After diligently working for 3+ years to assist disaster survivors of Katrina and Wilma with temporary & permanent housing solutions, AHF expanded its mission to assist those affected by any disaster – natural, manmade or economic.
Crisis Housing Solutions (CHS) was founded by Craig & Lisa Vanderlaan as Adopt a Hurricane Family (AHF) on August 30, 2005, in response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
“We build healthy communities where people live, work, and prosper.”
Everyone has access to a safe, secure home in a
vibrant, healthy community.
To learn more about Crisis Housing Solutions, please join the conversation on Facebook.
August 2005 – began assisting Katrina families in South Florida.
January 2006 – began working closely with the South Florida HUD office and their field director.
March 2006 – led a multi-agency effort to get 93 Wilma families out of FEMA trailers in C.B. Smith & Easterlin Parks and into permanent housing.
April 2006 – began working with FEMA’s Florida Long-Term Recovery Office in Orlando.
November 2006 – received 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status from the IRS.
June 2007 – began a 4-month collaborative effort for FEMA finding permanent housing for 170 families displaced by Hurricane Wilma; 54 of these families obtained new mobile homes.
December 2007 – provided turnkey management of the Davie Mobile Home Repair/Replacement Program using $1,275,000 in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Inititiative funds for Hurricane Wilma relief. 73 families received new mobile homes over a 14-month period.
May 2009 – applied for and received certification as a HUD Housing Counseling Agency.
October 2009 – providing case management services as part of the Homeless Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) for Broward County and City of Ft. Lauderdale.
February 2010 – as a HUD Housing Counseling Agency, began offering Mortgage Delinquency/Default Counseling as part of broader Foreclosure Prevention Services.
April 2010 – began First-Time Homebuyer Program for Town of Davie.
March 2011 to Present – approved by JPMorgan Chase, HUD, Wells Fargo and the National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST) to obtain REO properties as part of our Community Stabilization Initiative.
April 2011 – received certification for the Treasury Department’s Florida Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) Program; providing mortgage assistance to qualified unemployed & under-employed homeowners having difficulty making mortgage payments.
July 2011 – launched our Community Stabilization Initiative whereby we acquire & rehab foreclosed properties; thus helping to revitalize neighborhoods and
providing a new source of affordable housing.”
March 2013 – approved partner for the HUD Home Discount Sales Program
October 2013 – approved as a service provider for the Treasury Department’s new Principal Reduction Program; intended to assist homeowners underwater on their mortgages.
January 2016 – completed formal feasibility study demonstrating the financial viability of constructing affordable multi-family housing from repurposed shipping containers
March 2017 – awarded a major capacity building grant by JPMorgan Chase for expanding affordable housing development activities into Central & South Florida.
October 2017 – as part of a collaborative with two Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s), received a multi-year PRO Neighborhoods Grant from JPMorgan Chase to further Central & South Florida activities.
January 2018 – acquired land in West Palm Beach, beginning a partnership with the City to construct new affordable multi-family housing from repurposed shipping containers.
May 2019 – received major two-year capacity-building grant from prominent South Florida foundation to assist in bringing innovative container housing construction to fruition. Also supports the developmental costs of a new repurposing facility for container construction . . . the first of its kind in the country.
June 2019 – lead developer on the construction of a 2B/2B prototype of single family housing constructed from shipping containers. This demonstration model also enables the identification of optimal construction processes to be scaled up for larger projects; like the aforementioned WPB project.
July 2020 – spearheaded the development and construction of a temporary post-disaster housing prototype from a single 40-foot shipping container. This demonstration model is more efficiently constructed and can be more quickly deployed to disaster areas in need than the current government use of tent cities, travel trailers and mobile homes.
August 2020 – began consultation support for the Parramore Asset Preservation Corporation to renovate 83 affordable rental units in downtown Orlando
(954) 587-0160
4700 SW 64th Avenue, Suite C
Davie, Florida 33314
