In December of 1998 I used this space to write about the cacophony and chaos of construction which preceded the opening of the Greater Buffalo Community Housing Center. During seven years of operation, what was then only a theoretical concept has exceeded all expectations: serving nearly 7,000 families and helping about 2,200 families lease housing. Seventy percent of those families chose to live in communities not characterized by concentrations of poverty or racial segregation.
In those early days we wondered whether housing mobility would work in the nation’s seventh most segregated metropolitan area. It did work—or perhaps more accurately HOME and our partner, the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, made it work.
Because of major funding reversals which have reduced our annual revenues from $628,000 to little more than $300,000, HOME faced the almost inevitable certainty losing its offices at 700 Main Street in Buffalo’s Theatre District. We had already begun the impossible task of looking for affordable space similarly accessible to HOME’s diverse client base when landlord Harold Kopp came to the rescue.
Mr. Kopp operates Exclusive Merchandises Inc. as well as the six-story EMI Building, which immediately adjoins the Studio Arena Theatre. In order to keep a tenant who pays rent on time and whose purpose he respects, Harold agreed to our surrendering nearly a third of our offices so that HOME could afford to stay.
While a majority of our surviving staff will shift offices and we must all contend with the inconvenience of internal construction, rewiring and movement of equipment, HOME will be spared the major expense of moving. There will be no interruptions of service, our clients will come to the same address and literally pass through the same door to obtain assistance.
Additional human cost
Friday the 13th of May was the last day of work for two more valued members of HOME’s staff.
Assistant Director for Mobility Services David Wright had taken the detailed plan for a Community Housing Center, helped hire and train staff, and oversaw their efforts to do what had never before been done in Buffalo (and in very few other places across the nation). David’s meticulous nature contributed immeasurably to the successes of the Greater Buffalo Community Housing Center.
For more than three years the professional voice answering incoming calls to HOME belonged to Data Specialist Sharon Rafra. I can’t tell you how many times callers have passed on compliments about what their initial impression told them about the sort of agency HOME was.
HOME remains the same sort of agency, but smaller—with fewer than half the 13 staff we had in the closing months of 2003. For 12 weeks this summer our leaner staff will be augmented by the contributions of intern Alison Bongiovanni, a third year student from the College of Wooster. In addition to working the reception desk (where we all serve our tours), Alison is assisting Anne Huiner with education and outreach.
Having survived so many trials in 42 years, HOME has gained a reputation for resilience. The talent and dedication of our staff, the leadership and innovation of our board, and the unwavering support of our members will permit us to survive this arid
season.
There will be better times ahead.
