top of page

Blog

Discover the latest news and highlights from the Polk County Housing Trust Fund.

Reflections on Housing Matters Symposium 2026

  • May 1

Housing Matters Symposium was held April 30, 2026 at the Iowa Events Center. Thank you to all who attended and to our presenting sponsors AARP Iowa and the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).


Listen to Housing Matters Symposium as a podcast

Thanks to the generocity of our speakers, you can listen to audio from Housing Matters Symposium as a podcast. We will be uploading each session as an episode soon, so be sure to subscribe on your favorite service so you don't miss anything!


Listen online at pchtf.org/podcast or through Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts.


Keynote speaker Charles Marohn

Talk of a “housing crisis” pervades North American cities—be it about off-the-charts rents in coastal cities or hyper-vacancy in the Rust Belt. Charles Marohn discussed the deeper dysfunctions beneath these symptoms. He called for building a more antifragile housing ecosystem in which the bar to entry is low and every neighborhood can undergo incremental change over time.


Presented by Charles Marohn, founder of Strong Towns.


View slides from this presentation


Housing Sites of Opportunity

PCHTF teamed up with local planning firm Confluence to investigate underutilized types of land available for redevelopment of housing, then to visualize Missing Middle Housing developments that could be built there. Housing Sites of Opportunity exist across our metro, and this project lifts up strategies and partnerships to help take advantage.


Presented by Abbey Eckberg and Jane Reasoner, Confluence; introduced by Johnny Alcivar, PCHTF. This session is presented in partnership with Capital Crossroads.


Our new report is available now at https://pchtf.org/missingmiddle


View slides from this presentation


Develop the Developer Launchpad

The co-development fellows with Julian Neely (L) and Danny Heggen (R)
The co-development fellows with Julian Neely (L) and Danny Heggen (R)

Building small scale projects in established neighborhoods is a challenge, especially for emerging developers. Last December, PCHTF graduated its first cohort of developers through a multifamily housing boot camp. Now, select graduates from that program will embark on a multi-month development fellowship with DEV Partners. We shared what’s next for the fellows and future opportunities to participate in this program.


Meet the fellows in our recent blog post or learn more about Develop the Developer Launchpad at https://pchtf.org/dtdl


This session was presented by Julian D. Neely, PCHTF and Danny Heggen, DEV Partners.


View slides from this presentation


Incremental Development Showcase

We introduced developers working on innovative infill projects that are bringing new housing options to local neighborhoods. Their presentations highlighted the benefits of neighborhood-scale incremental development and the challenges that come along the way.


Moderated by Toby O’Berry, PCHTF, with Mike Stuart, Tiny Homes of Iowa; Carrie Woerdeman, Central Iowa Community Land Trust/HOME, Inc.; Scott Cutler, Cutler Development; Dan Drendel, Slingshot Architecture.


View slides from this presentation


View video related to this presentation

HOME Inc. shared a new video highlighting the first homes made available through the Central Iowa Community land Trust.



Reflections on Housing Matters Symposium 2025

  • May 5, 2025

Updated: Jun 3, 2025

Housing Matters symposium featured a local provider panel focused on the connection between housing and health.
Housing Matters symposium featured a local provider panel focused on the connection between housing and health.

Our 2025 Housing Matters Symposium focused on the connection between housing and health care. Thanks to all who attended. Below you can find links to the resources presenters shared during the event.


Discover the Community Health Needs Assessment

Central Iowa’s latest health assessment, based on a public survey, highlights key data on topics like housing. The related action plan, In Good Health, is available at https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/health-department/.


Resources shared by our speakers

Dr. Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Children's HealthWatch


Dr. Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba of Children's HealthWatch focused on the overall link between health outcomes and housing. Did you miss her talk? Read about her visit to Des Moines in the Business Record or watch a podcast episode she recorded with the Polk County Health Department below.



You can also download Dr. Ettinger de Cuba's slide presentation.



Local panelists offer health perspectives


We welcomed a group of local panelists to share their perspectives on the connection between housing and health. Here's where you can learn more about them:


Supportive housing for better health

Amy Stetzel from the Corporation for Supportive Housing shared the benefits of pairing supportive services with affordable housing. She is leading a supportive housing institute with Iowa programs that is currently underway. You can also view her slides below.



Opening of Monarch Apartments

Here's the video tour of Monarch Apartments that Anawim shared about the 40-unit permanent supportive housing community the nonprofit has recently opened.


Announcing the Blueprint to Address Homelessness

During Symposium, Angie Arthur from Homeward introduced the region's new five-year Homelessness plan. It's now been released. You can watch a summary of the plan below or download it.




Update on the Central Iowa Community Land Trust

Carrie Woerdeman of HOME, Inc. shared an update on the just-launched Central Iowa Community Land Trust (CICLT). Community Land Trusts help more people reach homeownership while protecting long-term affordability of housing in an area.






Reflections on Housing Matters Symposium 2024

  • Apr 29, 2024

Updated: Jun 27, 2024

The crowd gathered for Symposium.

Housing Matters Symposium energizes Greater Des Moines’ efforts to expand housing opportunities for all. We lifted up opportunities for collaboration and policy change to overcome housing market challenges like rising costs and complex regulations. Speakers highlighted the needs of our most vulnerable community members and actions they're taking to help.



Resources shared by our speakers

Jenny Schuetz from Brookings Metro


Watch Dr. Schuetz's keynote:




WHO TV interviewed Dr. Schuetz while she was in town and you may view the interview below:


Dr. Schuetz gave an interview to Michael Libbie, host of Insights on Business the News Hour on News/Talk 1540 KXEL radio. You may listen to the interview here.


You may also download Dr. Schuetz's slides:


Dan Emmanuel from the National Low Income Housing Coalition

Learn more about the National Low Income Housing Coalition at www.nlihc.org


Dan helps to author NLIHC's key reports like The Gap which recently released its latest data summary for Iowa. (You can view the details here.)

You can also view Dan's slides from Symposium by downloading them below:



Kaity Patchett from Capital Crossroads

Learn more about Capital Crossroads at www.capitalcrossroadsvision.com.


Joy Esposito from the Evelyn K. Davis Center For Working Families

Joy discussed her experiences serving low income clients who must often clear a variety of hurdles to pass through resident screening processes at multiple properties before they find a place to live. She shared examples from peroperties she had searched where the actual cost of moving in could vary widely.

A table showing barriers to screening residents face like employment history and eviction history, criminal and credit background and more as well as the varying fees residents may have to pay at screening and move-in.

You may download Joy's slide here:


Learn more about the Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families at www.evelynkdaviscenter.org.


Hunter Cook from Nancy's Place

Learn more about Nancy's Place at www.nancysplace.org.





Dr. Nalo Johnson from the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation

Mid-Iowa Health Foundation is one of the organizations responsible for funding UpLift, the region's basic income pilot. UpLift recently released a helpful guide to local public benefit programs that can support neighbors with low and moderate incomes.


Learn more about the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation at www.midiowahealth.org.


Shannon Draayer from WesleyLife

WesleyLife manages our community's Meals on Wheels program. Shannon shared with us the infographic below that shows the program's annual impact.

You can download the WesleyLife infographic below:


Learn more about WesleyLife at www.wesleylife.org.


2
bottom of page