Hemlock & Forge

Pittsburgh Friends: do you have a recommendation for a realtor? (No, it's not my sneaky way of seeing more Pirates games.) My company, Hemlock & Forge, is starting the process of investing in small (4+ units) multi-family properties that we could dedicate as affordable and supportive housing. I'd like to start in earnest in Pittsburgh (although we're open to any willing community in the Keystone State). I'd love to chat with Pittsburgh-based realtors who could guide our search there. Any ideas?

I'm proud to announce the founding of Hemlock & Forge, a B-corp dedicated to ending homelessness in Pennsylvania and Delaware. My home. Our goals for our consulting and housing partnership agency: 1) Inspire 500 new supportive housing units by 2027 through partnership consulting; 2) Acquire and dedicate 25 supportive housing units using our own money by 2027; 3) Launch a social impact fund by 2028; 4) Be a loud agent of change for spreading Housing First across the Mid-Atlantic. I've been quietly dreaming about launching a supportive housing agency since I left the City of Boise. I've been dismayed with how broken our systems of care are; how slow we are to scale Housing First; the lack of integration of housing, behavioral health, and homeless services. I wanted to create a new backbone agency, dedicated to my home states of PA/DE that could stand in the eye of the hurricane with the people doing the on-the-ground work. Two years ago, Shaun Hall called me and asked, "how are we going to work together again?" Shaun was the first AmeriCorps member at CATCH Idaho when I was Executive Director, and we've stayed close. I shyly told him how I wanted to found a supportive housing agency. And he was in. He moved from Seattle to Philly to be our rock. He convinced me to take this thought seriously. Shaun is our first employee. Fear not, I'm not leaving Bowling Business Strategies. Jake Bowling is another founder of this idea. We both want to see homeless services and behavioral health better integrate. Hemlock & Forge will be a sister agency to BBS, working together to end homelessness. Follow along for more stories and strategies as we roll things out!