As NeighborWorks America’s staff looked to the future, they reached out to those who will be in affordable housing and community development in the future: Students. NeighborWorks invited Mary Ohmer, a professor in social work, and her graduate students to its daylong symposium “45& Forward: Readying Our Field for the Future.” The symposium was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the national model for NeighborWorks America launched 45 years ago – a resident-driven model that has helped millions of families build and sustain homeownership. The theme, looking back to look forward, went hand in hand with NeighborWorks’ milestone anniversary.
Ohmer’s students, all earning master’s degrees in social work, spent the day alongside affordable housing and community development practitioners, taking advantage of both the networking and learning opportunities that are foundational to NeighborWorks’ in-person events like the NeighborWorks Training Institutes
“It means a lot to me to connect more with people in community development,” said Sophia Ogot, one of the students who is also from Pittsburgh. “That’s where I see myself professionally. I’m excited to be here!”
Priscilla Rodriguez, also from Pittsburgh and a part of the one-year social work program, was new to community engagement. When speaking about her experience, she wanted “to learn more about how communities come together.” And part of that learning took place from discussions throughout the day on the importance of storytelling. “What I took from that was narratives. How I can control my own narrative and do that while helping people with theirs?”
Ashika Henry Richardson, originally from Jamaica and now a Moon Township resident, wants to use her degree to work with communities in engagement, research and policy analysis. “I’ve gotten a lot out of this day,” she said. “I learned about AI and drivers of change. I’ve also learned more about how to engage and empower the community, and to think about the future and how we grow as a community – to use that as a tool to help resolve some of the issues we face.”
Classes at the University of Pittsburgh started the same week as the symposium, and Ohmer said NeighborWorks’ event was the perfect introduction. “This is what they’re learning. We’re teaching them about planning and community development and organizing. For them to be in a place where they can see what a national innovator like NeighborWorks does, to hear about community development from the people doing that work – that's important."
NeighborWorks America's training options include online training, place-based training and the premiere NeighborWorks Training Institute, which hosts not only in-depth courses but a daylong symposium. The next NTI will be held in February in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
