Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce honors United Housing Management for diversity

United Housing Management, LLC (UHM), a property management company based in Dorchester, recently received a Small Business of the Year Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. UHM accepted the Diversity Award as part of the Chamber’s 2018 Small Business Night.

What’s new at United Housing Management, LLC

Since its inception in 2003, UHM has demonstrated a strong commitment to providing exceptional service, creating long-term employment opportunities, actively engaging local minority and women owned businesses and enriching the lives of the families UHM serves.

Kevin Bynoe, the CEO of UHM, describes the culture, “We have a saying: ‘United We Are One.’ This phrase exemplifies our collaborative operational style and the continual open communication we foster throughout the company. For example, our employee committee consists of at least one employee from every department and site office. What started as a committee to coordinate company events has evolved into a team building powerhouse.”

The focus on teamwork stems from UHM’s unique multicultural business model. It is a business largely owned by people of color. Six of the seven owners are African American and two are women. Ninety seven percent of UHM employees come from diverse backgrounds with fluency in Haitian Creole, Spanish and Portuguese, among others. This gives staff cultural insight and the ability to communicate more effectively with residents.

A key part of the UHM “UNITED” service experience to the community comes through the Neighborhood Network Center (NNC). NNC is a 501 © (3) organization which provides programs and services to UHM residents and the community at large. For example, since 2015, UHM has hosted the NNC’s Children’s Defense Fund Freedom

Schools ® Program — the only one in Boston and only the second in the state of Massachusetts. In the pilot year, the NNC served 50 children and this year the number has grown to serve 125 children with summer jobs for 50 youth workers.

The company continues to grow with a staff of 60 employees and a portfolio of 17 properties totaling 1,496 units.