Debra Nutter

CEO, The Caleb Group

By Leah Etling on Sep 1, 2015 in People

Debra Nutter, CEO of the Massachusetts based The Caleb Group, wants not just to house affordable residents, but to change their lives for the better.

As a result, Nutter’s non-profit housing organization is encouraging HUD to expand its support for life skills programming to private non-profits, in addition to public housing authorities.

The effort is in the early stages, but Nutter believes that The Caleb Group, a Yardi client, has good chance to move it forward.

“HUD is providing us with (assistance for) rental income, but not allowing residents of privately run developments to access this same money for social services,” Nutter said. “It bothered me that they were not allowing residents of privately run developments to access this same money.”

One of the main areas of concern with residents of Caleb Group properties is their inability to save money and plan for the future. Nutter describes residents who get stuck in a cycle of poverty – even to the extent that they might leave or turn down a higher paying job in order to keep their rent subsidies.

“Can’t figure out how to jump off that cliff, so they get to the edge of it and then just walk away again,” Nutter said. Breaking the routine takes more than self-motivation, and outside coaching can make a big difference.

A recently completed Caleb Group pilot program, run by a contractor called Compass Working Capital, focused on the value of saving, the importance of a plan to resolve personal financial crises, and personalized coaching to put that plan in motion.

Sandra Suarez, Operations Manager at Compass who manages the partnership program, provided insight into how such personalized attention and programming can help.

“For the families we work with in this partnership program, it’s a daily struggle just to get by. It can be hard for them to believe that there’s something better out there for themselves and for their children,” Suarez said.

“When Compass comes into the picture, we give families a set of tools to work toward their financial goals and help families tap into the  belief that being self-sufficient is within reach, that it is something they can do. The financial education, coaching, and guidance we provide empowers families to accomplish their dreams and their aspirations.”

Two residents at a Caleb property in Gloucester, Mass., successfully completed the program this summer with impressive results. One single mother has already moved out of subsidized housing and into a market rate apartment, consolidated her education loans and is working toward buying a house.

Nutter hopes that positive results like that motivate other residents to consider participating.

“Those bad decisions that you made as a younger person don’t have to hold you back for the rest of your life,” Nutter said.

A founder of The Caleb Group along with her parents, Warren and Joan Sawyer, Nutter knows the pain of a financial challenge first hand. She went through a divorce many years ago that left her in a precarious financial position and said that for a time, she struggled to get back on her feet.

Now stable and successful, she wants to help others do the same.

“Our focus has always been on our residents. Every property we have ever purchased or contemplated purchasing has to have the ability to pay for a service coordinator at the property, whose job is to connect the residents with the services and programs they need,” Nutter said.