lawyer

#Affordable Housing - University at Buffalo

Anyone looking for lasting life lessons should listen to University at Buffalo Law School Prof. George M. Hezel and note his work on the Affordable Housing Clinic.

There is a certain justice in having Hezel as the founder and driving force behind the clinic, which has given literally thousands of community members a chance at basic services and safe, clean living spaces all while teaching UB Law School students marketable skills in the complicated world of nonprofit financing and government grants.

Like many of the people his clinic has helped, Hezel is a product of public housing. One of five sons, Hezel grew up in the Kenfield Housing Project at 156 Langfield Drive. He has fond memories of Kenfield and his neighbors, celebrating what public housing has to offer, rather than making excuses for its limitations.

It was a lively community with gaggles of kids to play with, says Hezel. We caught pollywogs in the spring pools and picked wild strawberries in the fields, which now are occupied by Route 33.

We played in softball leagues in the Project, as it was generally called. At dinner time, smells of ethnic foods wafted through the air. It may have been public housing, but I felt in no way deprived.

Today, Hezel is giving back to the community by directing the Affordable Housing Clinic's efforts to create new spaces and environments for clients of public housing. He takes satisfaction in seeing families happy to be in their new homes, paying affordable rents and paying lower utility costs because the appliances are all energy-efficient.

As the UB Law School celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, the housing clinic s successes demonstrate how the school has helped improve the lives of people across Western New York.

"Do good, as Hezel likes to say, as well as doing well.

And the accompanying personal happiness is a bonus.

All this is clear whenever Hezel and his law students and there have been hundreds over the years tour the facilities that exist in large measure because of the clinic. As they walk the neighborhoods, they see beautiful apartments, green grass for new playgrounds, trees and benches, gardens all the things that make life pleasant.

And taking one of those quiet, satisfying strolls is easy: Since the clinic began 25 years ago, more than 65 structures have been built in locations that span Niagara Falls, Buffalo s East and West sides, and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

Like my students, I am energized by the tangible results of our efforts, says Hezel, who blends an amicable manner with the ardor and confidence of someone whose work makes a difference and who is driven to do more.

Hezel s commitment to education and public service stems from life experiences, beginning from the time he was a boy.

His mother died when he was 3, leaving his father to raise the five boys, ages 6 months to 7. They were raised as serious Catholics, attending local Catholic elementary schools. Then Hezel entered Canisius High School and became fascinated by the Jesuits and their ardor for education.

George Hezel, left, UB Law School clinical professor, and Thomas McLaughlin, former Buffalo City Mission executive director, at Cornerstone Manor Transitional Housing Facility in Buffalo, N.Y.

After studying to be a Jesuit priest, Hezel entered UB Law School. graduating in 1973 and working for a variety of legal-service agencies, including the Legal Aid Bureau and Neighborhood Legal Services in Buffalo, then directing the housing division for Catholic Charities.

In 1987, then-Law School Dean Wade Newhouse asked Hezel to establish what has become the university s Affordable Housing Clinic. Twenty-five years later, finding UB Law School graduates who savor their experience is as easy as locating one of the clinic s many facilities.

And the students echo something Hezel knows: What affordable housing law lacks in glamor, it easily makes up in lasting satisfaction and practical, real-life skills.

Lisa Kaseman, project director for Conifer Realty in Rochester and a 2006 graduate of UB Law School, is one of these alumni. She says the Affordable Housing Clinic provided a strong foundation for a career in affordable housing development, helping her develop skills including the critical thinking necessary to create complex legal and financial structures.

The clinic provided me a glimpse of how lives are deeply affected by having a place to call home, Kaseman said. Building affordable housing is as much about building dreams and creating opportunities as it is building a home.

Throughout the clinic s 25 years, a constant has been its ability to help community organizations obtain money to make low-income and special-needs housing a reality.

The clinic s assistance was crucial, for instance, to establishing Carolyn s House. a 19-unit transitional housing shelter for women in Niagara Falls. We wouldn t have been able to do what we do without the clinic, says Kathleen Granchelli, CEO of the YWCA of Niagara, who oversees the facility. They were the partner that helped us with the technical part of the grant that we didn t have the ability and resources to do. They held our hands throughout the process.