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Shkelqim Kelmendi
CEO & Founder
Housing Connector
Every vacant unit is
a missed home.
What we’ve proven locally, we’re now scaling nationally. With a clear goal: 28,000 people housed by 2027.
Imagine if we treated housing like infrastructure.
Like roads - designed to connect. Like schools - built to serve everyone. Reliable. Scalable. Built to work.
That’s not the housing system we have today.
Across the country, homes sit vacant while people remain unhoused - not because housing doesn’t exist, but because the systems meant to connect people to it don’t work.
Six years ago in Seattle, we set out to change that.
Shkelqim Kelmendi
CEO & Founder
Housing Connector
Every vacant unit is a missed home.
What we’ve proven locally, we’re now scaling nationally. With a clear goal: 28,000 people housed by 2027.
Imagine if we treated housing like infrastructure. Like roads - designed to connect. Like schools - built to serve everyone. Reliable. Scalable. Built to work. That’s not the housing system we have today. Across the country, homes sit vacant while people remain unhoused. Not because housing doesn’t exist, but because the systems meant to connect people to it don’t work. Six years ago in Seattle, we set out to change that. We unlocked 204,589 units and connected 11,852 people to homes across 7 markets in 2025. We also expanded into three new markets and housed more people than ever before. We didn’t do this alone. We relied on the partnership of 3,573 properties and the tireless work of 369 community based organizations. But this work has never been about numbers alone. It’s about people: those ready for stability, but still navigating systems that don’t work. So we’re building one that works differently. A shared, technology-enabled platform that brings property owners, community based organizations, and public agencies into a single, coordinated system, making housing access faster, simpler, and more predictable. In 2025, the continued growth of our Hub moved us closer to that reality, connecting housing inventory, potential renters, partners, and support in one place. And to build a future where housing is no longer something people fight to access, but something that simply works. For all. Because solving this problem isn’t about doing more within a broken system. It’s about building the infrastructure to replace it. What we’ve proven locally, we’re now expanding nationally. With a clear goal: 28,000 people housed by 2027. Reaching that goal will take more than growth. It will take alignment across government, philanthropy, and the private sector, to build housing systems that function like the critical infrastructure they are. And it will take partners willing to build it with us. To invest in what works. To scale what’s possible. And to build a future where housing is no longer something people fight to access, but something that simply works.
Housing for all.
Powered by tech.
THE CONTEXT
The housing crisis
no one talks about
This problem is not inevitable. It’s the product of a housing system that fails our most vulnerable households in three specific, connected ways:
01
Fragmented housing systems
Disconnected providers, siloed data, and inconsistent referrals mean people fall through the cracks before help arrives.
02
Blocked Access
Access to vacant rental housing is blocked to households perceived as risky. For families with an eviction or low credit, the housing market feels like a closed door.
03
Constrained Supply
Supply becomes artificially constrained for households already navigating instability.
04
Late Prevention Support
Prevention support delivered late is more costly, and after harm, stress, and trauma has already impacted the household.
Fragmented
Housing
System
Late
Prevention
Support
Unit Sits
Empty
"Risky"
Renter is
Denied
1.4M
people are experiencing
homelessness
10.5M
people are one crisis away from displacement
Fragmented
Housing
System
Late
Prevention
Support
Unit Sits
Empty
"Risky"
Renter is
Denied
204K+
total units with reduced screening criteria
87%
housing retention
(1-year)
"Risky" Renter
is Approved
Coordinated Housing System
Units Become
a Home
Quickly Deployed Prevention Services
OUR SOLUTION
The model
that works
Housing Connector is building the infrastructure to get and keep people housed. We connect property owners and community based organizations through a shared platform that removes barriers, builds trust, and deploys prevention services to make the rental market work for households that need it most.
01
Reduced Screening Barriers
We open doors to available units by partnering directly with property owners to reduce restrictive screening barriers such as credit, past debt or eviction, legal system impact, or income to rent ratio.
02
Upstream Prevention Support
We deploy prevention support at the earliest signs of instability, keeping people housed while reducing real and perceived risks of property owners.
03
Tech Enabled Coordination
We’re building the infrastructure that coordinates all stakeholders supporting an individual's journey to housing stability through a centralized technology platform.
04
Maximized Housing Inventory
Housing Connector connects vacant housing inventory to a matched demand stream so that no units sits vacant while there are people in need of a home.
Impact since 2019
AND COUNTING
people housed
households
Fragmented
Housing
System
Late
Prevention
Support
Unit Sits
Empty
"Risky"
Renter is
Denied
204k+
total units with reduced screening criteria
87%
HOUSING RETENTION
(1-YEAR)
Coordinated Housing System
Quickly Deployed Prevention Services
Units Become a Home
"Risky" Renter is Approved
A year of impact and stories.
2025
2.6k
CHILDREN housed
AND STABALIZED
69%
BIPOC households
housed
100
new community
partners onboarded
59k
new units
unlocked
7k
PEOPLE HOUSED
AND STABALIZED
87%
1-year stability rate
1k
new property
partners onboarded
$2.2k
annual per person
cost for housing
support
7k
people housed
AND STABALIZED
2.6k
CHILDREN housed
AND STABALIZED
"Imagine having more than enough money to pay rent, but because of that eviction, no apartment would say yes... With Housing Connector I got my hope back"
Sierra,
DALLas Resident
"Como Ángeles guardianes, llegó esta organización a mi vida a darnos una luz, una sonrisa para mis hijos, una esperanza de vida hoy en día tengo vivienda."
Frayana,
PORTLAND RESIDENT
$2.2k
annual per person cost for housing support
59k
new units
unlocked
3
new markets
launched
01
Sacramento, CA
02
Austin, TX
03
Orlando, FL
1k
new property
partners
"It took so much weight off my shoulders because I was able to find an apartment within a month."
MARK,
SEATTLE Resident
100
new community
partners
87%
1-year
stability rate
69%
BIPOC households
housed
A year of impact and stories.
2025
OUR TECHNOLOGY
Powering Housing
Access at Scale
At the center of Housing Connector’s model is the Hub - a technology platform designed to connect every part of the housing system in one central place:
Inventory
A centralized view of available units across markets in real time
Placement
Tools that match renters to housing faster and more efficiently
People
A single, portable record that moves with an individual across systems
Partners
Streamlined coordination between property owners, service providers, and public agencies
Data
Integrations with property and public systems to improve coordination and decision-making
Tracking
Visibility from initial housing search through long-term stability
Support
Early activation of financial assistance, case management, and mediation when risk arises
XX
monthly users
1.2k
monthly active users
23k
cumulative unique users
One platform.
One shared system.
One platform.
One shared system.
Inventory
A centralized view of available units across markets in real time
Placement
Tools that match renters to housing faster and more efficiently
People
A single, portable record that moves with an individual across systems
Data
Integrations with property and public systems to improve coordination and decision-making
Tracking
Visibility on full housing journey from housing search through long-term stability
Partners
Streamlined coordination between property owners, community based organizations, and public agencies
One platform.
One shared system.
Inventory
A centralized view of available units across markets in real time
Placement
Tools that match renters to housing faster and more efficiently
People
A single, portable record that moves with an individual across systems
Data
Integrations with property and public systems to improve coordination and decision-making
Tracking
Visibility on full housing journey from housing search through long-term stability
Partners
Streamlined coordination between property owners, community based organizations, and public agencies
One platform.
One shared system.
Inventory
A centralized view of available units across markets in real time
Placement
Tools that match renters to housing faster and more efficiently
People
A single, portable record that moves with an individual across systems
Data
Integrations with property and public systems to improve coordination and decision-making
Tracking
Visibility on full housing journey from housing search through long-term stability
Partners
Streamlined coordination between property owners, community based organizations, and public agencies
THE FUTURE
Scaling what
works
The Hub is the foundation.
What comes next is system-wide visibility.
As Housing Connector scales, the Hub will move beyond individual tools and workflows into a shared infrastructure that helps entire communities understand, coordinate, and improve their housing systems in real time.
01
Predictive Prevention
Fewer people entering homelessness. Early signals trigger support before a crisis becomes an eviction. Ongoing support reduces disruptions and helps people stay housed.
02
Smarter Matching
Faster access to housing. Less time spent searching, applying, and waiting means people are placed into homes more quickly.
04
Better Resource Allocation
Support that reaches the right people at the right time. Resources are directed where they’re needed most, driving more efficient investments to the areas of greatest need.
THE EVENT
A Toast to 10,000 Stories
Housing Connector hosted a 10,000 people housed celebration event in Seattle on October 9th, showcasing our growth since 2019 and celebrating the housing stories of our residents and the partners who made this impact possible.
"Doors Unlocked: A Toast to 10,000 Stories" brought together leaders from government, philanthropy, business, nonprofits, and the multifamily industry to celebrate lives changed—and to envision the path ahead.
As we set our sights on national scale, the milestone was both a celebration and a call to action: to expand partnerships, drive investment, and reimagine housing as a human right supported by market innovation.