Ability Housing, Inc.
Building Strong Communities Where Everyone Has a Home
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Ability Housing serves, invests in, and represents: adults with disabilities, chronically homeless households, and low-income working families facing housing instability and risk of homelessness. Due to fixed incomes or low-wages, low-income households face a shortage of affordable housing options. On occasions where they find affordable housing, they often face barriers to accessing it such as prior evictions, criminal and poor credit histories. Chronically homeless households face additional barriers such as chronic health conditions (primary and behavioral) that require several supports over time. Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) – affordable housing linked with support services – is highly effective in helping these households achieve housing stability; however, finding a PSH provider can be a challenge. We address these issues by: ensuring our housing is affordable; implementing the PSH model; and utilizing the Housing First model to eliminate preconditions to housing entry.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Villages
The Villages Program addresses an urgent community need: affordable and supportive housing for the most vulnerable populations including those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, persons with a disability, homeless veterans and chronically homeless families and individuals. The quality multi-family rental properties provide affordable housing linked with individualized support services for all residents. All Village Program properties are dedicated to fostering the dignity and independence of residents; the overarching goals of the program are for residents to maintain housing and increase their quality of life.
CASA
CASA is Ability Housing's first project. It is a scattered-site single-family rental project consisting of 29 homes scattered throughout the community. CASA provides quality, affordable housing for adults with a disability; it is called CASA because each home is Convenient, Affordable, Safe and Accessible. CASA was designed for adults with a developmental disability that wish to live independently in the community; but do not want to live alone. Each house is rented to two or three roommates. Residents have their own supports and are responsible for selecting their roommates. Rents are affordable, varying based upon each tenant's ability to pay. CASA is so innovative it was designated a State Demonstration Project by the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. Further, according to annual surveys of our residents, 100% of respondents rate their housing as good or excellent.
HousingLink
HousingLink is a scattered-site permanent supportive housing program which enables persons with a disability who have experienced long-term or repetitive homelessness to access housing within the community. Funded by several homeless assistance grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HousingLink provides residents with rental assistance so that they can afford housing provided by others in the community. Ability Housing then partners with area service providers to ensure that residents have access to the supports they need to retain their housing and increase their self-sufficiency. All supports are voluntary. With HousingLink, Ability Housing is able to expand the housing options it can offer to the community's chronically homeless neighbors and help more people exit homelessness - forever.
Where we work
Awards
Fair/Accessible Housing Award 2009
Jacksonville Human Rights Commission
Fair/Accessible Housing Award 2013
Jacksonville Human Rights Commission
Special Needs Housing Assistance 2013
Florida Housing Coalition
Housing is for Everyone 2014
TD Charitable Foundation
Regional Award for Excellence in Affordable Housing 2018
Northeast Florida Regional Council
Woman of Influence 2018
Jacksonville Business Journal
Eastern Region Advocate of the Year 2014
Corporation for Supportive Housing
Affordable Housing Multifamily 2021
Globe Street Award
Award of Merit-Village at Hyde PArk 2021
PCBC Gold Nugget Award
2020 Local Focus-Lasting Impacts 2020
Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida
Executive of the Year 2020
Multifamily Executive
Ultimate CEO 2020
Jacksonville Business Journal
The Ripple Effect Award 2017
Northeast Florida Mental Health Award
Sapphire Award 2020
Florida Blue
2020 Eve Award- Shannon Nazworth 2020
Florida Times Union
Innovation- Quality in Supportive Housing Development Award 2021
CSH
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of homeless participants engaged in housing services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Single parents, People with disabilities
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of households that obtain/retain permanent housing for at least 6 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of children and youth who have received access to stable housing
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of units of case management services provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Ability Housing’s goal is to build stronger communities where everyone has a home.
The solution to Florida’s growing housing crisis is clear: the greater community must preserve and create more affordable housing. Having an affordable, permanent place to call home – giving a family a front door – is key to an individual’s self, sufficiency, health, and overall wellness.
With the strategic plan as the organization’s guide, Ability Housing challenges the status quo to generate innovative solutions rooted in evidence-based practices.
The strategic plan prioritizes the following objectives:
• End chronic homelessness
• Provide mission-focused affordable housing for homeless and/or at-risk households
• Support local policies which embrace industry best practices
• Affect state systems to effectively and efficiently align housing with voluntary supportive services
The Board of Directors is deeply committed to the strategic plan priorities above. The Board developed the following goals to achieve the priorities within the strategic plan:
Goal 1: Identify developers for neighborhood revitalization efforts
Goal 2: Strengthen strategy and development capacity
Goal 3: Expand operations capabilities
Goal 4: Enhance property development plans
Goal 5: Revise demographics of properties for 2025-2026
Goal 6: Advocate for policy that impacts affordable housing
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Goal 1 Strategies:
• Identify target communities and neighborhoods for 2020-2022
• Determine property-specific neighborhood engagement needs and opportunities
Goal 2 Strategies:
• Finalize strategic plan including fundraising plan
• Finalize Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• Update website and revise collateral materials
• Deepen board engagement
Goal 3 Strategies:
• Hire full-time Operations Director
• Hire full-time Asset Manager
• Hire full-time Receptionist/Office Admin Support
• Implement Wayne Densch Center asset management processes
• Finalize Asset Management Manual; including transition from property development to asset management
Goal 4 Strategies:
• Hire full-time Property Development Director
• Identify annual property development milestones
• Identify general contracting partners
• Identify architect partners
• Identify new referral sources, partnerships and service needs
• Engage board in developing strategy
Goal 5 Strategies:
• Identify new referral sources, partnerships and service needs
• Engage board in developing strategy
Goal 6 Strategies:
• Position Ability Housing as topic expert on affordable and supportive housing
• Prepare for 2021 policy engagement; including developing an engagement plan/determining use of lobbyist(s)
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
As Ability Housing serves very low income and formerly homeless individuals, understanding the challenges faced by this population is critical to our decision-making. Two of our board members are formerly homeless; one is a former resident of our affordable and supportive housing program. They each bring invaluable experience to the development of project concepts and programming to serve low-income and formerly homeless households.
Shannon Nazworth, President & CEO, leads our agency with over 20 years’ experience in the development and operation of affordable and supportive housing. In addition to her work at Ability Housing, she chairs the Florida Council on Homelessness and is board president of the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition.
Mendy Thompson, Finance & Administration Director, oversees Ability Housing’s Finance, Operations, and HR functions. Mendy is a Florida CPA with 30 years of experience in finance, accounting, administration and operations oversight primarily related to real estate investment, development and management. Mendy has worked with a variety of product types including office, industrial, multi-family and senior living. She has worked closely with equity investors, lenders and operating partners with a focus on the full cycle of real estate. Her experience includes public, private and nonprofit environments. Mendy held senior positions with Whitehall Realty Partners, Flagler Development and St Joe prior to joining Ability Housing. She began her career with Deloitte.
Cody Spencer, Director of Programs. Cody has had the opportunity to serve individuals experiencing homelessness in the North Florida area for over 10 years. During this time, Cody has served on multiple committees ranging from Coordinated Entry System Performance to Data Quality and Equity. Prior to joining Ability Housing, Cody served as the Senior Director of Supportive Services at the Sulzbacher Center, overseeing multiple federal, state, and local grants ranging from emergency shelter programs to Permanent Supportive Housing programs. Additionally, Cody served as the community leader for the Community Solutions Built for Zero Campaign-a nationwide effort to end Veteran homelessness. Cody is an active member in several CoC Agencies, serving in Central, Northeast, and North Florida.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2020, Ability Housing assisted over one thousand five hundred individuals in accessing and maintaining safe, stable housing. We serve our residents through three program types: The Villages Program, CASA, and HousingLink. The Villages Program provided 1,313 individuals, 578 of which were formerly homeless, stable housing through our six multifamily rental properties. CASA served 55 individuals through our community-inclusive housing program for adults with disabilities. HousingLink is our rental assistance linked with individualized supports program that assists persons experiencing chronic homelessness access to community housing. In 2020, we served 156 individuals through the HousingLink program. This intentional and dedicated growth aligns with our strategic plan to increase the number of people we serve by 500% by 2025.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Ability Housing, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/15/2023
Mr. Michael Griffin
AdventHealth
Term: 2022 - 2019
Mr. Davis McCarty
Retired business executive
Term: 2019 - 2022
Gregory Matovina
Matovina & Company, President
Davis McCarty
Retired Business Executive
Jake Peek
Driver, McAfee, Peek & Hawthorne, Partner
Michael Griffin
Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy
Shelly Kobb
Senior Vice President, Bank CRA Officer TIAA, FSB
Tiffany Adams
Family Promise of Jacksonville, Family Support Manager
Richard Pierpont
Retired Business Executive
Reggie Fullwood
Operation New Hope, President
Damien Haitsuka
WellsFargo, Northeast FL Region Bank President
Ellen Rogers
Bank of America SVP, Market Executive Community Development
Belvin Perry, Jr.
Morgan & Morgan Attorney at Law
Cerita Battles
JP Morgan Chase Managing Director, Head of Community & Affordable Lending
Mellissa Slover-Athey SouthSateBank
Sr. Vice President
Mary Kay O'Rourke Retired CEO
HabiJax
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/12/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.