We have much to celebrate!  On April 28, APAH is breaking ground on Buchanan Gardens Apartments, Residents, relocated temporarily during our three-phase renovation, will return to an apartment community that has increased energy efficiency, all new systems and finishes, new interior fixtures and appliances, family-size units, a community room and a playground.

• The Celebration begins at 5:00 pm
• The program begins at 5:30 pm with remarks by Arlington County Board Chair Chris Zimmerman and Virginia Housing Development Authority Executive Director Susan Dewey. 

We welcome you to join us.  Please RSVP. 

We applaud Arlington County Board and County Manager for continued support for safety net programs in the FY 2012 budget that was approved on April 16.  APAH advocates on behalf of affordable housing.  We believe Housing Grants reduce homelessness by helping to stabilize residents in crisis so they can continue to live in safe, quality affordable housing. 

Here's how a Housing Grant helped one of our at risk residents.  A Columbia Grove single mother, with three young children, is a cashier in a U.S.Senate cafeteria.  Last summer, her work hours were severely cut when Congress went on recess.  She depleted her savings and could no longer pay her rent.  She contacted APAH's resident services coordinator who helped her to apply for emergency assistance through the Community Assistance Bureau.  She was later approved for a Housing Grant and Food Stamps.  She also enrolled in the Financial Independence Track (FIT) program at Columbia Grove, a partnership with Doorways for Women and Families.  She is learning to budget and will soon be debt free.   

The Federal government is proposing deep cuts to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  Along with other cuts in federal human services programs, this will severely impact Arlington's hard-working, low-wage earners who are one paycheck away from homelessness. In our service-rich community, can we afford not to act?

Todd Endo serves on the APAH Board and is Chair of the Resident Services Committee. He is the founder and director of the Urban Alternatives, a South Arlington-based non-profit that creates public/private partnerships to work together on community development. Urban Alternatives facilitates partnerships around youth programs, neighborhood organizing, and housing. It has developed computer centers to tutor and mentor high school youth, a pre-school, the Teen Photo Project and Teen Leaders of Arlington. Much of its current work focuses on organizing and advocating with the community as part of the redevelopment process along the west end of Columbia Pike. This advocacy has focused on affordable housing, public facilities, services, and empowerment of local residents on these and other issues of concern. A current issue is planning for a new Arlington Mill Community Center that addresses community needs and interests.

Mr. Endo worked for 25 years in public education and was the Director of Research, Evaluation, and Policy Analysis for the Fairfax County Public Schools, Assistant to the Superintendent of the Arlington Public Schools, Assistant to the Director of the National Institute for Education in the Carter administration, co-founder of the Institute for Educational Transformation (a partnership among a university-GMU, public schools, and businesses), educational director of a national group of street academies for high school dropouts, and an advisor to the Minister of Education in Egypt. He has a doctorate in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a master's degree in History from Stanford.

He is active on numerous Boards in addition to APAH including the Arlington Community Foundation, Greenbrier Learning Center, and Arlington New Directions Coalition.

APAH Annual Fundraiser Photos