Spotlight: CHOC's 2018-19 CCRH Real Estate Development Interns
(Fairfield, CA) - In 2018-2019, CHOC is honored to host two (2) California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) interns: Ms. Minami Hachiya and Ms. Norma Velarde. In its 21st year, the "Rural West Internship Program for Diversity in Non-Profit Housing and Community Development," selects and places interns across California, Washington, and Oregon.
Per CCRH, "the Internship Program is a one-year paid Internship designed to increase the staff diversity within the Affordable Housing and Community Development field, and assist in meeting the diverse needs of the communities served throughout the rural West, including its emerging areas. This includes recruiting, training and retaining ethnically diverse students who may not otherwise know about the field." With regard to CCRH's affordable housing and real estate development track (which Ms. Hachiya and Ms. Velarde are actively engaging at CHOC), interns "learn hands-on what it takes to create affordable healthy living communities, and specifically learn the intricacies of developing and rehabilitating single family homes or multifamily housing complexes from concept inception to construction completion for low-income and ethnically diverse communities following a real estate development process."CHOC believes affordable housing unleashes new possibilities for people - to achieve better lives for themselves, their families and their communities. In contrast to families who can afford to remain in better economic areas, many hard-working families are forced to "drive until they qualify" for housing they're able to rent or own. By ensuring diversity throughout our communities, CHOC has long demonstrated itself to be an organization that recognizes the dignity of all families; our affordable housing provides the assistance hard-working families need in order to move beyond what they could do on their own, ensuring their ability - and the ability of future generations - to participate in the American Dream of upward mobility.
Originally from Hawai'i, the daughter of an immigrant mother and single parent, and a recent UC Davis graduate,
Minami Hachiya
credits affordable housing as the reason her mother was able to raise her children in a better neighborhood than they could've managed on their own. Ms. Hachiya cites this stability and security as the reason she had access to better schools and enhanced educational achievement during her formative years.“Before (beginning) the CHOC/CCRH internship, I expected that I'd be learning the in's and out's associated with the development of affordable housing. Having been raised on welfare aid, I understand first-hand the complexities that families experience while trying to provide a stable home that provides their children access to their brightest future.""With this internship, I've not only been able to see the amount of detail that goes into every aspect of construction, finance, project management and property management, but also the larger ways each person on the development team plays his or her part in making CHOC affordable housing what it is today. I had no idea that this internship would be both so intricately detailed and widely scoped. While shadowing and learning from (CHOC Principals), my mentors and co-workers help me to see the importance of each assignment and how it builds to support the greater purpose of our mission - to provide (CHOC residents and families) with an affordable, comfortable and safe living space where they can thrive and accomplish their life goals."Ms. Hachiya added: "With the knowledge I gain from my internship at CHOC, I hope to bring a better understanding of affordable housing back to Hawai'i, in order to address the intersectionality of indigenous peoples’ housing experience, as well as the worsening national housing crisis.”In addition to launching her career in Hawai'i, Ms. Hachiya views her CHOC experience as the gateway to greater understanding, permitting her to learn the intricacies and challenges of creating, building and managing the housing itself. Ms. Hachiya also gravitates to the community services aspect of affordable housing i.e. helping families achieve better lives in real time.
Born and raised in Los Angeles,
Norma Velarde
is a UC Davis graduate, majoring in Community and Regional Development with a concentration in Policy and Planning, as well as Organization and Management. When asked to describe her interest in affordable housing, Ms. Velarde wrote, "I experienced what it was like to grow up in a low-income household and the challenges it brought when my family sought affordable housing. My personal experience influenced my career choices...I want to positively impact the lives of others and build a better future for underserved communities."Ms. Velarde also framed her interest in affordable housing in relation to her CCRH internship with CHOC: "I hope to gain the professional skills required for future leadership roles by taking initiative on (CHOC) projects when possible. I also look forward to learning more about the hands-on process of building affordable housing, and the critical role non-profit organizations like CHOC play in achieving this goal throughout California.""Thus far, my internship with CHOC has been an incredible learning experience, having received professional guidance from a variety of staff members, such as CHOC's Vice President of Real Estate Finance, VP of Real Estate Development, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer. I've also enjoyed site visits to CHOC's properties, gaining an exhaustive understanding of what must be done when properties undergo a rehabilitation process. As these rehabilitation projects began, weekly meetings with architects and general contractors became invaluable, in-the-field experiences."Most valuable takeaways? I've quickly realized that working on a project with a team may be challenging, but by talking through end goals and following a project checklist, everything has a chance to run smoothly. I'd like to implement everything I've learned at CHOC in communities with urgent affordable housing needs; the need for affordable housing is at an all-time high, the importance of programs like CCRH for young motivated individuals like myself is critical to our future."Ms. Velarde, who intends to begin her career in Northern California, cited the scouting and sourcing of land, the acquisition and design process, and working with engineers and construction elements as her favorite CHOC activities thus far.
In January 2019, Ms. Hachiya and Ms. Velarde will participate in CCRH's Mid-Winter Training, a skills-development weekend retreat for all CCRH interns. In Spring 2019, per the CCRH website, "interns culminate the program with the presentation of a housing development project they have worked on during the year where they must convince a mock City Council that their development project is feasible and an asset to the community." Successful interns graduate from the program in April 2019, preceding the
Annual Housing California Conference
in Sacramento, CA.CHOC is honored to be working with Ms. Hachiya and Ms. Velarde, and thanks them for ongoing and significant contributions thus far.
CHOC, founded in in 1984, has housed thousands of families throughout the Northern California region, from Davis to Sacramento to Woodland. CHOC’s holistic approach to housing has earned it an award-winning reputation for excellence, both in the design of our buildings and in the sustainable lifestyle our organization brings to communities. CHOC creates equitable communities for individuals, families, seniors and for those with special needs. Our success confirms that affordable housing is key to self-sufficiency and is achievable with enriching, supportive programs that give pride to residents, stabilize families and improve local economies.