United Community Housing Coalition Support Us COVID-19 Relief Resources What We Do About Make It Home program Careers Support Us More WHO WE ARE OUR MISSION Our mission is to help low-income residents stay in their homes and strengthen their communities, through representation, support, and ownership. United Community Housing Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing housing assistance to Detroit’s low-income residents. Since 1973, we have worked to keep people in their homes and secure affordable housing for those in need. We believe that having a place to live is a basic human right, and are passionate about preserving this right in our communities. Our services are provided to income-eligible families and individuals free of charge. OUR TEAM Ted Phillips Executive Director Ted has been the Executive Director of UCHC since 1986, with the exception of two years with the Detroit Housing Commission. Previously, he worked as an attorney for the Legal Aid and Defender Landlord-Tenant Clinic from 1984 to 1985. Ted is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. He is a graduate of Cass Tech High School and Wayne State University undergraduate and law school. He majored in History and has been a licensed attorney since 1983. Muriel ‘Bev’ Ealy Deputy Director Bev has been employed with UCHC since 1981. She was originally hired as an Administrative Assistant and for two years served as Interim Director, after which she was elevated to the position of Deputy Director. Prior to her employment with UCHC, she was the Administrative Assistant at Michigan Legal Services for 10 years. Bev attended Alabama AM College (now University) in Huntsville, Alabama majoring in Business Administration. Jolayne Thompson Director of Finance Jolayne Thompson has been the Finance Director of UCHC since 2013. Prior to that, she was a contractor assisting UCHC with grants management and oversight of their annual audit. Previously, she worked as Director of Administration & Finance for Shamrock Broadcasting radio properties in Detroit. She is a graduate of Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Social Work. She is Vice President and co-founder of The FACES Foundation. Claudia Sanford Director, Tenant Organizing, Housing Placement and Relocation Claudia has been with UCHC for 10 years and worn many hats. She was originally employed as a housing placement counselor and assisted with the early days of the tax foreclosure program, overseeing the direction, hiring staff for the 2009 Housing Preservation and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) programs, and the ESG program. She currently oversees Tenant Organizing, Housing Placement and Relocation, which included supervising a 4 year AmeriCorp VISTA tenant organizing program. She was one of the founders of the Senior Housing Preservation-Detroit coalition (SHP-D) and is currently the chair of that coalition. She has co-authored several papers on senior displacement and co-authored a chapter in "Forensic Social Work" published by Fordham University, NY. In December 2018, Claudia received the "Best of the Health Net Award" from Authority Health in recognition of her extraordinary commitment and service to community health care. Claudia has a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art. Amy Alexander Director, Tax Foreclosure Prevention Amy has been a part of the Tax Foreclosure Prevention team since 2019. She oversees all property tax foreclosure prevention counseling and programs. Most of her career has been spent in the non-profit realm working on issues including youth development, transportation advocacy, gender-based violence prevention and community organizing. Amy has a Bachelor of Arts with a degree in Sociology from Western Michigan University and holds a Master of Urban Planning Degree from Wayne State University. She has previously worked with Habitat for Humanity, Michigan Municipal League, and Wayne State University’s Office of Economic Development. Tim Bishop Director, Repair Services Tim has been the Director of Repair Services at UCHC since 2018 and previously worked in the property preservation industry. He has over 30 years of experience in residential and commercial construction and was the owner and operator of multiple construction companies. He has also worked as real estate agent and was a licensed builder. Tim is a graduate of Jefferson High School and a U.S. Army Veteran. Eleanor Carey Director, Legal Support Services Eleanor is the Director of the Legal Support Services department at UCHC. She has experience working at various non-profits in Metro Detroit, Philadelphia, and Ireland. Specifically in housing-related work, she has done street outreach to house people experiencing homeless, been a housing counselor after people were housed, and done tax foreclosure counseling. Eleanor was also the Deputy Finance Director and Operations Director for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s re-election campaign before coming to UCHC. She got her B.A. at Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia, and her Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation from Trinity College Dublin while living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a 5th generation Detroiter, Eleanor is passionate about seeing the city thrive, while centering inclusivity and equity in Detroit’s future growth. Outside of work, Eleanor is Chair of the Detroit Gaelic League Cultural Consortium and is Corresponding Secretary for the Michigan Democratic Women’s Caucus of the MDP. Kim Stroud Director, Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention & Land Contract Support Kim has been the Director of Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention & Land Contract Support at UCHC since 2008 and also oversees title research and real estate transactions for UCHC. She is HUD-certified in both Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Coaching, and is a licensed Associate Broker in real estate. Kim worked previously as communications specialist for the Detroit City Council President, the ACLU of Michigan, the Neighborhood Information Exchange, and the Metropolitan Center for High Technology. Kim is a graduate of Oberlin College and holds Masters of Urban Planning from University of Michigan. Charlene Snow Director, Legal Services Charlene is the Director of Legal Services and also supervises the Housing Clinic that UCHC and Michigan Legal Services operate at the 36th District Court. Prior to joining UCHC in 2008, she also worked in private practice and legal services. She was co-counsel for women prisoners in two large class actions; one in federal court and one in the Michigan Court of Claims. She also handled divorce, employment discrimination, unemployment cases and other civil matters. Additionally, she is a facilitative mediator with both family law and general civil mediation credentials. Charlene is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the ADR Section of the state bar. She is a member of the National Lawyer’s Guild and also a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. She is also a board member of the Justice Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party and active in the 14th District of the MDP. Charlene has Bachelor of Arts from James Madison College at MSU and Law degree from University of Detroit. Aj Fouts Director, Data Analytics Aj’s role oversees the accuracy and wholeness of program and client data UCHC collects, and her team is responsible for using this data to properly monitor client status and program outcomes. Her favorite aspect of this position is the opportunity to use the large amount of information UCHC has access to to attempt to answer pressing questions within the field of housing injustice. Aj has previously spent time in Yellow Springs, Ohio as a Fellow at a Community Land Trust, while earning her bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from Antioch College. Aj is a fan of trying new foods and taking walks and advocating for public transit any opportunity she gets. OUR BOARD Robert Shimkoski Jr. Board Chair Beverly Lemlé Board Treasurer Kanika Bey Board Member Margo Dalal Board Member Michelle Fallena Board Member Jacqueline Hand Board Member Arthur Howard Board Member Cynthia McCreary Board Member David Palmer Board Member Cheryl Sanford Board Member Cassandra Walker Board Vice Chair Latanya Harris Board Secretary Rebecca Cook Board Member Alexa Eisenberg Board Member Christina Guzman Board Member Katie Hearn Board Member Jelani Karamoko Board Member Khalifa McZeal Board Member Kathy Ralston Board Member Brenda Thompson Board Member OUR PARTNERS We have been privileged to receive a number of grants and donations from corporations and partners. If you are interested in supporting us or receiving additional information about how you can help, please contact us. We want to recognize and thank our existing partners, who are instrumental in helping us achieve our mission. City of Detroit Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Elizabeth Allan & Warren Shelden Fund Enterprise Community Partners Erb Family Foundation Ford Foundation Gilbert Family Foundation Homeless Action Network of Detroit Hudson-Webber Foundation Lakeshore Legal Aid JPMorgan Chase Foundation DTE McGregor Fund Michigan Legal Services Michigan Poverty Law Program Michigan State Housing Development Authority Midwest Solidarity Fund Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation University of Michigan United Way for Southeastern Michigan U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development AARP Michigan Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency Rocket Community Fund Verizon Universal Music Group OUR HISTORY 1973 United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) was founded by a group of tenants in the Cass Corridor/Wayne State University area, who organized to save their historic apartment building from owner neglect, deterioration and blight. The core program focused on tenant organizing efforts in the corridor. 1986 UCHC began legal representation on behalf of clients for landlord-tenant conflict resolution. 1999 UCHC expanded its services to include counseling and relocation help for homeless families in need of suitable permanent rental housing. The housing placement work served about 1,000 people (450-500 households) annually with two HUD grants, until December 31, 2018. Those grants ended and were not renewed due to changing HUD priorities. Current placement work is limited to assisting households with a judgment to move, or if they are being displaced due to tax foreclosure or housing code violations that their landlord has failed to address. 2003 Following changes in state tax laws in 1999, UCHC started its tax foreclosure prevention efforts to help owner and tenant occupants of properties in tax foreclosure. 2006 UCHC added mortgage counselors and foreclosure defense attorneys to its staff, responding to the mortgage foreclosure crisis. This partnership with Michigan Legal Services (MLS) has also sought to face the challenge of predatory land contracts and has since modified that approach to include dealing with lending scams. 2010 UCHC began working with homeowners to save properties from the October tax foreclosure auction conducted by the Wayne County Treasurer. The first year, UCHC purchased 147 homes for the (mostly homeowner) occupants of those homes in a pilot project with a small revolving loan pool of $80,000. Since then, with support from the Skillman Foundation, UWSEM, the Ford Foundation and others, UCHC has been able to provide purchase support for more than 3,000 homes. 2015 UCHC started its Housing Defense Legal Clinic in the 36th District Court which now runs three days per week and includes an eviction diversion program twice a month. This work has since been expanded to include intervention in development projects that jeopardize the housing of low income residents. With support from the City of Detroit, UCHC helps impacted tenants with relocation. 2017 UCHC and Michigan Legal Services partnered with the City of Detroit to create the Right of First Refusal program by exercising the city’s option to purchase foreclosed homes back from Wayne County before auction. With support from the Quicken Loans Community Fund, UCHC purchased 80 tenant-owned homes for the occupants and sold them to the occupants for cost. Prices ranged from $2,500 to $5,500 per home plus administrative costs. 2018 The success of the 2017 pilot program allowed for UCHC to expand the program to purchase 520 tenant-owned homes with additional support from Quicken Loans Community Fund. 2019 UCHC is in the process of implementing a repair program to address the needs of some of the 520 homes. These repairs address major needs such as roofing, furnaces, plumbing and electrical issues. This program assists new homeowners who are not eligible for traditional government sponsored repair programs. OUR FINANCIALS Annual Meeting 2019 Annual Meeting 2018 Annual Meeting 2017 Annual Meeting 2016 Annual Meeting 2015 Annual Meeting 2014 Form 990 2018 Form 990 2017 Form 990 2016 Audit 2018 Audit 2017 Audit 2016 We believe that having a place to live is a basic human right, and are passionate about preserving this right in our communities. © 2019 by United Community Housing Coalition