May 24, 2021
The whole world changed in 2020. Workplaces shut down, schools closed, and lockdowns began in response to COVID-19. Community Housing Partners (CHP) quickly responded to the pandemic by implementing new public health and safety protocols, closing offices and community centers, and distributing masks and personal protective equipment to protect our staff and residents.
CHP’s employees devoted themselves to looking out for each other and those they serve and finding new ways to carry out CHP’s mission under difficult circumstances. Following social unrest over the summer and a national conversation about racism and public safety, CHP stood in solidarity with all those who speak out against injustice and prioritized equity and inclusion.
A year later, CHP continues to adapt and incorporate the lessons learned from 2020 into its mission-driven work. Here are some snapshots from a year that CHP will never forget.
CHP’s Equity and Inclusion Team gathered at the Leaders of Choice conference for staff members in January 2020, the last big event at CHP before the pandemic.
CHP and Southway Builders were able to continue the redevelopment at J. Van Story Branch Apartments in Baltimore, Maryland, thanks to new COVID safety protocols such as a masks and temperature checks.
After Energy Solutions stopped field activities at the start of the pandemic, staff members stepped up to the plate to help CHP assemble, package, and deliver personal protective equipment (PPE).
CHP adopted new cleaning and sanitation procedures during the pandemic and, thanks to Energy Solutions, was able to distribute disinfectants and other materials across the organization’s multistate portfolio.
With support from Procurement and Property Management, Energy Solutions staff members delivered approximately 700 kits totaling about 3,000 cases of materials across CHP’s footprint.
CHP Resident Services partnered with The City of Refuge in Pulaski, Virginia, to provide food to residents at local CHP properties. In May, the Energy Solutions weatherization crew in the New River Valley picked up food and supplies and delivered them to properties in Pulaski and Christiansburg.
Property Management placed inspirational signs for residents at CHP apartment communities last spring, including Hunting Hills in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Many CHP employees began working remotely following the start of the pandemic. Among them was Anthony Cox with the Energy Solutions Research and Training Center, which began offering more online options and livestreaming from each trainer’s home for instruction and testing.
Crews following new COVID safety protocols helped residents at J. Van Story Branch Apartments move into their newly renovated home in June 2020.
CHP’s Resident Services partner, Controlled Outcomes, provided 96 food boxes for residents at Warwick Apartments in Newport News, Virginia. Controlled Outcomes partnered with the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, Newport News Shipbuilding, and CHP for the delivery in June.
Virginia Beach City Councilman Aaron Rouse (green shirt) and his foundation, Rouse’s House, in collaboration with Lifehouse Virginia Beach, delivered free backpacks and books for kids at Friendship Village Apartments in Virginia Beach in July. All the backpacks were also filled with school supplies for the upcoming school year.
The CHP Reads! Summer Reading Program continued in 2020 with bag deliveries for youth. These twins at Parkside Gardens Apartments in Ocala, Florida, didn’t just enjoy their books over the summer—they turned their bags into kites!
CHP and project partners broke ground on the Residences of North Hill in Fairfax County, Virginia, in August 2020.
Recording artist Pharrell Williams and his nonprofit, YELLOW, donated Adidas masks for residents and staff at CHP’s Friendship Village Apartments, Lynnhaven Landing Apartments, and Tranquility at the Lakes in Virginia Beach.
CHP residents had a chance to flex their creative muscles with the Painting Positivity contest, where they submitted their art exploring the theme “Home Is Where the Heart Is.” This is the winning entry in the adult category.
CHP partnered with Baseline Solar Solutions, a Virginia-based residential and commercial solar company, to outfit its corporate headquarters with solar panels. The solar project helped reduce CHP’s electrical consumption and meet its sustainability goals.
Staff at Maplewood Apartments in Martinsville, Virginia, celebrated Halloween.
Asset Management and Corporate Development staff distributed information about renovations planned at Cedar Crest Apartments in Blacksburg, Virginia, for 2021.
Turkeys were delivered for residents at Yorktown Square Apartments in Yorktown, Virginia.
Original art arrived at J. Van Story Branch Apartments in Baltimore. The intallation of 225 paintings capped 18 months of renovations in the building, which was finished in December 2020.