{"id":275167,"date":"2025-12-17T10:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/?p=275167"},"modified":"2025-12-11T13:19:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T18:19:20","slug":"building-roots-and-prosperity-african-community-housing-development-secures-hundreds-of-housing-units-for-seattles-african-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/building-roots-and-prosperity-african-community-housing-development-secures-hundreds-of-housing-units-for-seattles-african-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Roots and Prosperity: African Community Housing & Development Secures Hundreds of Housing Units for Seattle\u2019s African Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

In South King County, Washington, the African Community Housing & Development (ACHD) organization works to re-envision what community-driven housing development looks like for African immigrant communities. ACHD was established in 2018 from the community organizing efforts of Somali American mother and daughter Hamdi Abdulle and Bilan Aden. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the seven years since its inception, ACHD has created pathways to housing stability, economic mobility and cultural pride for the region\u2019s growing African diaspora community. At the core of <\/span>ACHD\u2019<\/span><\/a>s work is the mission of uplifting immigrant and refugee communities by creating culturally informed affordable housing, education and economic mobility programs and initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we really needed to become an organization that provided wrap-around social services for the community because their institutional barriers and challenges were complex and intersecting,\u201d said Bilan Aden, vice president of ACHD.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ACHD\u2019s work is multi-faceted and recognizes that economic stability must be approached holistically. To achieve this, the organization offers housing, business support, workforce training, financial literacy education and cultural preservation services free of charge to the communities they serve – all aimed at addressing the root causes of racial and economic inequities in the greater Seattle area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the heart of ACHD\u2019s housing work is an ambitious affordable housing program working to improve housing stability within Washington\u2019s African immigrant communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In partnership with Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties, ACHD is developing 65 affordable housing sites across three Seattle neighborhoods in the city\u2019s Rainier Valley. Another project, <\/span>the Cultural Anchor Village<\/span><\/a>, will include 129 affordable units, a public market for immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs, early childhood learning facilities and a cultural space designed by and for the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond housing, ACHD\u2019s economic development programs help African immigrant community members access jobs and gain capital to start businesses. The organization does this by utilizing community partnerships with the Port of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Commerce to connect job seekers with workforce development training. Small business owners also receive one-on-one technical assistance and help accessing capital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt started with big picture questions: How do we provide residents access to capital? How do we get vouchers that go to families that need them who normally shop at small, cultural grocery stores?\u201d said Aden. “What ended up happening is, within those two and a half, three years [of building ACHD\u2019s programming,] we have distributed over $38 million of rental assistance to over 12,000 households [during the COVID-19 pandemic].\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cultural preservation is also central to ACHD\u2019s work. Programs like the Seattle International Public Market in the city\u2019s Delridge neighborhood aim at promoting equitable food access while supporting vendors of color. ACHD\u2019s collaborative youth and senior mentorship programming and educational opportunities also strengthen intergenerational connections and ensure that the community’s cultural traditions are preserved in the generations to come.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis work is born out of the culture, you know. We see everyone as family and we invite everyone in,\u201d said President and CEO of ACHD Hamdi Abdulle. \u201cThat\u2019s the approach we take here and that same culture of seeing community as the largest family. And [as family] we must take care of each other.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Seattle continues to grapple with housing shortages and widening racial wealth gaps, ACHD\u2019s efforts demonstrate how targeted investment and community leadership can shift the narrative from survival to sustainability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maya McKenzie is a Contributing Writer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of ACHD.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In South King County, Washington, the African Community Housing & Development (ACHD) organization works to re-envision what community-driven housing development looks like for African immigrant communities. ACHD was established in 2018 from the community organizing efforts of Somali American mother and daughter Hamdi Abdulle and Bilan Aden. \u00a0 In the seven years since its inception, 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ACHD was established in 2018 from the community organizing efforts of Somali American mother and daughter Hamdi Abdulle and Bilan Aden. \u00a0 In the seven years since its inception,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}