VHA is excited to introduce our June VISTA Spotlight: George Lanham, the Community Engagement VISTA at Housing Families First in Henrico, VA.
About George:
George, a proud native of Clarke County, is a US Army veteran and a 2021 graduate of James Madison University. During his time in service he was stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a logistics officer and worked with some of the finest people he has had the pleasure of knowing. Prior to the Army, George studied at JMU where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Intelligence Analysis, participated in ROTC, and volunteered as a firefighter. It was because of his experiences volunteering in college and time spent in a diverse working environment in the military that George was inspired to become an AmeriCorps VISTA.
In his free time, George enjoys reading, trying new restaurants, and riding his motorcycle. It is his hope that the positive experiences from being a VISTA will bring him new perspectives which will help him in the legal field serving underrepresented communities. George was recently accepted into the University of Virginia’s School of Law and will be attending in August of 2025.
Current Project:
Over the last 10 months, George has made significant in-roads with the community on behalf of Housing Families First (HFF). As the Community Engagement Coordinator, George’s responsibilities include keeping in contact with HFF volunteer and landlord partners, organizing educational and networking events, and creating a blueprint of best practices for continued successful engagement.
During his tenure, George has created new tools for HFF to recruit and retain landlords, including a database consisting of over 100 rental entities HFF has partnered with in the past two years. George has also created advertising materials for landlords highlighting the work of HFF staff and showing the benefits of leasing to HFF clients. Additionally, George stewarded the first Housing Search & Placement Meeting. This is a new quarterly conference where housing navigators from agencies in the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care meet to discuss best practices in housing navigation. At the first meeting in March, 15 individuals working directly in housing learned from each other and shared strategies of overcoming housing barriers for their clients. George has also hosted a variety of on and off campus events to engage with HFF’s many landlord partners. Most recently, George oversaw a small gathering of newly recruited landlords in an off campus happy hour and informational session which resulted in new housing opportunities for families in HFF’s care.
George also works closely with HFF’s Community Engagement Manager to create volunteer opportunities, procedures, and more deeply engage existing volunteers at HFF. George updated the volunteer manual and onboarding process which every volunteer at HFF will receive. These policies and procedures are vital as volunteers are an integral part of HFF’s team, with 188 individuals volunteering in Q1 of 2025 alone. HFF is currently undergoing their Service Enterprise 5-year reaccreditation with a goal of completion by August at the end of George’s service incorporating much of his work on the HFF volunteer program. George has also worked diligently to create regular events to thank volunteers for their service to HFF. In late April, as part of International Volunteer Month and National Volunteer Week, HFF selected top individual volunteers and groups to receive awards and take part in an afternoon of celebration to strengthen ties with the community. George is looking to support the future of HFF’s volunteer program by creating a best practices playbook for staff and planning additional volunteer events for the remainder of 2025. To learn more about George’s work, email him at george@housingfamiliesfirst.org.