An episode of “Changing the Conversation” podcast
Emily Abell and host Ashley Stewart discuss benefits and challenges of Global Leasing, a three-way leasing strategy for tenants, property owners, and organizations. Sponsored by the Washington State Health Care Authority.
April 8, 2024
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Erika Simon, Producer (00:00): This episode is sponsored by the Washington State Healthcare Authority. We use the term global leasing rather than master leasing, as the word master reflects a power differential between groups and has a violent connotation for many Black, indigenous, and people of color communities. Thanks for listening.
Ashley Stewart, Host (00:24): Hello, everyone, and welcome to Changing the Conversation. My name is Ashley Stewart, and I am the Director of the Center on Equity at C4 Innovations. Our guest is Emily Abell. Emily is a youth services manager at Olympic Community Action Programs, also known as OlyCAP, and is joining us from Port Townsend, Washington, the traditional territory and homelands of the S’Klallam, Chimakum, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Peoples. We’re so fortunate to be able to honor the land before we begin this episode and are very grateful for Emily for being here with us today. Hi, Emily.
Emily Abell, Guest (01:08): Hi. Thanks for having me.
Ashley (01:09): Emily, I’m super excited to talk about global leasing, sometimes referred to as master leasing. And I know we gave a little prelude to this episode about how we’re using global leasing, and still, many people listening might be wondering what exactly is global leasing. So from your perspective, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Emily (01:31): Global leasing is a type of lease that begins with an agreement that the unit will be subleased to a third party. It’s basically a three-way leasing strategy between a property owner, a provider, that might be an organization, a business, a company, a nonprofit, an entity, may or may not provide funding supports, case management, and of course, the tenant/subtenants. It’s also a strategy to house tenants and subtenants with significant housing barriers that make it practically impossible to obtain housing in traditional rental markets. What it’s not, it’s not a housing model, it’s not a long way to control tenants, and it’s not a longterm funding. So that’s totally separate.
Ashley (02:18): Amazing. And yes, that’s how we define global leasing, but global leasing is something that’s pretty near and dear to you, as well, something that you have personal experience with, in addition to professional experience working in the field. Can you tell us a little bit about your story, your journey into global leasing and how you learned about it in the first place?
Emily (02:37): Yeah, it’s kind of funny. I actually didn’t even know that I was in a global leasing model until I started doing this work and I was like, “Oh, that’s what this is called? Awesome.” I moved to Washington State from the other Washington, Washington DC, in about 2019, right before the pandemic. When that hit, I fell into some housing instability. The partner that I was with at the time was really struggling and it became a very toxic situation. The place we were staying wasn’t really a placement for habitation and I was really lost.
(03:17): And so around the same time, I would say about August, 2021, I started working at OlyCAP a few months prior, and we were working on getting this project rolling for youth and young adults, 18 to 24, that essentially is a global leasing property. And because I was essentially fleeing domestic violence at that time and in a place not meant for habitation, I was one of the prioritized people to move in. And that was just a game changer. And I’m still here currently and my lease ends in July, so it’ll be finally moving on, but it really changed my trajectory on a lot of things, for sure.
(03:59): I would say, not to go more into it, I guess, later about the disadvantages and the advantages, but essentially, it was really easy to get in. I still had to put some work in, but all of the barriers to obtaining and maintaining permanent stable housing were eliminated with this approach, I guess, in this way, and it just was really game changing.
Ashley (04:25): I, personally, being able to work on some of the toolkits, and the materials, and the environmental scan around it, got to learn a lot about global leasing, and I find it to be so unique. I think it is something that, when I’m talking about it, a lot of people are unaware of and they don’t know about it, and I get really excited to talk about it, if I’m being honest. I get really excited. And I’m wondering if you could share, from your professional experience and also your lived experience, why is global leasing so unique?
Emily (04:58): I have the pleasure of being able to see it from all three sides, honestly, either directly or indirectly, but it’s really, there’s a lot of advantages for both property managers, or I should say property owners, or so to speak, landlords, I should say, all of those people, housing providers and tenants/subtenants. So I would say, with this global leasing program, there’s going to be reduced stigma, basically, because there’s going to be a lot of community integration, a lot of collaboration. For property owners, it’s going to be streamlined property management and a lot of reduced financial risks when it comes to the providers. They, from my hat with the provider, honestly, we’re going to see a lot less evictions, a lot more increased opportunities for the people we’re working with, a lot more affordable units with the ability to house these people.
(05:57): When it comes to the tenants and those who are directly impacted, this is going to help those who do have the most risk factors a lot. It really does help not only obtaining permanent stable housing, but for those who are able to obtain it, to also maintain it, which was my biggest thing. When it comes to global leasing, if done correctly, I feel like it could really be a wraparound service, almost for people. I live in a place called Pfeiffer House, and with that housing program, when we lived here, or while we live here, we’re able to get connected to a mental health provider who is contracted in the program. So we never have to talk about insurance, we never have to talk about copayments, all those things that I still haven’t [laughter] learned anything about.
(06:45): And so that was a really big one for me, mental health being a big part of my life. And full disclosure, I might be sharing too much, but I have bipolar disorder. So it’s one of those things that I struggled a lot. It was a completely different person. People wouldn’t even recognize me a few years before. So this model and just having that foundational support services, and case management, and the mental health support going alongside with me while I go through all the other things was super essential to my growth and development. And so that’s a big one. And yeah, I would just say all of those types of things.
Ashley (07:30): All of those things are essential to recovery. And I think that ability to have that wraparound service, the ability to not have to think about all of the things that would be a general deterrent from somebody seeking recovery built into this housing structure is so critical. I can go to one of these entities that is immediately connected to the housing and get the type of support that we need. And we talked about mental health through your story, but there’s other types of services that could be encapsulated in a global leasing model that I think really elevates, it opens opportunities to provide care and support to people in ways that are, in my perspective, so exciting to increase that access, to reduce barriers, and to also have so many benefits to both the folks who are providing those leases, the folks who are living there, and the organizations that are in collaboration. This is really cool to me.
(08:33): And with all things, there are some unique challenges, I think, that come up when considering global leasing. Like I said, I’m a huge fan. Maybe I’m not as aware of some of those challenges and maybe some of our listeners aren’t either. Can you tell us what might be some of the challenges one might experience in pursuing global leasing as a solution for housing?
Emily (08:54): Yeah. There are a few. Even though there’s a lot of great advantages, this is a complex approach. So first and foremost, if not done really in the way it was intended, if people are missing core foundations or elements of global leasing, then we lose the why or the how, and then that takes away from the lowering the barriers. So I would say, yeah, incorrect implementation where some of the foundational elements are lost, maybe some people not having the core values that are needed to really do this, because this is a approach rooted in equity and inclusion, and so just making sure that those are strong foundations, as well.
(09:42): Another thing, I would say, for a young person, a disadvantage would potentially be in something that providers, and property managers, and anyone who might be trying to implement this in their community to need to be aware of is tokenism of young people. A huge thing that I have been trying to not get lost in people expanding and doing this model is that, in these, I guess, global leasing units, if it’s an apartment building or if it’s a big Victorian style house that’s broken up into a few different units, we don’t want someone who would be perceived as an older provider or just someone who’s be lurking over. You definitely want to use lived experience and a young person and incorporate an RA onto the building on site so that they can refer to them if there’s a crisis or an emergency, or maybe they just need some support because they just moved into their first apartment for the first time and it’s scary and alone.
(10:46): So that is something that, on top of moving here, I got to do for my building. It builds a sense of community, independence, young people relying on young people, young people helping young people. It makes it more of a self-sustaining property where the property owner really doesn’t have to do much, other than when is requested. So it’s definitely a good model. It helped my resume because it gave me some leadership skills and just opportunities to share my story, as well, connect with other people.
(11:22): So that’s one thing, but with that is make sure it’s paid, make sure it’s a paid position when you’re on site. The unintended consequences of that is it becomes an on-call position with a young person who may or may not be still learning work-life balance, setting personal boundaries, and that becomes a lot. So that was a lot of learning on my part and a learning curve that I had to work through, and I’d love to avoid that for people in the future. So that’s thing.
(11:54): I would say stigma, especially when you’re first trying to engage with property owners and you’re trying to sell what it is that you’re trying to do, just making sure that you have the emotional response and not reactivity, because that’s definitely going to happen, and the ability to educate and bring awareness, and the ability to know, you know what, this is probably not going to be the best opportunity to chase for if those core values are not there.
(12:23): Another thing would be scarcity of funding. Okay, cool. You want to do this, you probably don’t know how, maybe. The steps are not laid out in bold and they’re not easy to follow. And then if you do know how to do it, funding is always an issue, and not just funding when it comes to finding the buildings, it’s essentially providers, there’s the three-way triangle, the providers, the housing nonprofits, the OlyCAPs, so to speak, of every community should be actively trying to make sure, how can we help people get funding? Because we can’t expect people to come in and be able to pay full amount of their rent, or at least not off the bat, especially when they have a lot of risk factors going on and a lot of things that they may be attending to. So scarcity of funding is always a thing.
(13:17): Staffing on a provider side, so human services, as we all know, the turnover rate is rather high. It’s underpaid. We’re overworked. And so making sure that there’s enough caseworkers to really be providing that support services to tenants so that they can start learning those independent living skills and they can eventually complete the program and be able to do that self-sufficiently. Another one that I would say is differing philosophies, so that just making sure that that goes along with cores and values, making sure that everyone involved is, in fact, being trauma-informed, being anti-racist, taking that education, doing the work. So that’s something that is going to have to be navigated.
(14:08): Another one would be maybe fear of damage to units. Although it’s decreased, it’s not eliminated. So that might be a fear for property owners. And then the last one is a role delineation. That one I’m seeing, especially in our community. Being a rural community and a small community, some people in this field hold several hats, and so that can get kind of tricky. So my landlord, Kelli Parcher, she is awesome, she is the founder of OWL360 and the property owner for Pfeiffer House for the global leasing. And so she’s really good at wearing the caseworker hat and the landlord hat, but it is not easy. Those are differing roles that have contradictory purposes. So that’s definitely one of my hardest things that I’ve been struggling with, is that. And there’s probably more, but …
Ashley (15:07): Well, one thing that I particularly appreciate is that the things that you’re mentioning, for the most part, these are things that are the challenges with housing models. These are things that we see in housing broadly and some of the things that I think are particularly unique, that part about sometimes the duality of multiple roles. And in one of the challenges, I also heard something that almost feels like an opportunity, too. You mentioned that people might not know. This is such a model that is underutilized, that people might have issues with implementation, not getting it off the ground, not knowing the steps to create a strong foundation.
(15:52): You mentioned, which I’m so grateful that you bought into the conversation, that component about equity. These are some of the things that can inherently be a strength in the utilization of the global leasing model, but people have to know how to do it, people have to know how to implement it, how to get it started, and how to do that in a way that is true to those inherent values. I think those inherent values is really what sets global leasing aside for me, in my opinion. Can you talk a little bit about what those inherent values from your perspective are?
Emily (16:28): Yeah. When it comes to it, the toolkit talks about, when you want to implement this, the first thing they mentioned is values. And it doesn’t really state that, “These are the values you should have,” but it should say you should have some. You should have a value statement. Your organization should really look at that and make sure that it’s including equity, inclusion, diversity, trauma-informed, making sure that that’s including all of that. I would say a step further for global leasing that’s going to be a huge hit or miss on whether the pilot actually works is collaboration. Organizations, property owners need to really start working together. I know that that’s something I’m struggling with in my community, but how can we incentivize property owners to do this? And so I think there’s plenty of incentive, it’s just a matter of getting that knowledge out there to them. Yeah, I would say that. I would say that, for sure.
Ashley (17:27): That’s great. Thank you. One of the things that I think, as you mentioned, is particularly unique is that collaboration. Just on a personal note, is that collaboration that’s experienced as a part of this model felt by people who are living in global leasing residence?
Emily (17:45): Subconsciously, yeah. For a minute, I thought that my landlord worked with OlyCAP for a minute because of how often my caseworker and her were communicating and how … In a small town in our community, they’ve been working together longer than I’ve been alive, almost. So it’s like, “Okay, you are invested.” And yeah, I think it’s felt, but I think it is hard when you’re a young person going through the thing. If I didn’t have that unique perspective of, “Oh, I’m a tenant, but I’m also a provider,” I probably wouldn’t see as much as I do and be able to appreciate my landlord as much or my property owner as much as I do because I wouldn’t be able to see all the things. There is a lot of hats she’s wearing and a lot of things she’s doing.
(18:31): So I think it is felt, for sure. I think it’s shown through all of the support services, all of the opportunities she sends us every time she comes in and she gets another grant for fixing the windows or just things that, normally, we would’ve had to figure out ourselves or just let go. So yeah, I think it’s definitely felt. The stronger it is, the stronger it’s felt.
Ashley (19:00): And I think some of the impact that I’m observing, too, is that, because of that collaboration that you get to appreciate as someone who has a unique role, as well, demonstrates some of the seamlessness that it exhibits for people who are residing, which I think adds to that value of removing barriers that is so essential across housing models. So I’m really glad to hear that.
(19:25): If someone wanted to get started offering global leasing, they’re listening to this, they’re like, “Okay, I see. I’ve heard it in technical terms or heard it from a direct language about what it looks like and how it’s experienced,” someone wants to get involved, what are some things that are important for them to consider or some first good steps in the process?
Emily (19:45): Before even taking that first step is really that planning step. The healthcare authority not only defines what it is and the benefits and the disadvantages, but really how to plan all the questions that you should be thinking about. If you have questions, ask them, reach out to the healthcare authority. If it has to do with funding, and depending on where your grants are, I can guarantee you that your funders have heard of global leasing, ask them questions about it.
(20:14): If you are a property owner and want to engage in global leasing, maybe you don’t live in your place and you are renting it out and you really don’t want to deal with the posting it, and the picking the rent tenant, and figuring out the rent, and all of the repairs, global leasing would be a great opportunity for you. Reach out to one of your housing nonprofits or any just organizations that might have to do with housing and ask them, “Hey, I have this property. Would you want to use it?” and go from there, have an open conversation. They might be immediately like, “Oh, what do you mean?” and a little bit off guard because that doesn’t happen too often, but just reassure them, “Yeah, I’m serious, and let’s make this work,” and I can guarantee they’d be jazzed about it.
(21:02): If you’re an organization looking to engage in global leasing, personally, when I asked Kelli Parcher, I was like, “How do you find these properties?” she honestly said, “I will notate or observe that a building is either abandoned or no one’s really living there, and I’ll just go knock on the door.” And I was like, “What? Okay. Well, that might not be the safest option for everyone,” but when it comes to that, I would say, yeah, just start with abandoned buildings. See who owns it, see if there’s a better use for that building.
(21:31): If you don’t, you could put a call out on social media, “Looking for property owners who are looking to engage in global leasing. We’ll do all the work for you.” Hold an interest meeting. Honestly, that’s what I’m thinking about doing in our community, just because we need better engagement with property owners. So just start learning about it, start planning for it, and start reaching out to the community to see because I can guarantee you’ll at least find one in your community who would be down.
Ashley (21:57): That’s so good, and such helpful information, and such pointed tips. So thank you for that. I think I would also add, if you are looking to begin and initiate the process and you’re thinking about what kind of wraparound services or what kind of support is needed, making sure you’re talking to the community, gathering that knowledge, that expertise from the community, see what types of services, what type of autonomy, building, support would be most useful and helpful to the communities we’re intending to serve so that it really shows up in the way that folks are needing and would like it to, and most importantly, is the most beneficial. This has been such a wonderful opportunity to get to know you a little bit more, Emily, and to honor the impact that global leasing has had for many people, and especially in this space for you. Thank you so much for joining us.
Emily (22:55): Thank you for having me. It was great to be here.
Ashley (22:58): And to our listeners, join us next time on Changing the Conversation.
Erika (23:03): Visit c4innovates.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for more resources to grow your impact. Thank you for joining us. This episode is sponsored by the Washington State Healthcare Authority and was produced by Erika Simon and Christina Murphy. Our theme song is written and performed by Peter Hanlon. Join us next time on Changing the Conversation.
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