After escaping an abusive relationship, mother-of-three Stacy Berry realized how often a lack of affordable housing kept women trapped in dangerous domestic situations.
With that in mind, Berry obtained her real estate license in hopes of using the credential for the greater good. The 37-year-old started Harriet’s Liberation Society, an organization to help women out of domestic abuse situations. With her licensure, Berry can connect women to life-saving housing opportunities, but she wanted to learn more about the logistics of affordable housing in the Denver metro.
“It affects everyone,” Berry said. “It’s in all of our backyards.”
She was among the first students to sign up for Metropolitan State University of Denver’s new Affordable Housing Institute, a professionalization of a booming industry previously devoid of formal education in Colorado, said Andy Proctor, the institute’s director with nearly 30 years of affordable housing industry experience.
“This institute is solving multiple problems,” Proctor said in an interview during Friday’s launch of the new initiative. “It’s providing experience and education for people looking for work in the industry. It’s providing a workforce for employees. And it’s going to help people become housed.”
The program is intended to equip students with practical skills in affordable housing finance, property management and resident services, Proctor said.
Colorado leaders have been brainstorming ways to tackle Colorado’s housing crisis, from Mayor Mike Johnston’s defeated pitch to voters for an affordable housing sales tax to Denver’s contentious “expanding housing affordability” policy.
MSU Denver’s President Janine Davidson said her institution’s students struggle to afford to live in the neighborhood.
“Affordable housing stock is the solution, but we need more people to make that happen,” Davidson said during the institute’s launch.
The Affordable Housing Management Certificate is a program in MSU Denver’s College of Business melding real estate coursework with social work classes. To earn the certificate, students are required to take five courses:
- Introduction to Facilities Management
- Introduction to Real Estate
- Residential Property Management
- Introduction to Social Work and
- Community Engagement and Civic Responsibility
Then, students can choose from a number of electives including Social Work Practice with Children and Youth and Social Work with Older People.
Students will gain experience in business and finance while also learning how to work with residents who might be facing unemployment, health problems or other issues that could lead to their struggle finding housing.
The institute also offers two non-credit courses that could benefit industry professionals looking to beef up their knowledge. Non-Credit Housing Funding for Public Agencies teaches staffs about the affordable housing funding ecosystem. Proctor said the four-week course would be perfect for state, county and local governments, quasi-governmental agencies and banking institutions.
The institute has been in the works since August and was made possible with a $250 million gift from FHLBank of Topeka and early funding from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
“My hope is we have the opportunity to develop a workforce of students who have the knowledge to hit the ground running,” said Jeff Kuzbel, president and CEO of FHLBank of Topeka.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.