Three guiding principles to inform how we approach our work:
ITS ABOUT ADVOCACY NOT AUTHORITY
KH goes beyond providing housing to providing wrap-around services that help those we serve achieve their goals. By looking at the households we serve from a holistic, service-driven perspective, KH can step away from the assumption-ridden, top-down federal approach that focuses on the symptoms, rather than the causes, of poverty.
For non-elderly, non-disabled (work-able) households our programs are designed to:
- Create an environment that encourages employment and financial stability rather than punishing economic success.
- Ensure all household members have the skills and resources needed to succeed.
For elderly and disabled households, we focus on providing access to programs and resources that:
- Encourage healthy, active lifestyles that promote aging in community.
- Ensure households have access to the care and services they need to be happy and healthy.
As evidenced by our programs and consistent with our community’s expectations of us, we see ourselves as advocates for our families, not authorities over them. Our job is to facilitate, not dictate, and we want this to come through in everything we do. Taking all of these things into consideration, and after a great deal of thoughtful deliberation, the Board of Commissioners resolved to change our name from Keene Housing Authority to simply Keene Housing at their May, 2013 Board meeting.
This shift in perspective has allowed KH to support residents’ moves to greater economic independence. Since 2013, the percentage of work-able KH participants that no longer require assistance has consistently met or exceeded 5% annually, unassisted homeownership has grown, and the number of elderly households that continue to live independently has remained steady; all this while increasing the variety of ways we house families and the total number of households we serve.