The Lexington Observer speaks with LexHAB Executive Director, Sarah Morrison.
LO: Some readers might know LexHAB from when it was a town-run entity, but it recently became an independent nonprofit — did that change the mission?
SM: The shift didn’t make a difference in the mission, which is to develop and manage affordable housing in Lexington.
LexHAB was founded by a local legislative act in 1983, but operating as a town-managed entity was an unusual arrangement. Most organizations like ours are founded as independent nonprofits, because that structure unlocks access to a wider variety of funding opportunities. That’s one of the reasons we made the move — but the mission remains the same.
LO: What is affordable housing, and what does that mean specifically for Lexington?
SM: In simplest terms, affordable housing is housing that is subsidized in some way to make it affordable. Beyond that, there are income requirements for qualifying to subsidized housing, with different brackets for various levels of housing. Applicants’ income levels range from 30-80% of the area median income. So, for applicants to LexHAB, we use the median income for Lexington. Tenants pay about a third of their income in rent and we subsidize the rest.
LO: How many residents does LexHAB serve?
SM: We currently have 220 tenants in 85 affordable units throughout Lexington — and we operate only in Lexington. The units range in size from one to four bedrooms: they are single-family homes and duplexes; multifamily standalones; and units in multifamily construction, in which we own only the unit and not the entire building. No one knows only by looking at our residences that they are LexHAB properties.
The population we assist reflects the population in Lexington: couple and families, individuals, young children, seniors…our tenants are truly part of the community.
LO: What is the importance of affordable housing?
SM: It is critical. One of the most important things to understand is that affordable housing is not just about housing. It’s about health, education, enriching the community with diversity, and – especially in the MetroWest area – addressing the history of housing segregation, which led to the education segregation that persists today. It’s a reflection of that housing policy that the METCO program — the voluntary desegregation program — while important, is still necessary in 2024.
Where you live affects all social outcomes: the quality of education, health, and even income, because opportunities to increase your income often depend on availability of higher-paying jobs in your area and how far you have to commute to get those jobs.
I’ve heard people say, “Affordable housing in Lexington? That’s an oxymoron.” But why? Why should affordable housing only exist in lower-income communities? It should exist everywhere, in every community, because if not, we are just warehousing the poor and exacerbating already serious issues.
People want to live here for the same reasons we do — strong community ties, good public services, excellent education, and better health outcomes via access to medical services and lower levels of pollution. It is up to us to not raise the ladder after we’ve climbed it, but instead to keep it down so we can help others.
LO: Let’s go back to funding. You had mentioned that separating from the town to become an independent nonprofit would unlock funding opportunities. How does funding work for LexHAB?
SM: Like most nonprofits, we get funds from a variety of different places. Federal and state subsidies are either building-based (funds stay with the project) or individual-based (funds follow the individual). LexHAB is unique in that we have no building-based vouchers. But our rent subsidies primarily come from donations, which are always needed and welcome. We have been lucky enough to benefit from some incredible generosity here in Lexington. For example, we had a three-bedroom home donated to us by a former resident!
We also receive a lot of funding from the Community Preservation Act and the Affordable Housing Trust. Affordable housing is one of the committee’s funding focuses, and for the past five or six, they’ve helped us fund building preservation, rehabilitation, decarbonization work such as moving away from oil heat, installing solar panels, weatherizing, and more.
In addition, we receive funds from different foundations, such as a grant from Dana Home to make our units more accessible, which is especially important to help our seniors age in place. We’ve recently secured a grant from the Community Endowment of Lexington to conduct strategic planning. As we’ve transitioned to a new type of organization, we are experiencing new opportunities but also new challenges, so we’re in the process of planning how to further our mission and honing our focus around what we should be.
LO: What is your role in LexHAB?
SM: I am the Executive Director of the organization. I love what I do — it’s very heartening to work at the intersection of problems and solutions.
We are a very small operation, with three very dedicated and capable part-time staff. Our Housing Director manages all tenant-related issues and our Finance Director manages all finance-related issues. We also have an independent contractor who serves as our Maintenance Director.
LexHAB is fortunate to have an amazing Board of Directors. These eight people are much more involved than any board of directors I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve spent my entire career working with nonprofits. It’s a testament to how incredible the Board is, that LexHAB was so successful for decades despite its dependence on a 100% volunteer team — and they continue to give so much even now that LexHAB has transition to an independent nonprofit.
LO: How can Lexingtonians help LexHAB?
SM: I would love residents to get involved in LexHAB, whether that’s contacting us to find out how to volunteer or making a monetary annual contribution. Becoming an independent nonprofit does help us over time to more affordable and efficiently develop, purchase, and manage housing. But in the short-term, we have immediate costs that we have to cover —insurance, for example! — that we didn’t have when we were under the town.
But first and foremost, giving to LexHAB starts with developing and sharing understanding of and support for affordable housing. I would like to see Lexingtonians come to view affordable housing in our town as an important and vital addition to the community, because not only does the diversity that affordable housing fosters benefit all of us as a community, but more tangibly, many of our tenants are involved in making the town better by volunteering their time and energy on town committees, school PTA/Os, and other nonprofits. So, I would love to see Lexington residents enthusiastically supporting affordable housing because of its additive and enriching value.
To learn more about LexHAB, visit https://www.lexhab.org/
I am glad to see that there is an organization focused on the housing issue. I am a senior and I am paying nearly my entire SSecurity check for rent. I would like to meet with someone to discuss my situation, and would also be interested in volunteering.