Khadija Walker-Fobbs Making Strides in Housing Across Oakland County
(Ellen Shanna Knoppow, April 23, 2024)
Oakland County, MI – Oakland County officials are looking at affordable housing in new, strategic ways. That was Khadija Walker-Fobbs’ message when she described the creation of her new role as Neighborhood & Housing Development Officer, a position she’s held for nearly a year. Walker-Fobbs was also excited to discuss her division’s new and ongoing initiatives.
“One of the things that has really shifted and changed with my role and position has just been the strategic focus on development of new housing units and rehabilitation of existing ones,” Walker-Fobbs said.
“It’’s not a secret. There’s been so many articles about the housing shortage nationally and in the state. It’s been a focus of the Governor’s initiatives. And so we need to build and offer people diverse housing options.”
Because available land is limited and some areas can be expensive, Walker-Fobbs explained that they had to devise innovative ways to work and partner with nonprofit and for-profit entities to bring diverse, affordable housing to Oakland County as a whole.
To help facilitate those efforts, a Housing Trust Fund was established with a $20 million investment for the purpose of developing affordable housing. A board oversees projects that come forward for consideration, seven of which have been approved to date. “I’m super proud of the diversity of projects that have come through because it’s going to bring major change to Oakland County,” Walker-Fobbs said.
Two of the projects are located in Rochester Hills, where neuro-inclusive communities made up of condos and single-family dwellings include a certain portion deeded to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The model is the second of its kind in Michigan and second in the nation.
“It’s a way for families to help ensure that their loved ones or their adult children have housing that’s paid for and owned by them long after they maybe pass away,” Walker-Fobbs said, adding that a goal is to avoid the risk of homelessness. “It’s filling a huge need.”
Walker-Fobbs also highlighted the work being done to provide affordable housing for older adults. In Pontiac, an investment in a Presbyterian Villages development will enable individuals to remain in their homes as they age and receive support services. There are 216 units involved in the renovation.
“We also passed three different supports for developments in Pontiac that not only include the senior housing, but a workforce development unit for rehabbing a historical property that was sitting vacant for over a decade,” Walker-Fobbs said. The property had been owned by a land bank.
Funding provided by the Housing Trust Fund will be used to renovate the vacant building which will serve as workforce development housing. Walker-Fobbs called it a beautiful representation of partnership on all levels.
“It’s going to help catalyze that block by converting this vacant building into this bustling redevelopment,” Walker-Fobbs said. Strategically located near the downtown area, it will provide more units that are mixed use and available at different income levels.
Another mixed-use development in Pontiac, this one on Golfside behind Menards, will have some newly built units available for individuals and families with Section 8 housing vouchers.”It’s very unique to have a new development take housing vouchers,” Walker-Fobbs said. “So we’re offering the best to people. We’re not giving the subpar options. We’re giving really good, quality options to our communities.”
Lastly, Walker-Fobbs described a program in Southfield which offers permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to those recovering from substance abuse disorders. With a focus on opiate addiction, Wellspring is based on a model in Jackson, Mich.
Walker-Fobbs addressed a common misconception about exactly who qualifies for affordable housing. To qualify, a household must earn below 80 percent of the average median income (AMI). In Oakland County, that translates into a family of four earning $75,000 to $76,000 per year.
“It’s social workers, it’s school teachers, it’s security guards, it’s carpenters, and it’s cashiers who work in restaurants,” Walker-Fobbs said. “And paramedic workers earn, on average, $47,000 to $48,000 a year. So when we’re looking at the income that people make in these very valuable careers that all of us want living in our communities. It makes our communities rich.”
That’s one reason Walker-Fobbs says she’s passionate about affordable housing: the wide range of people who benefit from it. “The more you can bring diverse experiences, diverse professions, diverse perspectives, it makes the community rich, and it makes it vibrant, and everybody can benefit from those different experiences and those different backgrounds,” Walker-Fobbs said.
“I’m very passionate about affordable housing because not only is it helping families have stability and wonderful environments in which to bring their children up, but it also will help us combat homelessness” and blight, she added. “Instead of having a building that sat vacant for 10 years, like the one that I was talking about in Pontiac, that’s going to hurt a community, and it’s going to cause blight. We’re changing and impacting people’s lives.”
Prior to her work for Oakland County, Walker-Fobbs spent two decades in executive leadership for various nonprofits, most recently as the CFO at the Judson Center. There she oversaw many of the health initiatives, including CDC initiatives that benefited people during Covid. Walker-Fobbs also founded a nonprofit for teens in the Southfield area facing challenges with foster care and struggling with homelessness.
Approaching her work from a social services lens, Walker-Fobbs sees the connections between housing and other support services. “Whether you’re talking about families who have children with autism or children or teens coming out of foster care, if we don’t have stable homes and housing opportunities, then you end up with much bigger societal issues.”
“And at the end of the day, no matter what services we’re providing to people, if they don’t have a safe and stable place to lay their head at night, then you’re treating a symptom, but you’re not really treating the root cause and allowing time and space for people to heal.”
Learn more about Neighborhood and Housing Development in Oakland County at https://www.oakgov.com/community/neighborhood-housing-development.
