Montgomery County

Welcome to Housing Opportunities Community Partners, Inc.

Housing Opportunities Community Partners, Inc. (Community Partners), is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation organized for charitable and educational purposes to aid the low-income residents of the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County in their pursuit of self-sufficiency. The Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), as the public housing authority for Montgomery County, Maryland, administers 11,000 rental housing units under a variety of Federal, State, and local housing programs. Community Partners seeks to help provide much needed services, including recruiting volunteers, receiving donations, and assisting in applying for, coordinating, and managing grants. Community Partners also promotes opportunities for the education of the public to the need for, and support of, affordable housing and services for HOC residents. Community Partners strives to address existing unmet needs felt by HOC families by funding programs that improve the lives of HOC residents and promoting self sufficiency.

Since Community Partners, Inc. began operations on March 24, 1999, it has collected over $42,000 in cash donations, $157,000 in grant awards and more than $500,000 worth of donated materials. Items distributed to residents included: furniture/household items, computers, clothing, school supplies, holiday gifts and food baskets.

During the last five years, Community Partners, Inc. has been awarded: a $5,000 Gannett Foundation grant for family self-sufficiency client services; three Montgomery County Community Services Grants totaling $54,000; three $20,000 Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) in support of Vehicles for Change program; two African-American Health Foundation grants totaling $9,150 for health education; the Community Foundation Katrina Open Arms Fund ($2,100) and other grants in support of various youth programs from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority ($1,000), Gary Rosenthal Foundation ($6,700), Clark-Winchcole Foundation ($5,000), the Optimist International Club of the National Capital Area ($2,500) and the Montgomery County Under-21 Activity Fund ($1,499).

FY2006 projects include: a $36,000 County Council grant for an anti-gang, employment services program for at-risk, Latino youth; a $16,000 CDBG grant to prevent eviction of at-risk households; and a $9,000 County community services grant to purchase computer software for HOC's family resource centers, serving low-income, public housing residents.