Tremendous Success
In June, the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), held its 7th Annual D.C. Housing Expo and Home Show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. It was a day of education, counseling, and information gathering. In recognition of National Homeowners Month, attendees learned about assistance for homeowners, buyers, and renters of new affordable housing developments in the District.
The theme, “We are Housing …We are Community,” set the tone for this amazing event, which was attended by over 3,000 homeowners and renters from our community. The Expo offered novel housing solutions to complement existing DHCD and other housing partners programs and services.
With over 150 exhibitors and 35 break-out sessions and demonstrations, the DHCD Housing Expo and Home Show presented an array of outstanding affordable housing opportunities by combining community and corporate resources, educational strategies, and one-on-one credit counseling.
To kick the day off, DHCD Director Polly Donaldson, welcomed all the participants to the Expo and talked about how important DHCD’s mission of helping to create pathways to the middle class is for the District. “Our city is composed of individuals and families from all walks of life and we need to ensure that everyone has housing they can afford and be proud of. This will ensure our city remains diverse, rich in culture and inclusive for anyone who wants to call DC their home.”
Other city leaders who joined the Director in celebrating this event included the Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton, Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity Courtney R. Snowden, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development D.C. Field Office Director Marvin Turner, D.C. Housing Authority Executive Director Adrianne Todman, and Expo partner Greater Washington Urban League President George H. Lambert, Jr.
The Opening Program concluded with motivational speaker Kelvin Boston, a financial expert and author of the book Moneywise, discussing the importance of economic empowerment.
Homeowners were captivated by the range of displays and demonstrations available in the Home Show section. This section offered residents “how to tips” for finding innovative products, access to home improvement specialists, picking the right gardening products, choosing experts from windows to flooring to cabinets and landscaping, and much more, all under one roof.
This was truly a family affair, which touched all ages. More than 250 students attended the Financial Realty Fair and Virtual Financial Café, which were designed to educate middle and high school students on basic financial principles and the importance of money. At the other end of the spectrum, nearly 450 seniors visited the Senior Housing Pavilion, which held workshops, presentations, and demonstrations for seniors covering topics on aging in place, Reverse Mortgages, rehabilitation scams, home design for accessibility, moving into age-friendly environments, and other topics of interest for seniors.
The main event was the exhibit hall, which housed a diverse community of exhibitors consisting of government, nonprofits, small business development organizations, lenders, realtors, and others entities providing housing-related services. This is where all current and potential DC residents, small business owners, developers, and anyone else interested in affordable housing opportunities could find information related to housing in the District. Many in the housing industry were represented, and provided information and answers to attendees to help them with their housing concerns.
The DHCD Housing Expo and Home Show is designed to assist District residents navigate the community’s housing market. This year the 7th Annual D.C. Housing Expo and Home Show successfully brought District residents, business owners, developers, and housing providers together for the exchange of valuable financial, rental, home-ownership, and small business information. It’s all about connecting the residents of D.C. with housing resources.
To review all of the events that occurred during the Expo you can view the 2015 DHCD Housing Expo photo album and see the event program book with all the details of the breakout sessions demonstrations and a list of the exhibitors.
DHCD would like to thank all of our sponsors, guests, and partners for making this year’s 7th Annual D.C. Housing Expo and Home Show such a success, and we look forward to seeing you next year for our 8th Annual Housing Expo and Home Show.
This event was sponsored by:
