Despite continued anxiety over COVID-19, Greta Harris, president and CEO of the Better Housing Coalition, chooses to see how the pandemic could change society for the better. Serving the Richmond community for over 30 years, the organization strives to create, as Harris puts it, “better living environments for families to thrive.” This means developing real estate for rental, creating home ownership opportunities, managing properties and providing services to families in need. “The Better Housing Coalition has helped over 15,000 lower-income households be able to find a good place to call home,” Harris notes.
After immediately focusing on maintaining the properties they manage and making sure that her team and residents were in good stead, Harris looks forward to tackling broader issues that the crisis calls to mind. “I think it’s lifting up the issue of quality housing needs across all socioeconomic lines — now more than ever,” she says.
Harris is hopeful that the current challenges will lead to better opportunities for growth ahead. “The need is great, and I am just honored to be one of several leaders within the organization that are helping to navigate these challenging times,” she says. With a number of deals currently in motion to obtain and develop more properties, Harris hopes that with this crisis, new efforts will be made to give residents the tools they need to succeed. “In many cases this is not a money issue, it’s political will,” she says, “and I think we have to have our moral compass and our values at the forefront leading us toward the future.”
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