more needs to be done.

Whether or not you’re able to join us in DC next year, remember that stories are powerful, and we need to be able to tell them truthfully, effectively and respectfully. Storytelling is one of my priorities as NAHRO President, and you’ll be hearing more about it from me next year.

In the meantime, I’m grateful to have you as my colleagues and friends, and I wish you all a bright and blessed holiday season.