Dr. Michael C. Threatt delivered Keynote Address for the 2023 Southern Conference on Homelessness and Housing (SCHH)

Dr. Michael C. Threatt served as a Panelist at the 2023 NAHRO Conference during the Landlords Wanted: Engagement Strategies to Increase Landlord Participation

DOTHAN, AL, UNITED STATES, April 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Dr. Michael C. Threatt had a busy month during October 2023, serving as a distinguished Keynote Speaker and Section 8 Program Landlord Engagement Panelist. His keynote address at the 2023 Southern Conference on Homelessness and Housing (SCHH) in Sandestin, FL, titled “Housing Authority of the Future: Changing the Narrative of Affordable Housing with Purpose & Innovation,” Was a testament to his profound insights into reshaping the role of housing authorities. His presentation at the conference, themed “Transforming Communities: Building Inclusive and Sustainable Housing Solutions,” Illuminated how innovation and purpose can redefine the landscape of affordable housing and create more inclusive and sustainable communities. I am honored and grateful to God for my roles as the Keynote Speaker at the 2023 Southern Conference on Homelessness and Housing and as a 2023 NAHRO Conference Section 8 Program Landlord Panelist.

10-Year Plan to End Homeless in the Wiregrass Metro Area
Housing vouchers are an essential tool for ending homelessness with the help of Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), Continuums of Care (CoCs), and Victim Service Providers (VSPs) to develop collaborative partnerships and strategies that effectively address the needs of vulnerable populations in their communities. Although the CARES Act funding allowed PHAs to offer landlords monetary incentives, the carrot-on-the-stick incentives will not fix the broken relationship between landlords and PHAs. Unfortunately, many PHAs were not prepared to streamline their operations by effectively utilizing the innovative flexibilities to administer the Section 8 Program under the CARES Act waivers. This also explains why the American Rescue Plan Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) were not leased up timely. Ultimately, these EHVs had a challenging time leasing up due to the bureaucratic red tape of the Section 8 Program. This correlates with the premise that having a Section 8 voucher is like winning the ‘Golden Ticket’ or the ‘Powerball Lottery’ and not having anywhere to cash in.

The 2023 State of the Nation's Housing Report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University indicated that the bureaucratic red tape of the Section 8 Program was cumbersome for landlords, exacerbating the affordable housing crisis. Although rent is guaranteed for landlords who lease through the Section 8 Program, and monetary incentives were made available due to the COVID-19 pandemic, landlords were still not interested in participating. They did not want to deal with ”The Price of Bureaucracy” of working with PHAs because some have negative reputations for slow processing, bureaucratic red tape, and bad customer service.

During COVID-19, PHAs and CoCs did not play well in the sandbox. Dr. Threatt understood that it is an innovative best practice for CoC and PHA to be under one roof to change the narrative. Therefore, after leaving the 2023 SCHH, he focused on the merger between Dothan Housing (DH) and the Southeast Alabama Coalition for the Homeless (SEACH). This led to a public-private partnership with the Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama (LIHCA) and Collaborative Solutions to create a 10-year Plan to End Homelessness in the Wiregrass Metro Area (WMA) and the organizational assessment that led to SEACH becoming a HUD-recognized CoC, AL-508.

During the 10-year plan creation, community stakeholders were asked about the biggest challenges facing people experiencing homelessness in the WMA; stakeholders answered that the biggest challenge was the lack of affordable housing. Similarly, when community stakeholders were asked questions about areas of opportunity that can make the biggest impact in the WMA, stakeholders answered that utilizing project-based housing vouchers (PBVs) as a development tool and other homeless programs like Rapid Rehousing (RRH) and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) as solutions. Different tools are special purpose vouchers (SPVs) like EHVs, Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), Family Stability Vouchers (FSV), Foster Youth to Independence (FYI), Shelter Plus Care (S+C), Non-Elder Disabled (NED), and Housing Opportunities for People Living With AIDS (HOPWA).

On a single night in 2023, roughly 653,100 people – or about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States – were experiencing homelessness. Six in ten people were experiencing sheltered homelessness—that is, in an emergency shelter (ES), transitional housing (TH), or safe haven (SH) program—while the remaining four in ten were experiencing unsheltered homelessness in places not meant for human habitation. Experiences of homelessness increased nationwide across all household types. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 12 percent, or roughly 70,650 more people. The 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) count is the highest number of people reported as experiencing homelessness on a single night since reporting began in 2007.

2023 NAHRO Conference Section 8 Program Landlord Panelist
Dr. Threatt enjoyed discussing how there is an art of Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Landlords for the Section 8 Program at the 2023 NAHRO National Conference in New Orleans, LA, during the Landlords Wanted! Engagement Strategies to Increase Landlord Participation Panel Discussion. He highlighted the premise that it is a process for those who truly understand that there is a language barrier between PHAs and landlords. He was delighted to join the all-star panelists from around the country to discuss innovative ways to increase landlord engagement by attracting and recruiting new landlords for the Section 8 Program and engagement strategies to rekindle the fire of former landlords through rebranding initiatives.

Dr. Threatt's research on the role of landlords and managers engaged with HUD-Assisted Housing Populations, specifically those participating in the Section 8 Program, is of significant importance. His work, being considered for publication by HUD’s Policy Development & Research (PD&R), is a crucial step towards bridging the gap between theory and practice, particularly for Section 8 Landlords. His research dissertation, Using Input from Landlords Participating in the Dothan Housing Authority’s (DHA’s) Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) to Streamline Operations and Increase Retention, addressed the gap in research to better understand landlords’ important role through their opinions as experiential stakeholders in the Section 8 Program, is a testament to his commitment and dedication. The perception of institutional bureaucracy for landlords is their reality, and the unintended consequence is “The Price of Bureaucracy,” which is the name of his first book.

Dr. Michael C. Threatt
Elevate Housing Solutions, LLC
+1 205-552-9491
mthreatt@elevatehousing.com
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Dr. Michael C. Threatt speaking at the 2023 NAHRO National Conference on Section 8 Landlords