Keys to Success: How Tenant Certification and Landlord Collaboration Took Center Stage at ATI 2025

At the 2025 Annual Training Institute (ATI), hosted by the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, one session captured the spirit of innovation, compassion, and bold collaboration that defined the conference. Titled “Keys to Success: Tenant Certification and Landlord Collaboration,” the panel brought together three women whose frontline work is actively reshaping how Connecticut approaches housing stability.

Yvette, Fateria, and Tabitha beam with smiles as they gear up to lead a conversation on Tenant Certification and Landlord Collaboration.

Yvette Glenn, CEO and Co-Founder of Wealth Beacon Group Foundation, Fateria Sheats, Landlord Engagement Specialist at Christian Community Action, and Tabitha Brown, Program Director at Beth El Center, led a dynamic and deeply human conversation on a model that is gaining traction across the state, tenant certification.

While many panels at ATI explored high-level strategy, this session offered something different, a practical, proven framework that works. Together, the speakers detailed how a simple but powerful idea, preparing tenants before they sign a lease, can change lives, reduce evictions, and build lasting trust between landlords and housing providers.

Fateria emphasizes the importance of building strong partnerships with landlords to ensure stable, supportive housing for families.

“Landlords want to know tenants are supported,” Fateria explained. “They want to know

someone is walking alongside them. Tenant certification does that.” She emphasized the importance of building trust, not just with landlords but with the families themselves. “We’re not just placing people in units, we’re preparing them for success and standing by them when challenges come up,” she added, highlighting the ongoing support structure that turns housing into stability.

Yvette spoke passionately about the broader vision behind the work. Through SHINE Academy and wraparound support services, her organization doesn’t just house families, it equips them for the long haul. “It is not just about placing someone in a unit,” she said. “It is about stability. It is about dignity. It is about transformation.”Her approach blends compassion with accountability, creating a roadmap where families don’t just survive, they grow, thrive, and reclaim their future.

Tabitha shares insights on community support initiatives, highlighting key achievements in housing and wellness programs.

Tabitha, who has been leading pilot efforts through Beth El Center, shared how landlord confidence grows when they see that tenants are backed by education, structure, and a reliable support system. “This is not just a signature on a lease,” she said. “It is a commitment to success.”

The session offered more than a solution, it offered hope. The panelists spoke openly about the barriers families face, but also about what happens when those barriers are met with care, coordination, and accountability. With certification programs, tenants are better prepared, landlords are more willing, and everyone has a stake in long-term success.

This conversation was just one of many that filled the ATI schedule with insight and urgency. Attendees heard from key figures like Karen DuBois Walton and Leon Bailey of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, who led a session on dismantling systemic obstacles. Commissioners Seila Mosquera Bruno and Nancy Navarretta joined forces for a cross-agency discussion on leading through crisis. And national voices like Richard Cho and Marc Dones added depth to policy conversations around Medicaid, metrics, and rethinking homelessness from the ground up.

Amir and Yvette Glenn, founders of Wealth Beacon Group Foundation, attend a Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness event, supporting efforts to combat homelessness in the community.

Other panels tackled everything from street medicine and domestic violence to youth homelessness and algorithmic bias in housing decisions. It was a conference marked not only by strategy, but by heart. And it was clear that real change is being driven by leaders who are not afraid to do the hard work, with communities, not just for them.

Yvette standing showcasing Wealth Beacon Group materials for SHINE Academy's financial literacy workshop, amongst other WBG Programs, ready to engage with attendees.

The message from Yvette, Fateria, and Tabitha was simple, but powerful, preparation,

partnership, and purpose can move families from instability to opportunity. Their work is living proof that when we treat tenants with respect, support landlords with resources, and collaborate across sectors, we do not just house people, we help them thrive.

In a moment where housing challenges feel complex and unrelenting, this session served as a reminder that solutions do exist. They are rooted in community. They are built through trust. And they begin with believing that everyone deserves a fair chance at a place to call home.