Stuart Campbell has worked on housing issues for the past 30 years.
Frederick, Md (KM) There’s a new director for the City of Frederick’s Department of Housing and Human Services. He’s Stuart Campbell who was introduced on Friday during a news conference by Mayor Michael O’Connor.
The Mayor says Campbell comes with extensive experience in the housing field, including five years with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. “Under his leadership at DHCD between 2015 and 2020, Maryland achieved a 24 percent decrease in homelessness, a result that speaks volumes about the focus on impact,” O’Connor said.
But he pointed out that the City’s Department of Housing and Human Services is more than just housing. “Our Housing and Human Services Department is on the frontlines of some of City’s most complex and urgent challenges: from homelessness to food insecurity to housing stability, health care and family support,” Mayor O’Connor said. “It is where we meet people in moments of need, and help them move forward.”
In his comments, Campbell said the state of Maryland faces a shortage of 96,000 units when it comes to affordable housing, and he has a plan to increase the amount of affordable housing in the community. “Expanding different types of housing such as accessory dwelling units and shared housing; incentivizing the development of affordable multi-family housing projects; and identifying ways to increase affordable home ownership,” he says.
Campbell says part of his goal is to make sure people become more self-sufficient. “For me, it isn’t about simply helping someone with a short term solution to their problems,” he says. “It’s about working with them to help them identify their strengths, find areas where they need extra support, and help them get on the path to upward economic mobility.”
Campbell is scheduled to take over the job of director of the Department of Housing and Human Services in June.;
By Kevin McManus