Six years ago A-HOME’s first strategic plan was put into place and, with goals accomplished, members of the A-HOME Board, Staff, Coalition and President’s Council have looked to the future and developed a new long range plan for the next three to five years. Committee members examined the current environment, emerging trends, and A-HOME’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Although the intent of A-HOME’s mission remains the same, it was updated to reflect an expanded role in the community.

A-HOME will:

Advocate strongly for affordable housing in northern Westchester,

Develop new funding approaches to negate cut-backs in federal assistance,

Enhance outreach efforts to the “invisible” potential residents in our communities,

Conduct a survey in selected northern Westchester towns to confirm housing needs,

Work with municipalities to develop projects for higher-income populations, particularly essential services personnel,

Explore creating accessory apartments as an option for elderly homeowners to provide them income that might allow them to continue to live in their houses, and make available an apartment for lower-income residents,

Act as a co-developer or consultant to other not-for-profit organizations or municipalities lacking experience in affordable housing,

Enrich our single-parent-family program by seeking partners with expertise we lack, such as youth and parenting programs, job training and assistance in transitioning to higher wage jobs,

Create the Independence Fund aimed at bridging the rental subsidy gap and helping individuals and families realize their potential earning power,

Develop policies for transitioning residents to alternative housing, especially for those who become too fragile for A-HOME housing, and for aging children,

Explore the feasibility of expanding into Putnam County.

A task force has been charged with developing an action plan and implementation timetable.