Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County 
Releases Five-Year Strategic Plan, Debuting New Affordable Housing and
Supportive Services Initiatives for 2024-2029 

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Kensington, Md. - The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) today released its new Five-Year Strategic Plan, which will guide its work in providing affordable housing and supportive services in the 2024-2029 timeframe.

The plan outlines the Commission’s vision, mission, key goals and objectives and introduces several new initiatives it will pursue to increase affordable housing across Montgomery County.

“This Strategic Plan is as dynamic as the Montgomery County community it is intended to serve and encompasses everything we do and how we do it,” said HOC President and Executive Director Chelsea Andrews, in announcing its release. “Because the need for affordable housing in the County has never been greater, the deliberate work of HOC is needed now more than ever. HOC is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to live in safe, high-quality affordable housing.”

The plan sets forth three overarching goals for HOC: 1) Expand Affordable Housing in Montgomery County; 2) Enhance the Lives We Touch Through Supportive Services and Partnerships, and; 3) Excel as a World-Class Organization.

The new initiatives announced by HOC include:

• Creation of a Non-Profit Preservation Fund (NPPF), in which HOC will partner with the County government to support the acquisition and preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing.
• Expansion of the HOC Volunteer Corps, to provide greater customer service and deepen community engagement. 
• Establishment of a Direct Rental Assistance program, which would allow subsidies to be paid directly to recipients rather than through a contract with a landlord.
• Responsibly employing artificial intelligence solutions to improve operational efficiency and enhance customer service.
• Investment in advanced data analysis capabilities to better inform decision making.

Andrews said the agency’s efforts will include a particular focus on its supportive services and programs. 

“The supportive services that HOC provides help our customers establish and maintain a healthy, secure home life and build a more secure future,” Andrews added. “Our Five-Year Strategic Plan focuses our efforts on boosting awareness of our available programs, expanding our multilingual capabilities and enhancing our partnerships with government and non-profit partners to enhance our service delivery capacity.”

The plan also affirms HOC’s commitment to achieving world-class status as a housing and customer service organization and a great place to work. The agency will focus on recruitment, ongoing staff training and professional development to retain staff and increase productivity. 

The Five-Year Strategic Plan is the culmination of 10 months of work, including interviews, focus group discussions, surveys and two Town Hall meetings that were held to obtain input from Montgomery County residents, HOC customers, partners and a wide array of community stakeholders. HOC immediately will begin developing the detailed Implementation Plan it will follow to accomplish Strategic Plan’s goals and objectives.

The Implementation Plan also will include the numerous transparent reporting protocols HOC will administer to ensure staff is held accountable and to make certain that stakeholders are informed of HOC’s progress in delivering on those commitments.

To read the Five-Year Strategic Plan in its entirety, view the Executive Summary and watch the introductory video please visit www.hocmc.org/strategicplan

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About the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC)
As Montgomery County’s designated Public Housing Authority and Housing Finance Agency, HOC serves approximately 17,500 renter households, owns more than 9,400 rental units and has provided mortgages to nearly 1,200 first-time homebuyers. HOC has also financed more than 4,000 affordable units for other developers and currently is working on 13 projects with 3,270 units (1,812 affordable) in various stages of development, including new construction and renovations. HOC also provides life-enhancing supportive services that help customers reach their fullest potential. For more information, visit https://www.hocmc.org/.