Buwa Binitie:

What Dumas is, it's an amalgamation of various companies that partake in the housing role, creating homes for people of modest income. Let's focus on how people's lives are truly transformed with the housing that we provide. I'm also African American, right, in this space. And I'm in a space where you can almost count on one hand the number of firms like mine that do the stuff that we do. And I bet you if you surveyed a whole bunch of Black kids right now and asked them about real estate, they don't even know that the buildings they reside in is owned by an individual. So part of my purpose right now is to let folks know that, "Look, what other alternative does that young man have?" He only sees one type of man. I think you owe it to the young men and young boys in your community to give them a different version of what they're used to seeing. That way they can make a decision of which man they want to be, that's why we exist today. If these walls could talk, they would say peace.

[bright uplifting music]

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Sam Hairston:

SOME stands for So Others Might Eat. It's a supportive service organization, and I am a grateful beneficiary. [weeping] Sixteen years ago, I was addicted to crack cocaine, that's how I started my journey of recovery; I found safety and stability. I could focus on getting my life back. Fifteen years later, I'm the senior minister for Better Living Kingdom Ministries. We now are working on our own supportive housing program for LGBTQ youth in the D.C.-Baltimore area. I know that I'm a part of this process, and that gives me a lot of hope. I've moved from homelessness, to a safe and secure place, to owning my own home today. If these walls could talk, they would say safety.

[bright uplifting music]

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Harold Pettigrew:

The Opportunity Finance Network, it's a network of organizations that we represent, focused on community and capital. For OFN's history and its longevity, its membership has deployed over $110 billion. You think of the people behind each and every dollar, that's what's most important: capital flowing into communities, entrepreneurship, jobs, housing, because for each and every one of us, it's home. If these walls could talk, they'd say home. They'd say home because it's the one thing that we all care about, the one thing that we all fight for, the one thing that we all have in common, it's home.

[bright uplifting music]

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Phuc Tran:

So I work for a company called Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners. We're a very collaborative company, and we're constantly meeting with neighborhood organizations, with the residents, with local leaders, trying to create buildings that speak to the needs of the community. And one of the things that we're particularly proud of is we were able to create units that were smaller than your typical apartment building, but it allows us to keep the price down. I'd grown up in affordable housing in Oklahoma. And so when I thought about professions, I wanted to do something that would be meaningful. If these walls could talk, they would say impact.

[bright uplifting music]

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