Great Expectations Conference Honors Supportive Housing
Monarchâs Taiisa Kelly Presents on Homelessness & Medicaid Use; Monarchâs Richard Brown Introduces Keynote Speaker Kevin Martone On December 7, 2018, the Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey (SHA) held its annual conference in Woodbridge. The theme of this yearâs conference was Great Expectations. Monarch Housing Associates congratulates all of the 2018 Supportive Housing Award winners that were presented at the conference. Monarch Housing Associates is involved with two of this yearâs award winners. Charles A. Richman, Executive Director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Authority (NJHMFA) presented the awards.
City of Hoboken and American Legion For the SHANJ Supportive Housing Municipal Award â The City of Hoboken and Mayor Ravinder Bhalla. Representatives from the American Legion Post in Hoboken and the Office of the Mayor received the award on behalf of the project. The Supportive Housing Municipal Award recognizes the accomplishments of a town or city that has proactively created supportive housing opportunities for people with disabilities and other special needs.Monarch Housing Associates nominated the City of Hoboken and Mayor Ravinder Bhalla. The City of Hoboken, from the Mayorâs office to key staff and departments thought the City, was a key partner in the redevelopment of the American Legion building, aiding every step of the way.The City of Hoboken not only provided the additional land needed to make the building work, but also provided the balance of the adjacent parking lot, that is being used for construction staging activities.The City provided over $200,000 in capital funding, and also waived all permit fees for construction. Multiple departments within the City helped streamline the submission requirements and with the overall coordination and review process.Without the leadership of the Mayorâs office, and the City, this could have caused delays and project would have incurred additional cost. The City has worked diligently to create affordable housing through the City.In 2012, an Affordable Housing code was adopted by the City to ensure all developments provide their fair share of affordable units.
Joe Alpert of the Alpert Group and Chuck Richman of HMFA Franklin Lakes Supportive Housing which received the Supportive Housing Project of the Year Award was nominated by Kitchen Associates. Joe Alpert of the Alpert Group received the award on behalf of the project. Kitchen Associates nominated this unique 40-unit development in Bergen County that creates a community of permanent supportive housing with preference for persons with disabilities. Monarch Housing serves as the housing consultant for this project, Franklin Lakes is a joint partnership of the Alpert Group, with the Housing Development Corporation of Bergen County, West Bergen Mental Health, Housing Consultant - Monarch Housing Associates, Architect - Kitchen & Associates, Civil Engineer - MidAtlantic Engineering Partners, LLCFinancing Partners - NJHMFA, Enterprise Community Investment, TD Bank, Borough of Franklin Lakes, and Bergen County Division of Community Development.
Taiisa Kelly During the workshop sessionâs, Taiisa Kelly, a Senior Associate with Monarch Housing was one of the presenters at a workshop focused on âHomelessnessâ and Medicaid Use: The Impact of Housing and Services.â Taiisa was joined by Janel Winter, Director of Division of Housing and Community Resources at the NJ Department of Community Affairs and Dr. Joel Cantor, Sc.D., Distinguished Professor & Director of the Center for State Health Policy, Rutgers University. Over 70 conference supportive housing advocates attended the workshop and joined in the interactive Q &A with the panel. Kate Kelly, an Associate with Monarch Housing, moderated the panel.
Kevin Martoneh Closing out the afternoon of the conference, Monarch Housing Associateâs CEO Richard W. Brown introduced the afternoonâs keynote speaker, Kevin Martone, L.S.W., Executive Director of the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) in Boston. In his remarks and with his national perspective, Keven recognized SHAâs 20-year leadership in the supportive housing movement.Kevin has a long history in and connection to the work to create supportive housing in New Jersey. Prior to joining TAC, he was the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of the New Jersey Department of Human Services where he oversaw the stateâs mental health and substance use disorder system. Read the full article
