On November 16, 2012, I found myself, once again, networking. This time, I am meeting an old friend, Alberto DeBurgo, who works for the Central Falls Housing Authority. I thought it would be nice to sit down and talk to him about his experience in Housing & Community Development and to find out what he likes about his work.
Mr. DeBurgo has worked for the Housing Authority in Central Falls for over 10 years. He focuses on program development for housing participants. I briefly explained my project: to develop an alternative housing plan for LGBT elders. Immediately, he asked questions including: who are you developing the plan for, is it a for-profit or non-profit organization, have you assessed the need.
Specifically, we talked about how to create a housing opportunity for LGBT elders without discriminating against other elders. He didn't think it would be possible to obtain funding for this specific population; but, as we talked further he compared it to an elderly housing project in Central Falls. He said that if a family applies, they accept the application even though it truly is for elders. He will investigate further to help me identify how to legally focus on this population and either provide me with more detailed information or at least point me in the right direction.
We also discussed whether the organization would seek federal funding as a non-profit or would the LGBT elders establish their own management company. I explained that those were details I'd need in the next phase of my project. Currently, I am focusing on learning about housing, in general, with a particular interest in elder housing.
Next steps:
1) Follow-up with Mr. DeBurgo
2) Meet with someone, who has experience in elder housing (Ray sent recommendation) to schedule a similar meeting.
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