Welcoming Landlord Network

Housing - especially affordable housing - is in short supply in Northern Virginia, making Welcoming Falls Church’s Welcoming Landlord Network a crucial part of our effort to welcome refugees to the community.

Our inspiration? The idea for a Welcoming Landlord Network in Falls Church was sparked by a public-private initiative in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’ Renting to Refugees in Allegheny County program is well-documented in a webinar produced by Welcoming America, and Pittsburgh provided us lessons learned through its successful Building a Welcoming Landlord Network campaign – which has attracted dozens of landlord participants.

Which landlord stepped forward to help us welcome refugees to Falls Church? Insight Property Group made a significant commitment to the Welcoming Refugees initiative and welcomed five families to its Falls Green Apartment community. Insight and the management company at Falls Green - Bozzuto - helped incoming families make resettlement work, and Insight team members even volunteered to help one of the families move in! Welcoming Falls Church is deeply grateful to Mae Klinger of Insight and the entire Insight and Bozzuto team for their support of this program.

Why do landlords benefit from renting to refugees? Refugees may start with little, but their success over time is well-documented. What’s more, refugees resettling in Falls Church have support that eases their integration into the community. See the image on this page of an apartment furnished for a refugee family. If we are a welcoming community - and if our Support Teams and Adult & Family Literacy Center support families each step along their resettlement path - we are happy to have been a part of inspiring success stories for the families we have welcomed so far - and hope that spirit helps us welcome more in the future.

A message to landlords. Would you like to learn more about partnering with Welcoming Falls Church to join our Welcoming Landlord Network? We are not welcoming newly-arrived refugees at the moment, but there are many families at our Adult & Family Literacy Center looking for affordable housing. Email us for information about getting involved, and we look forward to speaking.