Over 18 months, SAHF's Housing Stability Cohort (HSC) — an interdisciplinary
group of affordable housing practitioners (asset management, property management, and resident services)— convened, shared data, and tested new strategic engagement and programmatic responses to strengthen housing stability for residents.

Born in the wake of the pandemic, the goal of the Cohort was to leverage and build upon emerging and resident-centered approaches used by mission- driven owners to support housing stability policies and practices. However, early months of the Cohort had to focus on the more immediate, as these owners and operators with commitments to stability scrambled to resolve significant rent arrears that outpaced and dwarfed emergency rental assistance amid skyrocketing operating expenses. Through peer engagement, exploring the root causes of instability and working through a practice-based and resident-centered lens, the Cohort moved away from reactive approaches to be more proactive and holistic, building tools and reimagining operational processes to advance housing stability.

This Practitioner’s Guide is intended to help those seeking to move away from the reactive, highlighting key trends, promising practices and models drawn from the Housing Stability Cohort. In this tool, SAHF outlines key themes to guide this work, specific examples and opportunities for practitioners to build and enhance staffing models and collaboration, proactive resident engagement and more trauma-informed communications, and data-driven approaches to housing stability.