Mission Driven Connections

A social enterprise of Opportunity Council, OC Housing Partners focuses on increasing safe, affordable, high quality housing with local connections for resident stability.

OUR GOALSupporting Residents

OUR GOALSupporting Residents

Our goal is to provide support to residents and access to housing and local resources such as employment, food, and legal help. Research shows that safe, affordable housing is an important social determinant of health. With stable housing, adult residents can hold long-term employment and children perform better in school.

Together with our partners, we can increase affordable housing and resident success in our neighborhoods.

Opportunity Council is a private, non-profit Community Action Agency serving homeless and low-income families and individuals. Our mission is to help people improve their lives through education, support, and direct assistance while advocating for just and equitable communities.
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Our Team

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Managing DirectorDavid Foreman

David has spent his career in Business and Financial Management, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of Opportunity Council, the home of OC Housing Partners, since 2015. David is passionate about creating and sustaining affordable housing opportunities and helping residents of affordable housing to be successful as tenants. David holds a degree in Business Administration from Andrews University and maintains an active CPA license in the State of Oregon.

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Program ManagerEmily Hermansen

Emily has worked within the affordable housing field for over 10 years in many capacities including program development and management of tenant services at affordable housing complexes, case management for households experiencing homelessness, and supporting clients with financial literacy and employment readiness. Emily holds a degree of Community Development from Western Washington University, and has completed the Leadership Development Survey Course through Housing Development Consortium as well as Family Development Certification through Community Action Partnership. Emily is passionate about affordable housing and providing quality services to residents, leasing staff and owners.

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Program CoordinatorKevin Henderson

Kevin works closely with managers and leasing staff of OC Housing Partners-affiliated affordable housing properties. Kevin supports residents’ housing stability by providing connections to their local resources and works to foster connections between property managers and local community service agencies. He holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin. Kevin previously worked in multiple roles at Volunteers of America Western Washington advocating on behalf of those experiencing homelessness and mental health issues. Kevin’s extensive background in public service anchors the continuing expansion of TenantConnect resources and services.

Our History

1965

1965

Founded

Opportunity Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 1965. We function as a Community Action Agency in conformity with the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Community Services Act of 1974, focusing on providing services to low-income households in our service territory of Whatcom, Island, and San Juan Counties in northwest Washington.

Our mission is to help people improve their lives through education, support, and direct assistance while advocating for just and equitable communities.

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2006

2006

CreateHousing

Opportunity Council began a social enterprise program – CreateHousing — by partnering with Affordable Housing Developers and Owners in Whatcom County to connect tenants of those properties to local social service providers based on the expressed needs of those households. This service is designed to increase the likelihood of those households being successful in their lives and improve the stability of their tenancy at properties where this partnership is in place. Additionally, properties participating in this partnership benefit from favorable property tax treatment provided for in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW). Today, CreateHousing is known as OC Housing Partners.

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2009

2009

OC Housing Partners

OC Housing Partners began expanding throughout Washington State, increasing our partnerships with Affordable Housing Developers and Owners at 4% LIHTC properties, as well as other properties eligible under the RCW for favorable property tax treatment through partnership with us. Today, our portfolio includes over 30 affordable housing communities, serving over 6,000 households.

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2017

2017

TenantConnect

OC Housing Partners launches the resource and referral website, www.TenantConnect.org which allows tenants to search for their local resources organized by their apartment location. Tenants can also connect with our staff directly via email for individualized assistance.

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2020

2020

Community Connect

OC Housing Partners launches CommunityConnect, a new service to connect Affordable Housing property managers with social service providers in their local communities. These connections enable further enrichment of community life at each property through development of resource fairs, on-site classes, and other activities that are developed between property managers and local service organizations.

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Bellingham, WA
contact@ochousingpartners.org

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OC Housing Partners is a social enterprise of the Opportunity Council, a Community Action Agency in Bellingham, Washington. The Opportunity Council helps people improve their lives through education, support, and direct assistance while advocating for just and equitable communities.

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