Housing authorities across the country are facing a common challenge: The need for affordable housing continues to grow while the resources available to provide it are increasingly strained.
That challenge was at the center of conversations at the 2026 National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Summer Symposium, held July 16-17 in Nashville.
HACA CEO Ella Santos and COO Marvin Jean Jacques joined more than 900 housing and community development professionals for two days of discussions about federal policy, funding, development, resident opportunity, and the future of affordable housing.
“The biggest takeaway for me was that housing authorities have to be forward-thinking, innovative, and efficient,” Jean Jacques says. “We have to use every tool available to us if we want to continue serving families while preparing for what comes next.”
Expanding the Tools for Affordable Housing
One encouraging topic was the continued bipartisan attention being paid to the nation’s housing shortage. Much of the discussion centered on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a sweeping package of federal housing reforms signed into law just days before the symposium.
The bipartisan legislation is designed to increase the nation’s housing supply, reduce barriers to new development, and modernize federal housing programs. Among other provisions, it streamlines certain federal review requirements for housing development, gives communities greater flexibility to use federal funding for affordable housing construction, and expands opportunities to attract private investment in housing.
For Jean Jacques, the legislation sends an important message at a time when political divisions can make major federal action difficult.
“The passage of the ROAD to Housing Act shows that even in a divisive climate, addressing the housing crisis can be a bipartisan issue,” he says. “There is recognition across the political spectrum that we need to expand and preserve affordable housing.”
Navigating Growing Financial Pressures
The legislation comes as housing authorities are confronting significant financial pressures, particularly within the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Rising rents mean more subsidy is often required to keep participating families housed, increasing pressure on limited federal resources.
Jean Jacques says those challenges reinforce the importance of operational efficiency while also identifying new partnerships, revenue sources, and development opportunities.
“We know we can’t continue doing things the way they’ve always been done,” he says. “Our responsibility is to protect the resources we have, maximize their impact, and build an organization that can fulfill its public mission for the long term.”
HACA is already taking steps in that direction, including closely monitoring expenditures and voucher utilization, pursuing greater flexibility in project-based voucher payment standards, and leveraging technology and new operating models to control costs while maintaining strong customer service.
Learning from Other Communities
Beyond policy and funding discussions, the symposium provided an opportunity to see how other cities are tackling housing challenges.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell shared details of the city’s Unified Housing Strategy, which brings public, private, nonprofit, financial, and community partners together to expand and preserve housing. The strategy has already supported the creation or preservation of nearly 3,000 affordable homes.
During their visit to Nashville, Santos and Jean Jacques toured a roughly 200-unit housing development in the city, where they heard firsthand about the partnerships, financing, and community support that helped move the project forward.
“The tour showed what can be possible when local government, housing leaders, residents, and private partners are clear about the goal and work toward it together,” Jean Jacques says.
Building for the Future
Additionally, the symposium reinforced that HACA is building a strong foundation for the work ahead. While many housing authorities represented in Nashville are still navigating Rental Assistance Demonstration conversions, for example, HACA completed its conversion in 2014. (The RAD program allows public housing properties to transition to long-term rental assistance contracts, helping preserve their affordability and create new opportunities for investment.)
With that transition behind it, HACA can focus on building development capacity, strengthening relationships with private developers and lenders, creating pathways toward resident self-sufficiency, and pursuing other strategies discussed throughout the symposium.
“We came home with new ideas, new relationships, and a clearer picture of where our industry is headed,” Jean Jacques says. “Now the work is turning those lessons into action here in Asheville.”
