As we prepare to close out the year, please remember our colleagues and friends that were so dramatically affected by Hurricane’s Irma and Maria. As everyone prepared for and from the moment the storms hit Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the USVI, SAHMA made every effort to stay on top of news from our members in the affected areas. Parts of Florida and Georgia sustained some severe damage and worst of all flooding. And our friends in Puerto Rico and the USVI, well, we all know what happened there, and they continue to struggle. From the start, we have been communicating with national partners and have been included in disaster recovery calls to obtain information so that we may disseminate updates as best we can to our members. Specifically, in the Caribbean where communications are still a challenge we’ve done our best to relay news we obtain from various agencies on how owners and managers should handle certain situations. Even as recently as the end of November, Florida is still reporting a few properties that have severe damage and are still making efforts to recover. Puerto Rico and the USVI have only recently begun the process of damage assessment by HUD. However, while the recovery is a long process we at least have learned that USDA-RD continues to pay subsidy to occupied units and HUD encourages O/A’s to keep vouchering in anticipation that HAP contracts will continue to be paid, at least until January of 2018. In disaster-affected areas, a 15-month period for annual recertification is allowed, and HUD will review further extension requests on a case-by-case basis. REAC inspections and MORs remain on hold for disaster affected areas through December 25th, 2017, and HUD will review further extension requests. Annual financial statement submissions have been postponed until December 30th, 2017 with extensions also being considered.  

For more information about the SAHMA Excellence Programs, please visit  www.sahma.org/excellence

The Sisson/Ownby Rising Star Award is in honor of one of SAHMA’s founding members, the late Ed Sisson. And, someone who has made a profound impact on our organization from its earliest days, Past President, Patty Ownby. Both were recognized early on in their careers as rising leaders, and they exemplified the same commitment and dedication to affordable housing management.

Charlene Johnson, Program Compliance Manager with Volunteers of America Southeast in Birmingham, Alabama, was selected to receive the 2017 Sisson/Ownby Rising Star Award. Charlene has a true passion for her work. She has earned several industry credentials and has recently applied to receive her National Affordable Housing Management-Executive credential. 

Charlene began her career as a part-time manager for a special needs community. Since then, she has served as a property manager, community administrator, and most recently as a program compliance coordinator. Ms. Johnson is well respected by management and staff alike. She serves as an instructor, mentor and is an instrumental part of the company’s compliance department. She is respected for her knowledge and selfless ability to make herself available and support staff in numerous ways.

Thank you Charlene Johnson for all you do in service to our affordable housing industry.

Affordable Housing Advocate Award

We recently reached out to you and encouraged you to contact your Congressional Representatives and Senators and encourage them to focus on several parts of the House and Senate tax reform legislation that would be detrimental to affordable housing or be more acceptable. We asked you listened, and so many of you responded with emails, phone calls and outreach to your elected officials. We are truly grateful for your response because this type of outreach (Grassroots Advocacy) is how to affect change and to have your voices heard. You might not get exactly the result you were hoping for, you might not get anything you hoped for, BUT you might have swayed an opinion or a vote, and the outcome could be in your favor and in favor of the business you and your fellow SAHMA members so strongly believe in and want to see thrive. 

This is exactly the role that SAHMA members should be taking when issues affect the homes of the residents you serve and your companies. Sometimes these challenges are local in nature, and you work your way through your state house or local leadership to get your voice heard. And, sometimes the issues affect the industry as a whole and a wider net must be cast, which is why SAHMA members have risen to the occasion on tax reform legislation. With the assistance of our National Partner NAHMA and other industry groups, we were able to provide detailed information and outline the issues for our members. These partnerships prove crucial on the advocacy front. 

SAHMA’s dues billing no longer provides you an opportunity to support the NAHMA legislative fund. However, their work continues, and SAHMA members benefit from it. We ask that you consider making a contribution to the NAHMA legislative fund to continue to support advocacy on behalf of the industry. Please click on the link below to be taken directly to NAHMA’s advocacy support webpage and donate today!

Karl Ahlrichs, SHRM-SCP, SPHR

2018 promises to be a year of accusations and resignations – and as organizational leaders we need to examine how we got here, what we should do now, and what similar challenges are on the horizon once we work through these immediate issues. 

First, let me share a strategic point. There are pivotal moments in history where we Americans have examined our attitudes towards fundamental things – civil rights, sexuality, equal pay, and other key components of life in a diverse country. This surge in harassment accusations is another equally pivotal moment, and now we are facing the crucible of confronting the daily revelations of past poor choices and offensive behaviors .

You may think we are going through a “perfect storm” of harassment in the workplace, but I feel it is bigger than that. After a “Perfect Storm” passes, the world returns to a normal state. This current wave of harassment accusation appears to be a fundamental climate change in how our culture handles power and ethics.  

These harassment accusations are affecting every segment of the economy – hitting both private industries and public sectors. Your brand reputation – that priceless, intangible perception that takes years to build - can be lost in an instant and communicated everywhere in social media. Imagine the intangible costs to the Weinstein Company or NBC or Fox News, then swap in the name of your organization and imagine your personal losses.

There is no easy fix, but there are actions you should take. This is an opportunity for you to evaluate your organizational strategy for dealing with harassment in all forms – Sexual, Quid pro Quo, Toxic Environment and Bullying. Each of these are based on power, and all reduce your organization’s productivity and increase your legal risk.

As a risk management and human resources expert, I always look to prevent litigation and challenging episodes for my clients, and to help build positive, high performing anticipatory cultures that will thrive in the future. 

Here are some basic steps to consider in strengthening your policies and practices:

The main point to all of this:  This “climate change” is real, and just beginning. I look at this active shift of power in organizations as the time for leaders to take stock of their systems and step up their game. Leaders should see the changing social landscape as a time to reinforce their commitment to a sustainable high performing culture. It’s not being “trendy” - it is smart business for all of us.

reprinted with permission