Jerome Brooks named Exec Director of Living Room

Living Room’s Board of Directors have just announced Jerome Brooks as their new Executive Director. Brooks will officially take the helm today.

Living Room is a nonprofit organization located in Atlanta. The group serves the HIV/AIDS community, by providing housing services to persons in need.

In a press release sent out by the organization, Chair Alex Ortiz said that Jerome would be able to build upon the strong work done by departing Exec Director Angela Susten.

“We are excited to work with Jerome,” Ortiz wrote, “to continue to expand our programs, develop our wonderful staff, bring in new sources of funding and make sure that Living Room is the leader for Atlanta and the state of Georgia for housing services for people living with HIV.”

Brooks hails from Portland, Oregon. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of the organization Housing Oregon. HO is comprised of 75 different agencies, businesses, and organizations, and is dedicated to ensuring that all Oregonians have places to live that are both stable and healthy.

Before he joined HO, Brooks had a long, impressive resume in the housing advocacy field, including a turn working as the Ryan White/Housing Opportunities for People with HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) Continuum of Care Contract Administrator.

Brooks said: “There has never been a more important time to work at the intersection of health and housing. Housing is a human right and access to quality healthcare is essential to living one’s best life. I am both excited and honored to lead an organization that has been on the frontline of the fight against housing instability and HIV/AIDS for nearly 25 years. I look forward to joining a group of talented, accomplished regional leaders in creating innovative collaborations that will one day end the socioeconomic epidemic of homelessness and lack of access to care.”

Living Room started in 1995, and became a 501(c)(3) four years later. Over 90% of its clientele may be described as “extremely low income.”