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 White Plains, NY - Westhab Inc., and Robert L. Miller, its president and chief executive officer, will receive the second annual Stanley Schear Leadership Award for having built or renovated 4,000 units of affordable housing in Westchester County since the early 1980s.
Miller was also cited for making Westhab the largest provider of social services for homeless and low-income families in Westchester.
The announcement was made by the Senior Housing and Services Coalition of the county’s Department of Senior Programs and Services (DSPS). The coalition initiated the award last year to honor Schear, who passed away in 2006 and had been its long-time chairman and guiding spirit.
As part of his work with DSPS, Schear helped to bring more services, activities – and in some cases, service coordinators – to senior apartment buildings.
Westchester County Executive Andy Spano will present the award to Miller at the Stanley Schear Legislative Breakfast on May 8 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Osborn Retirement Community in Rye. The breakfast is free, but reservations must be made by May 1 by calling (914) 332-4144.
“The need for more affordable housing is one of the most critical issues facing Westchester,” Spano said. “Stanley would have been proud that an award in his name is being given to an organization and leader that have such a keen understanding and passion about what has to be done. Westhab continually stands up for those in need --whether it is building affordable housing or providing services to let them begin to live independently. Westhab and Bob Miller surely deserve this honor.”
DSPS Commissioner Mae Carpenter praised the Senior Housing and Action Council for focusing attention on the affordable housing issue.
“Seniors are among those who need affordable housing the most,” Carpenter said. “Westhab and Bob Miller have been strong, long-time advocates for their work in helping to fill this crucial need.”
Beth Hofstetter, chair of the coalition, said that Miller and Westhab received several nominations for their meaningful and lasting contributions to improve people’s lives by providing housing in the county.
“We on the awards committee couldn’t agree more,” Hofstetter said, adding that Miller’s accomplishments were all the more commendable because Westchester has “so little land and such high costs.”
Miller said it was especially thrilling to receive recognition for work in Schear’s name.
“I personally worked with Stanley for many years, first when he was a volunteer activist and later, when he decided to become a paid worker and got down in the trenches,” he said. “I am also proud of the tradition that the people of Westhab have created - a tradition of caring, hard work and accomplishments.”
Schear was a founding board member of the Housing Action Council Inc., which received the first Stanley Schear Leadership Award last year. He was also a community activist who championed the needs of the homeless and fought to ban racial discrimination in housing. In addition, he founded and directed the Bridge Fund of Westchester, which enabled those at risk of becoming homeless to stay in their homes.
Westhab was founded in 1981, and joined with the Department of Social Services the following year to use public assistance funds to preserve and expand low-income housing rather than pay for motel shelter. Westchester County was the first in the nation to use this approach.
Some of Westhab’s most significant work occurred between 2000 and 2005 when it moved 1,350 families that were homeless or in transitional housing to permanent housing units.
Last year Westhab started to develop housing in the Bronx and at two locations in Connecticut - Stamford and Norwalk. This was the first time in its history that it is developing affordable housing projects outside of the county.
There will be two legislative proposals discussed at the breakfast. The first deals with more federal funding for service coordinators in HUD subsidized buildings; the second, with incorporation of “universal design” in all new buildings, to accommodate appropriate and safe living conditions for people of all ages.
Breakfast sponsors are DSPS, the Westchester Public/Private Partnership for Aging Services, the Wartburg Adult Care Community, The Osborn Retirement Community, Family Services of Westchester, NewYork State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, the Community Housing Resource Center, Saccardi & Schiff, Inc. and the United Hebrew Geriatric Center.
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