HIP Founders

Homeless advocate Mosi Harrington (at left) is pictured with Founding Board Members Mary Griffin (2nd from left) and Charlene Brisco (2nd from right, in hat). They recruited a small but vocal group of neighborhood activists who were equally frustrated about the lack of housing options their working clients could afford in Prince George’s County. They decided to pool their resources together to collectively help low-income families secure affordable, healthy and safe housing. Thus, HIP was born!

Founding
1988

HIP is founded by Mosi Harrington and a small group of social workers and homeless advocates in the basement of a local church.

Incorporation
1989

HIP is formally incorporated as a private, nonprofit organization, dedicated to serving low- and moderate-income residents of Prince George’s County. Mosi Harrington later becomes the organization’s first executive director.

1993-1995 Multifamily Project
1993

HIP’s first multifamily project is the purchase and renovation of a burned-out 4-unit building in Suitland in 1993, and the organization subsequently purchases and renovates four additional buildings in the Suitland Manor community. All five buildings are later sold to Prince George’s County in 2000.

HIP Homes
1998

HIP launches its homeownership and rehabilitation programs. It purchases a vacant single-family home from HUD in the Palmer Park neighborhood of Landover and completely rehabilitates it. The first-time buyer who purchased the home from HIP for $75,000 still owns the home 20+ years later.

Homebuyer Education
1998

HIP launches a Homebuyer Education Program to prepare Prince George’s County residents for successful homeownership. All purchasers of “HIP Homes” are also required to have pre-purchase counseling.

HUD-Approved Counseling
2002

HUD approves HIP’s application to become a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency.

Developing Housing for Artists
2003

HIP purchases and renovates Mt. Rainier Artists’ Apartments in the Gateway Arts District in 2003, and later undertakes a major renovation to create Renaissance Square Artists’ Housing in Hyattsville in 2008.

Housing for Seniors
2008

HIP partners with for-profit developer Ingerman Group to develop its first affordable senior apartment community in Bladensburg. HIP provides onsite resident services for the 78-unit building.

DC Tenant Associations
2008

HIP consults with two tenant associations in the District of Columbia to exercise their rights to purchase and develop their buildings, and guides them through the renovation process.

Montgomery County
2009

HIP expands into Montgomery County, opening Housing Counseling offices in Germantown and Gaithersburg during the foreclosure crisis.

Cecil County
2011

HIP expands into Cecil County, MD through its partnership with the Ingerman Group to develop three affordable rental communities, totaling 194 units.

Financial Capability Program
2012

HIP launches an innovative stand-alone Financial Capability program, and provides free long-term individualized financial counseling to renters, homebuyers, and homeowners.

HRAP
2014

HIP enters into a partnership with Prince George’s County to administer the Housing Rehabilitation Assistance Program (HRAP), which provides zero-interest, deferred home repair loans, and served 41 homeowners. HIP begins a second round of HRAP safety repairs in 2018, and plans to serve more than 100 homeowners over the next three years.

Rapid Rehousing Program
2016

HIP enters into a partnership with Prince George’s County Department of Social Services to launch the county’s first Rapid Rehousing Program.

Towne Courts
2018

HIP partners with a for-profit developer, PIRHL, and starts predevelopment on Towne Courts, a 42-unit affordable apartment community in Annapolis, marking HIP’s expansion into Anne Arundel County.

85th “HIP Home”
2019

HIP buys, rehabilitates and sells its 85th “HIP Home” to a first-time homebuyer in Prince George’s County.

30th Anniversary Milestone
2019

HIP celebrates its 30th Anniversary of revitalizing neighborhoods

Montgomery County Home Sharing Program
2021

HIP launches a new Home Sharing Program, in partnership with the Montgomery County Department of Health & Human Services, focused on counseling older homeowners who want to age in place by helping them identify compatible housemates to share their homes longer term.

Children from Suitland Manor enjoying their first Easter in their new homes.

HIP’s Founder and first Executive Director, Mosi Harrington, received the Bridge Builder Award from the Community Foundation of Prince George’s County for her dedication in fighting for the underdog and revitalizing aging neighborhoods. Mosi retired from HIP in 2012.