Tenant Advisory Council

We look at all applications to make sure that they are complete. Here’s what we check:

1. No Duplicates – We remove copies of the same application.
2. Full Name – Some people didn’t write their full names, so we do not include those.
3. Contact Info – If someone does not share a way to reach them (like phone or email), we
   remove their application.
4. Why Do You Want to Join? – We asked people to explain why they want to join the
   TAC. If people just said “yes” or “no” without explaining, or said it was only for the
   money, their application was not accepted.
5. Already Involved – Because so many people want to join the TAC, we are not picking
   people who have already been in other groups at Home Forward including the RAC, TAC, or Community Builder program.
6. Can Attend Meetings – We rejected the applicants who were not available to meet on
   days of the week that most of the other applicants could meet.

After this step, everyone still in the process will be moved on to Step 2.

People who make it past Step 1 will be contacted and asked to fill out a more detailed form about their interest in joining the TAC within 10 business days. If they don’t complete the form, their application will not move forward.

We will look at all the completed forms. All applicants who answer all of the questions on the form will have their name put into a lottery (a random drawing) to pick who moves on to Step 3.

If someone is picked in the lottery, they will be invited to an interview. They’ll have 10 business days to say yes to the interview.

The interview will be:

• Online or in-person
• With at least 3 people: one staff member, one director, and one tenant leader
• About 20 minutes long (40 minutes with an interpreter)

After interviews, the team will choose 20 people based on their answers and how they match TAC’s goals. Here’s how we choose:

1. Who They Are

We want people from many different backgrounds, such as:

1. • Living in different types of Home Forward housing and with different types of Home Forward rent assistance 
   • People living in different parts of the County and City
   • Race and ethnicity
   • Age groups (young adults, adults, elders) 
   • Gender identity
   • Disability or mental health experience
   • Language spoken at home 2.
2. Community Focus
   • We look for people who care about their neighbors and want to make things better for others—not just themselves.
3. Lived Experience
   • The TAC receives extra value from people who have personal experiences they are willing to share about and can use to inform future changes. Lived experiences can include homelessness, unfair housing experiences, and being treated unfairly for a variety of reasons. We believe their voices are important in helping to fix things.
4. Teamwork and Respect
   • We choose people who are good listeners, can work well with others, and treat people with kindness and respect.
5. Can Be Active and Show Up
   • We need people who can come to meetings, speak up, and stay involved.