Manchester Housing Preservation VISTA

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Organize tenants and activate resources to preserve housing access and fight blight in Pittsburgh’s historic Manchester Neighborhood!

Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC) and Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG) are seeking a passionate community organizer to dedicate a year of AmeriCorps VISTA service (americorps.gov/vista) developing funds, engaging residents, and building partnerships to ensure their real estate programs are sustainable and aligned with community needs. By cultivating neighborhood leaders leaders and restoring tenant councils, the VISTA member will amplify resident voices in the rehabilitation of mixed-income HOPE VI housing and the upcoming Manchester-Chateau Neighborhood Plan. Meanwhile, the VISTA will pursue grant and earned income streams to fund both current and long-term housing objectives. In addition to preserving rental access, the VISTA member will help establish a pipeline referring eligible tenants to home ownership assistance with partner organizations to reduce residential vacancy, preserve historic architecture, and prevent displacement.

In addition to providing a resume, you must also create an application on the My AmeriCorps Portal and apply to the PCRG - Manchester Citizens Corp. Housing Preservation VISTA listing (my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=80598). For instructions on how to create an application, go to www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorpsvista/start-your-application. If you have any questions, contact LaShawn Burton-Faulk at lfaulk@manchestercitizens.org or (412) 323-1743.

Assignment Responsibilities

• Convene diverse neighborhood leaders to reconstitute tenant councils in Manchester’s mixed-income Hope VI housing units
• Connect tenant leaders to community action teams providing resident input for upcoming Manchester-Chateau Neighborhood Plan
• Draft, implement tenant engagement strategy to increase participation of tenant leaders in community planning, development
• Research mechanisms to expand, diversify earned income streams for affordable housing redevelopment
• Pursue grant and fundraising opportunities to meet and build commitment to housing access
• Identify families in subsidized housing eligible for home ownership assistance
• Form working relationships with community partners, programs to support low-cost lending, rehabilitation for low to moderate income home buyers
• Establish formal procedures, agreements with partner organizations to assemble referral network for home ownership assistance
• Create, carry out plans to increase engagement of veterans in home ownership promotion activities

Required Exerpience/Qualities/Skills

• Interest in affordable housing, community organizing, tenant engagement, or economic development
• Demonstrated ability to compose professional documents, correspondence
• Capacity to form working relationships with diverse community members, partners, and stakeholders
• Basic word processing and spreadsheet skills

Preferred Experience/Qualities/Skills

• Experience with community organizing in nonprofit or public service environments
• Awareness of community development principles and practices
• Basic knowledge of affordable housing programs and organizations in Greater Pittsburgh
• Grant writing and management skills
• Previous involvement in fundraising activities

Benefits of AmeriCorps VISTA Service

• Living Allowance: Receive a modest bi-weekly living allowance of $472.22 to cover basic living expenses.
• Relocation Allowance: If you move 50+ miles from your home to a new community, you receive relocation travel assistance up to $1,000 (based on the federal mileage rate) and a settling-in allowance of $550.
• End of Service Award: Choose between a $5,920 Segal Education Award to pay for a range of education expenses or a $1,800 cash stipend.
• Health Care: Enroll in either out-of-pocket reimbursement ($7,150 medical, $1,000 for dental, $200 for vision) for healthcare or a healthcare plan. Dental and vision are also included, as are telehealth services.
• Non-Competitive Eligibility: Qualify for Non-Competitive Eligibility, a unique hiring path that makes it easier for federal agencies to hire you.
• Professional Development: Attend in-person and virtual professional development sponsored by AmeriCorps VISTA and Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group.
• Child Care: You may be eligible to receive up to $400/month for child care if you have children under the age of 13.

About Manchester Citizens Corporation

Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC) is one of the nation's oldest and most sophisticated community development organizations. Community leaders formed the Corporation in 1965 to create a neighborhood-based approach in response to widespread blight and abandonment. This strategy was unique when introduced in the late 1960's because the previous standard for urban planning had been to demolish entire city blocks and replace them with more suburban-style developments known unflatteringly as urban renewal.

MCC operates within the Manchester Historic District, which is Pittsburgh's largest historic district under the National Register of Historic Places, preserved for its early 19th century-built Late Victorian-style houses. We are one of the first urban, community-based organizations in the nation to link historic preservation with economic development. Our organization has a proven track record of leveraging local, state, federal, and private resources to create housing units, both affordable and market-rate, single-dwelling and multi-family, and senior housing as well. To learn more, visit manchestercitizens.org.

About Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group VISTA

This project is part of Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group’s (PCRG) VISTA program, which sponsors seven VISTA members working at six sites for a more prosperous and equitable region. As the area’s foremost convener of grassroots organizations, PCRG aims to prepare Greater Pittsburgh’s next generation of community leaders. The proximity of these groups to the people they serve enables VISTAs to tackle poverty head on as they confront the rapidly changing landscape of Pittsburgh-area neighborhoods and municipalities.

In some areas, rapid growth threatens to displace low to moderate income residents, while other neighborhoods suffer from long-standing decay and under-investment. PCRG VISTAs placed with PCRG and its community partners aim to build the programming, resources, and organizational capacity necessary to capitalize on these changes. Not surprisingly, their assignments reflect the remarkable diversity of Greater Pittsburgh, concerning issues as varied as urban blight, affordable housing, and entrepreneur development. To support these goals, PCRG VISTAs formulate policy recommendations, implement community engagement strategies, write grants, manage volunteers, and much more. To learn more about PCRG VISTA, visit www.pcrg.org/programs/americorps-vista or contact Aaron Salituro (asalituro@pcrg.org, 412-391-6732).