UHAB has developed ten participatory training courses that offer our expertise in self-help housing to groups within and beyond New York. All of UHAB’s training follows a participatory learning model based on the belief that adults learn best by doing, and in this process they develop leadership and group decision-making skills.
UHAB classes include:
- detailed curriculum;
- extensive handouts and class materials;
- manuals (where noted); and
- trainer’s notes are available for some courses to facilitate these courses being taught by others.
UHAB’s training courses are given in its offices in New York City and on-site elsewhere in the country. Each course can also be adapted to meet the unique needs of participants.
Our Training Method
UHAB utilizes a participatory training method which we call the Small Group Activity Method. It is based on the principle that adults learn best by doing. This approach places the participants in a series of carefully constructed problem-solving or discovery situations where they are asked as a group to apply their own experiences combined with information and resources provided in the training to solving problems that are relevant to their day-to-day experiences. The instructor's role is to organize this process within the workshop and to add his or her expertise.
The Small Group Activity Method often works as follows:
For the duration of the workshop, participants are divided into small groups of from three to five. Each group chooses a group reporter or "scribe" to help facilitate the discussion, take notes, and report back to the group as a whole. The groups work on a common written activity which requires them to make judgments and bring to bear their own experiences. An activity may also ask for interpretations of distributed written policies or situations, or require research to find information in documents or training manuals.
There are several advantages to this approach over the typical lecture method. First, it maximizes participation without loss of structure. Second, it places a high value on the sharing of information and experience. Third, the Small Group Activity Method develops leadership skills, and fourth it develops a shared pedagogy. This method also promotes fundamental values and processes, and it breaks down the hierarchical structure common to most classrooms. It supports the notion that adults can be equal partners in the educational process, and it stresses cooperative problem solving skills and minimizes individual competitiveness. In summary, the Small Group Activity Method models a philosophy and a process for problem solving and decision-making that is the basis of a successful cooperative or tenant organization.
Course Descriptions
1) Thinking About Cooperative Housing: An Introductory Seminar
This seminar concentrates on cooperatives and other forms of tenant-controlled housing, and it describes various models. It includes an overview of how low- and moderate-income housing cooperatives function and the roles of an organization that sponsors, trains, assists, and/or supports self-help housing. This course can be divided into two one day seminars, and given to separate audiences.
Seminar duration: Two days
Suitable for: Not-for-profit developers and managers; public agencies; private developers and managers
2) An Introduction for Tenants to Self-Management and Cooperative Ownership
This course introduces tenants to the difficulties and rewards of ownership and/or tenant management. It is targeted to tenants who, while interested in taking a greater role in the operations of their housing, are not well organized, live in poor physical and social conditions, and are skeptical about tenant participation and control. Originally developed for tenants living in buildings directly managed by New York City, it is useful for tenants living in HUD distressed properties or in public housing outside of New York City.
Course duration: Four classes of three hours
Suitable for: Tenants in public housing; HUD distressed properties; HUD Mark-To-Market; privately-owned housing
3) Training for Trainers (T4T)
An intensive, hands-on introduction to UHAB’s training methodology. Known as the Small Group Activity Method (see back cover), it uses a participatory learning approach that respects the innate ability of all individuals, regardless of their educational background. Over the past 16 years this method has proven to be effective in training tenants and cooperative residents. UHAB helped establish this program more than 10 years ago as part of the national Training for Trainers cooperative, and it has been used successfully in New York City, across the United States, and in Russia. The course includes a manual for graduates to use to train others to become trainers. For details on upcoming T4T sessions, click here.
Course duration: Four days
Suitable for: Any individual or organization interested in self-help housing, organizing, or training others
4) Training for Technical Assistance Providers (T4TA)
This course focuses on giving participants the tools needed to provide technical assistance to tenants who own, control, or participate substantially in the management and operations of their housing. It helps participants become familiar with the resource materials related to each content area which is important when providing technical assistance. The course includes a manual.
Course duration: Four days
Suitable for: Organizations interested in providing technical assistance to tenants
5) Self-Help Housing: Management, Maintenance, and Operations
This is a five-day intensive training session that covers the fundamentals required by training staff, organizers, and technical assistance providers interested in self-help housing. This program has been designed to be generic, and it is modified to fit the needs of the participants.
Course duration: Five days
Suitable for: Not-for-profit organizations; government agencies
6) Cooperative Management and Governance: The Fundamentals for Residents and Leaders
This course prepares residents to own and manage their own housing, and it can also be useful for existing cooperatives where residents have not been involved in operations. The course includes classes on organizational management, participation, financial management, employee and payroll management, and maintenance and repair. The course is based on the successful training UHAB has provided to residents in more than 1,100 cooperatives and tenants associations.
Course duration: Sixteen classes of three hours
Suitable for: Tenants interested in form a housing cooperative; residents living in an existing cooperative
7) A Seminar For Managers of Cooperatives
This course serves building leaders and managers directly involved in managing self-help housing. The course covers all of the physical and financial aspects of managing a housing cooperative. It also includes computer training and business development skills for building leaders who want to become managers. The emphasis is on the role of the manager, his/her relationship with the cooperative board and the way this differs from management work in a traditional rental building, including not-for-profit rentals.
Course duration: Two days
Suitable for: Managers and building leaders of cooperative housing
8) Single-family Homeownership Training
This course focuses on the basics of single-family homeownership for members of households who have never owned their own housing. The course was developed for residents in single-family public housing being converted to homeownership, and it can be used in both single-family and small homes developments. Some of the topics discussed are home equity, financing, common first-time homeowner problems, basic maintenance and repair, budgeting, and record keeping. A training manual and a handbook for first-time homeowners are available.
Course duration: Five classes of three hours
Suitable for: New homeowners
9) Tenant Participation Training
This course is for managers and owners of rental housing, and it focuses on the basics of involving rental tenants in the daily functioning of their buildings. It details a variety of collaborative activities which benefit managers, owners, and tenants. The course provides tools for managers and owners to share their knowledge, experience, and responsibilities with tenants without jeopardizing professional management standards. The final product is a usable Tenant Participation Plan.
Course duration: Two days
Suitable for: Housing managers, organizers, tenant relations specialists, and others involved in rental housing
10) Creating A Neighborhood Network
In New York City cooperatives clustered in a neighborhood have been assisted in joining together to address issues of common concern and provide mutual support. This is a form of community organizing based on the multiple node form of leadership with activists in existing cooperative buildings forming a coalition focusing on both community and city issues.
Course duration: Four to eight classes of three hours
Suitable for: Established resident leaders in cooperative housing
For more information and prices, email Andrew Reicher or call him at 212-479-3305.
