April 2020 Edition
The New Community Service Newsletter
Words of Thanks from our Board Chairman
This edition of the New Atlantic Housing Foundation news is dedicated to our employees on the "front lines" who are working with our residents and helping them through this difficult time. As people feel increasingly distant and isolated, everyone at each site has been working together to find creative solutions to build connections and community and to choose compassion during this time. We, as a company, have been proud to do that through many different avenues, including our maintenance, leasing and management staff, and resident services coordinators. To every AHF employee: we want you to know that we are sending love and gratitude your way, as well as wishes for health and safety.

We are continuing to provide excellence in service during this time and have come up with some very creative solutions to many COVID-19 related problems that we would like to share. We hope you will find this edition as not just a source of inspiration and motivation, but also as a source of hope as we continue to transform communities and stay connected through our passion to ignite positive change in our communities, even during times of crisis.

The Atlantic Housing Foundation is committed to excellence in service and a focus on giving back to the community. We operate under a set of core values that drive our business goals and everyday operations. These are:

Excellence
Continuous Improvement
Accountability
Investing in Human Capital
Integrity
Teamwork
Passion for Service

This commitment shines through in all that we do. Atlantic Housing Foundation cares about our residents, staff and partners. Please reach out to us if you have a comment, question, or concern at [email protected] . We are here for you!
Partnership Spotlight
School District & Partner Feeding Programs
Each of our sites continue to provide food resources, including coordinating the local school district bus to deliver directly onsite. Waters at Magnolia Bay's Resident Services Coordinator, Juanita Small, is shown here as the local school delivers meals to the children. Students practice safe social distancing while still receiving their meals.
Club 180 Provides Over 1,000 meals in April
A big thank you to Club 180 who continues to coordinate food distribution at both Waters at Longcreek and Waters at Berryhill. Families at both locations have received over 1,000 meals in the month of April alone. Atlantic Housing Foundation, the staff of both communities, and residents thank you for your service!
Continuing Services Provision
During this time the absence of very basic supplies has been at the top of Resident Services Coordinator Tamara Canzater's mind. She is aware of the needs of the community and focuses these to bring programs of excellence to her community. When she realized the need for diapers, which were in short supply, she reached out to local resources and partners and coordinated the delivery of 1500 diapers to her site. She has worked tirelessly to bring resources to both Waters at Fairfield and Waters at Longcreek, coordinating food deliveries, going to the local schools to pick up homework packets for residents who do not have transportation, and all the while providing services while maintaining appropriate social distancing measures and taking precautions. Way to go, Tamara! Thank you for all that you do for your communities!
Safe Food Delivery Continues
At Stone Creek Apartments, as at all of our communities, continued food service deliveries are priority. Here you see a team from the Salvation Army posed and ready for action. To avoid people gathering, these volunteers passed out food door to door to residents in need.
Staying Connected
Meeting and Collaborating in New Ways
Maintaining connectivity with our residents and our staff has been one of the highest priorities. The Human Resources team searched for a way to continue to share our Ted Talk Tuesdays and culture club events with our staff, and came up with a great way to share! In addition to our new Google Groups where we share our fundamentals linked to our core values each week, maintenance tips and tricks for cost savings, our wellness group, and our COVID-19 problem solving groups, we also utilize Google Meet to get the entire staff together to lunch and learn with a Ted Talk. The teams continue to meet "face to face" each week using this same platform, and the creative group from Waters at Gateway found a way to use Zoom to continue to meet with residents and lease apartments.
We strategically seek out creative ways to keep residents and staff engaged and connected during this time. In addition to Google Meet, resident service coordinators are posting on their Facebook pages using an online calendar for April. This resulted in a combined 14,702 interactions online! In addition to this each community sent out over one hundred email blasts using RentCafe, and resident service coordinators met for a combined total of over 25 hours planning and preparing this month. Resident services coordinators planned We found creative ways to continue providing services through Facebook live events and interactions, online calendar links, and other innovative resources to help residents stay connected and informed.
Windover Oaks
Jeromey Sand, CM
Evelin Hernandez, RSC
49 people reached
20 engagements
40 views
Waters at Willow Run
Lori Brummer, CM
Joann Gonzales, RSC
292 people reached
481 engagements
257 views
Arrowood Apartments
Patricia Gulley, RSC
30 people reached
12 engagements
35 views
Waters at Sunrise
Michelle Addona, CM
Lauryn Vega, RSC
1,096 people reached
223 engagements
332 views
Stone Creek Apartments
Nancy Blueitt, RSC
4 Live Events
615 people reached
390 engagements
356 views
Waters at Magnolia Bay
Juanita Small, RSC
Online Scholarship Event
63 people reached
20 engagements
32 views
Podcast with the President
Tee It Up with Phil Melton
Michael Nguyen, CEO and President of Atlantic Housing Foundation met with Phil Melton, EVP and Director of Affordable Housing and FHA Lending at Bellwether Enterprise. In their conversation, Michael talks about how Atlantic Housing Foundation has acted on the need for operational changes caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Phil and Michael discuss some of the impacts the pandemic is having on residents - as well as the response of Atlantic Housing Foundation to offer them support.
Resident Spotlight
Craig Tha Artist, Giving Back
Craig Carter, of Craig tha Artist, has been a long time resident of Arrowood Apartments, and, according to Patricia Gulley, Resident Services Coordinator, has always given back in the community in which he lives. She states, "I can always count on him to do an art class or help with something for an event."
The city of Houston asked him to communicate the pandemic in chalk in March of 2020. He also created this beautiful piece for the Arrowood entrance gate. Thank you for sharing your talents with our community, Craig.
People Making a Difference
Best Sneeze Shield
In a continued effort to ensure associate safety and maintenance cost reduction best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlantic Housing Foundation had all site teams construct Sneeze Shields for their designated area they set up for resident interaction in the office. The shields were constructed with material purchased from the local hardware supply store. The maintenance department set a challenge for bragging rights for the site team that had the BEST design and the winner was announced on April 16, 2020. Tall Timbers Apartments team accepted the challenge and rose to the top with their winning design shown above. Way to cut costs and work together!
Runner-Up: Spring Grove Apartments
Covington Creek Apartments
Stone Creek Apartments
Stonebriar Village Apartments
Heather Ridge Apartments
Westfield Apartments
The Atlantic Housing Foundation Way
Connect
Sandie Fauss, Editor
Director of Community Services
Contact:
469-206-8904
To find out more about Atlantic Housing Foundation, click on the links below or visit our website.
Community Service questions related to our COVID-19 response? Email [email protected].