NLIHC and a crowd of approximately 300 honored Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Dr. Mitchell Katz, and Emma “Pinky” Clifford with the 2019 Housing Leadership Awards at a presentation and reception in Washington, DC, on March 28.
NLIHC Board Chair Marla Newman emceed the presentation of the awards and thanked the many sponsors of the event, especially the host-sponsor Wells Fargo Foundation, represented by Connie Wright, who commended NLIHC for its work and congratulated the honorees.
Ms. Newman presented the Edward Brooke Housing Leadership Award to Representative Emanuel Cleaver. (A short video described each award and honoree.) The Brooke Award is named for the late senator from Massachusetts who championed low-income housing as a U.S. senator and as chairman of the NLIHC Board of Directors after he left the Senate. The Brooke award goes to an exemplary housing leader with a record of fighting for affordable housing on the national level.
Representative Cleaver received the 2019 Brooke Award for his years of leadership in Congress, commitment to addressing the needs of the lowest income people in the U.S., and steadfast support for federal affordable housing and homelessness programs. Representative Cleaver has fought for the wellbeing of low-income people and for racial and social justice as a Kansas City-Missouri councilman and the city’s first African American mayor, as a representative in the U.S. Congress since 2005, and as a member and 20th chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Representative Cleaver grew up in public housing and has been a staunch supporter of public housing in Congress. As the ranking member of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, he co-authored the landmark “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act,” a comprehensive bipartisan housing bill that benefits extremely low-income people in many important ways, passed into law unanimously in 2016. He has long been a champion of the national Housing Trust Fund and will be an important ally to the Trust Fund as a member of the House Financial Services Committee in the 116th Congress. The award was presented to Representative Cleaver “for being a stalwart leader on affordable housing and homelessness programs throughout his career.”
Representative Cleaver thanked NLIHC for the award, which has particular significance to him, he said, because it is named for the late, great senator from Massachusetts whom the representative holds in such high regard. Representative Cleaver reaffirmed his strong commitment to affordable housing for low-income people and families.
National Alliance to End Homelessness President and CEO Nan Roman presented the Sheila Crowley Housing Justice Award to Dr. Mitchel Katz. The Crowley Award, named for former NLIHC President and CEO Sheila Crowley, goes to an outstanding leader who has elevated the conversation around affordable housing for those most in need. Dr. Katz is the president and CEO of New York City Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal health system in the U.S. For many years - from his “Direct Access to Housing” initiative in San Francisco, to his work with the homeless in Los Angeles, to his current efforts in New York City - Dr. Katz has raised public and policy-maker awareness about the connections between health, housing, and homelessness and implemented groundbreaking solutions to meet the housing needs of the most vulnerable. As director of the Los Angeles County Health Agency, Dr. Katz led an effort to provide supportive housing to people living on Skid Row to keep them from cycling in and out of county hospitals, clinics, and jails. He moved over 4,000 medically complex patients from hospitals and emergency departments into independent housing - eliminating unnecessary, expensive hospital care and giving patients the dignity of their own home. Dr. Katz was presented the award “for his work directly benefiting thousands of extremely low-income people and for his national advocacy leadership around the message that affordable housing is healthcare.”
Dr. Mitchel Katz and NAEH President and CEO Nan Roman
In accepting the award, Dr. Katz commended NLIHC and all those present who work to ensure those most in need have decent and affordable homes, sharing a personal story of a family member with a disability who has stability and dignity because of his ability to live in safe, permanent supportive housing.
NLIHC Board Treasurer Moises Loza presented the Cushing Dolbeare Lifetime Service Award to Emma “Pinky” Clifford. The award, named after NLIHC’s late founder who has been referred to as the “godmother” of the affordable housing movement, goes to an individual who has demonstrated an unyielding commitment to achieving safe, decent and affordable homes for low-income people over a long period of time. Pinky Clifford, executive director of the Oglala Sioux Tribe Partnership for Housing and NLIHC board member, received the Dolbeare Award her many years of leadership and dedication on behalf of Native Americans and her tireless work to secure decent, safe, and affordable homes for the lowest income people living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Pinky has an extensive record of service in housing from her work with Running Strong for American Indian Youth and her service as a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Builder to her membership on the OST Tribal Council from Wounded Knee District and her current positions leading Oglala Sioux Tribe Partnership for Housing and serving on the board of NLIHC. Pinky was bestowed with the HUD Leadership Award at the Faith-Based and Neighborhood Leadership Conference in Denver in 2009, and she was appointed by the South Dakota governor to the state Commission for National and Community Service in 2011. Pinky Clifford received the Award for “her years of determined effort to secure decent, affordable homes for the lowest-income tribal people and communities.”
NLIHC Board Treasurer Moises Loza and Emma “Pinky” Clifford
Pinky’s acceptance of the award, delivered in her characteristic quiet, humble, and heartfelt manner, riveted the audience. She thanked NLIHC for the recognition by presenting NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel with a “dream catcher” from her tribe.
Diane Yentel concluded the presentation program by congratulating each of the honorees and thanking attendees for their support for NLIHC. She announced that, thanks to their and other donors’ generous support, NLIHC had surpassed its fundraising goal and reached a new fundraising record, raising over $505,000 from the event.