Leah Stockton, Director of Development and Engagement at AH Monroe, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the organization.
What does AH Monroe do?
Stockton said, “AH Monroe is an organization that’s been helping the community for almost 40 years, 2026 will be our 40th anniversary, and we provide accessible health care and affordable housing. Our little tagline is health and housing. It’s what we do.”
Families are moving into the Lofts.
Stockton said, “Years in the making, right? Well before my time, I was telling someone yesterday, I can’t take any credit for this beautiful property, but it is beautiful, and it’s an exciting opportunity, 98 rental units in the heart of Bahama Village, there at the Lofts at Bahama Village. It’s an amazing opportunity for local individuals and families to have an affordable housing option right here in Key West. We have six units still available, and they are at that 120% area median income. But other than that, we are filling right up. We had residents start moving in at the beginning of September, and that continues every day through today. It’s so exciting to see how happy people are and how grateful. I had a young lady that moved in on Monday. She’s lived in Bahama Village her whole life. She’s lived just down the street on Fourth Street in a housing authority property, and this is her first opportunity to live on her own in her own apartment with her toddler. She was just ecstatic. It was amazing to see her, her child, running around in the apartment and think about the life that they’re going to build together there.”
A lot of partners helped with the Lofts.
Stockton said, “We work with Vestcor. They’re our development partner, Toppinos are a part of this. And the city of Key West, that was a big partner. I should also mention that in addition to the rental side that AH Monroe is helping to manage, there will be the home ownership side that the city of Key West is managing, and I think they’re in the process of reviewing those applications and starting to fill that building up as well.”
AH Monroe also believes housing is care.
Stockton said, “Housing is health care is pretty much what our mission is built upon. You can’t be healthy if you don’t have stable housing, right? The two are just intertwined. So that really is how our organization is built is this sort of dual mission, but at the end of the day, it all comes back to being healthy, and there are many ways to be healthy, and there are many ways to help someone be healthy, and providing affordable housing is one of those ways.”
How have the cutbacks affected AH Monroe?
Stockton said, “It absolutely is a challenge to a lot of the community organizations that Human Services Advisory Board funding through the county had 29 nonprofits that provided medical, core services, quality of life services through that funding. So that is a pinch, I would maybe even call it more than a pinch that is going to be felt throughout the county, but we are still committed to our mission, and at the end of the day, that’s what it comes back to. We’re going to continue to do what we need to do to keep people healthy and housed from our emergency shelters all the way through the affordable housing and the new project at the Lofts. On the health care side, making sure that our folks continue to have access to the services that they need. I’ve been 20 years in this community. I think this is the beauty of the community, is during hard times, we pull together, this is the most giving community. I think there’s a fundraiser every day, and I think that this is an opportunity that our community will step up and respond and know that AH Monroe is going to continue our work as the others are going to do the best they can as well. We’re all doing the best we can to move forward, and we appreciate the support of the community that allows us to do so. Anyone that just wants to learn more about the organization, feel free to give me a call. I would be glad to explain more, explain how we have giving opportunities that range from our food pantry to our health care programs and everything in between. We would be grateful for the opportunity to partner and find out how we can continue making a difference together in the community.”
For more information, click here: https://ahmonroe.org/