Newcomer Housing Tips: Cultivating Landlord Relationships for Long-term Housing

Switchboard is pleased to announce an upcoming webinar open to all refugee service providers, whether working at state agencies, resettlement agencies or affiliates, or other organizations. Please circulate this announcement widely among your colleagues! 

Wednesday, May 8, 2023
 1:00–2:00 PM ET

What will this webinar cover? 

Securing long-term housing for refugees and other newcomers has become increasingly challenging in recent years. Developing partnerships with landlords who can provide such housing can be especially difficult.

This webinar will give you key insights and tips on cultivating landlord relationships for newcomer housing, whether you are looking to establish new relationships or expand existing ones.

This training accompanies Switchboard’s blog post Newcomer Housing Tips: Four Steps for Outreach to Landlords. 

Is this webinar for me?

This webinar is geared toward refugee service providers or their supervisors who are interested in learning strategies for cultivating positive relationships with landlords, in particular for long-term housing for newcomers.  

Why should I participate? 

After participating in this 60-minute session, you will be able to:   

• Explain the benefits of helping newcomers build good landlord-tenant relationships 
• Name strategies for identifying and establishing collaborative partnerships that will develop or expand your landlord relations 

Apply insight from affordable housing experts on how to cultivate landlord relationships for long-term housing.

Speakers

Joshua Weber is the Associate Director of Training at Refugee Housing Solutions. He has more than 15 years of experience in implementing humanitarian-focused housing programs for communities displaced by conflict and affected by natural disasters. Throughout his career, Joshua has worked with governments, NGOs, and community-level stakeholders to respond, rebuild, and increase access to safe and affordable housing. He has extensive project-level experience as a housing expert in the U.S., Sri Lanka, Haiti, Nepal, the Philippines, Ukraine, and Lebanon.

He has worked with Habitat for Humanity, the Danish Refugee Council, and other shelter- and housing-focused humanitarian organizations. Joshua received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Arizona and has a master’s certificate from Cornell University in Systems Design. Most recently, Joshua has been leading graduate-level courses as a professor at Fordham University’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs. He is based in the Hudson Valley region of New York. 

Michael Shepard, CHAM, is the Rehab/Asset Manager at NeighborWorks Boise. He worked in banking for 25 years, spending 10 years managing the most successful branch of WaFed Bank in Eagle, Idaho, and seven years at Idaho Banking Company. During his tenure at both banks, he volunteered at NeighborWorks Boise, serving on several committees and lastly as Board President before being hired as the Asset Manager.

Michael loves giving back to the community and serving those who are most vulnerable. He is passionate about helping people obtain safe, secure, and affordable housing—the key to a successful life. In 2017, Michael received his certification from the Consortium of Housing Asset Managers with a Certified Housing Asset Manager (CHAM) designation, which has helped him become more proficient in the field of affordable housing. 

Rabiou Manzo began working for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in February 2006 when the IRC first opened an office in Boise, Idaho. He spent six years working as a case manager and supervisor for Reception and Placement (R&P) and Matching Grant programs for newly arrived refugees. In April 2012, he obtained his Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) accreditation and started working as a supervisor of immigration services, providing legal and citizenship services to refugees, immigrants, and asylees.

In 2020, Rabiou left the IRC to manage a refugee garden program in Boise with the Idaho Office for Refugees. Rabiou returned to the IRC in October 2022 as the senior legal representative doing immigration work. He is currently a Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) facilitator, where he works with different communities in Boise providing trauma rehabilitation workshops.