We’re very excited to be joining project partners and peers in important discussions at two conferences this fall! On October 3rd at the NPH Affordable Housing Conference, Principal Theresa Ballard will be moderating a multi-disciplinary panel on the implications of co-locating homelessness services and permanent supportive housing. Then, at Greenbuild in November, Senior Associate Janey Madamba co-presents The Village SF and the process of incorporating indigenous values into sustainable design. We’re looking forward to some wonderful insights form panelists and attendees at these sessions!
Co-Developing Permanent Supportive Housing with Homeless Services for Better Outcomes @ NPH Affordable Housing Conference, October 3, 2022, at the SF Marriott Marquis
Panelists:
- Carolyn Bookhart, Director of Real Estate Development, Resources for Community Development
- Suzanne Brown, Principal, Equity Community Builders
- Jennifer Hark-Dietz, CEO, People Assisting The Homeless (PATH)
- Theresa Ballard, Principal, PYATOK (moderator)
The co-location of homeless services with supportive housing leverages opportunities to strengthen programs and can enhance outcomes for both endeavors. Success comes from a combination of enhanced wins ranging from maximized funding sources and shared costs, political support for community programs or for policies that favor housing, enhanced design quality including trauma-informed design principles and ultimately resulting in improved housing placement and retention rates.
During this workshop participants will hear from different partners in complex development partnerships as they compare notes about their initial goals, compromises made along the way, and how their organizations measured success. Discussion is anticipated to address mixed-use joint ventures and leveraging seemingly unrelated opportunities for shared benefits.
Lessons from the Village: Indigenous Values Meet Sustainability Certification Systems @ Greenbuild Conference & Expo, November 3, 2022, at the SF Moscone Center
Presenters:
- Suzanne Brown, Principal, Equity Community Builders
- Kristen M. Hershowitz, Partner, Stok
- Janey Madamba, Senior Associate, PYATOK
San Francisco is the land of Ramaytush Ohlone People. Millions of Indigenous peoples have been displaced by centuries of U.S. policy of removal and extermination. The Village SF is establishing a space of belonging for urban, Indigenous people that solves for their current reality—namely that American Indians are urban, inter-tribal, inter-racial, and without a physical and cultural home. A place like The Village does not exist in any other urban area—a physical building where urban American Indians can gather to connect with each other and their indigeneity and receive critical essential services in a culturally sensitive environment.
In this session, project team members Equity Community Builders (ECB), PYATOK architecture + design, and Stok will share the story of how The Village SF came to be and where it's heading. From their experience bringing this one-of-a-kind cultural, spiritual, and social services space to life, presenters will dive into questions at the crux of this unique exercise in Indigenous placemaking:
- How are today's green building frameworks aligned with the project's vision, set by long-standing, immutable Indigenous values?
- How can an Indigenous ownership group and majority non-Indigenous building professionals collaborate authentically to bring to life a building embodying Indigenous values?
- How can cost and space constraints be navigated to deliver an ambitious Native-led vision?
Through this lens, presenters will share the unique cultural-based sustainability imperatives and the dialogue that are guiding the project's environmental direction. Presenters will discuss how they are aligning sustainability goals with the Native cultural vision to identify relevant building frameworks and hotspots that fit the owner's values and vision while incorporating practical limitations like cost constraints. Operated by Native-led organizations, The Village SF is a blueprint for Indigenous placemaking in San Francisco and urban areas across the nation, with collaboration, community, and sustainability at its core.
