Opportunity Home Earns 10 National Awards of Merit and Top Honor for Resident Safety
Building stronger communities takes more than providing affordable housing. It also means finding practical ways to keep residents safe, connect families with resources and improve the places they call home.
That work earned Opportunity Home San Antonio 10 Awards of Merit and one Award of Excellence at the 2026 National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Community Innovation Awards reception on Oct. 14, held during NAHRO’s National Conference and Exhibition in Denver, Colorado.
The awards recognize innovative programs and practices among housing and community development organizations nationwide. This year, NAHRO presented 193 Awards of Merit and 17 Awards of Excellence, the program’s highest honor.
“These awards reflect the care, creativity and commitment our employees bring to serving San Antonio families,” said Michael Reyes, president and CEO of Opportunity Home. “What makes this recognition meaningful is the work behind it — finding practical solutions that make our communities safer, expand opportunities for residents and improve the quality of homes we provide.”
A National Honor for Resident Safety
Thoughtful planning can make a difference in how communities prepare for emergencies, particularly for residents who may need additional assistance.
That commitment to meeting residents’ needs during emergencies is at the center of Opportunity Home’s SHIELD (Safe Housing Initiative for Emergency Life-Safety Deployment): Safe Egress for All, which received an Award of Excellence for its approach to resident safety.
Developed by the organization’s Security department, SHIELD equips employees with specialized evacuation chairs and training to help residents with limited mobility in safely exiting multistory buildings during emergencies.
Recognizing the Work Behind the Awards
Opportunity Home’s award-winning initiatives span education, health and wellness, community safety, public engagement, employee development and housing improvements, reflecting the many ways the organization works to support residents and strengthen communities.
Eight of the 10 initiatives were also nominated for Awards of Excellence.
2026 Awards of Merit
Resident and Client Services
- Food and Finance Workshop*
- Holistic Education Fair*
- Mission of Motherhood (M.O.M.)*
- Site-Based Health and Wellness Fair*
Administrative Innovation
- AWARE-DICE: Apartment Watch and Resident Education & Data-Integrated Community Engagement
- Opportunity Home San Antonio Employee Retreat
- Housing Power Hour Plus 2025 Series*
- SHIELD: Safe Egress for All*
- Winter Wonderland*
Project Design
- Victoria Plaza Retrofit: A Model for Sustainable & Safe Affordable Housing — Modernization/Rehabilitation*
*Award of Excellence nominee
Find the full list of award recipients and learn more about their initiatives in NAHRO’s Community Innovation Awards 2026 Awards of Merit Catalog linked below.