A Healthy Housing Advocate:

1. Understands the important housing quality outcomes of a construction project, and
2. Understands the unique concerns and challenges of tenants living in their apartments during that project. Working on this kind of construction site may require some additional skills and daily practices:

Understand the big picture: While your trade may only be on site for a short period of time, having a general understanding of how your work fits into the overall project can help you to explain to a tenant why you're coring a hole in their wall, or re-routing their piping. Understanding the big picture gives everyone peace of mind about what's happening when and why.

Communicate clearly: Most retrofit projects will have scheduled community meetings, notice boards, and suite-by-suite notices to keep tenants aware of what is happening. Make sure you understand what is being communicated and when, so you can help to spread the word. Most of the time, if tenants are unclear about what is happening, you will be the first to hear about it. Help to clarify communications by sharing common misunderstandings with the individual in charge of tenant engagement, so that they can be corrected moving forward.

Get to know the community: You will be one of the most familiar faces for tenants on a day-to-day basis. Get to know people's names, learn to say hello in their languages, learn where tenants with special needs live, and be sure to take time to listen. If you are a trusted face, throughout the day you will likely be exposed to a variety of complaints, concerns, conflicts and misunderstandings. Keep a record so that these issues can be addressed on a case-by-case basis, or across the building as a whole. If you have been able to address a tenant's concern, take a moment to follow up to close the loop and build trust.

Know your toolkit: If a tenant has concerns with work taking place in their suite, know what options are available to you. Can a security staff accompany you to improve the tenant's sense of safety? Can the tenant be invited to use a respite space while work is happening in their suite? Are special protections or barriers needed to isolate the work from the rest of the suite? Does the tenant need assistance moving heavy furniture or reinstalling items after the work is complete? Know in advance which of these options you are able to offer.