Ray Stranske decided on his life’s work when he watched a member of his church move her belongings in a shopping cart from the Baker neighborhood to the projects with three young children in tow.
It was the late 1970s, and Stranske and his wife, Marilyn, were living in the neighborhood next door to five adults and seven children sharing a two-bedroom apartment.
“We just started realizing that times were tough and rents were high – people doubled up,” he said. “There was an urgency for housing these low-income people.”
Over the next few years, the Stranskes put together what would become Hope Communities, a nonprofit that’s developed 775 affordable housing units, primarily in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood north of downtown.
“He started with a vision and made it a reality,” said Denver City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, whose district includes Five Points. “He had the faith, patience and determination to make it work. His passion has been public service, but his love has been providing housing for the underserved.”
Twenty-five years later, Stranske says it’s time to move on – for his sake and for Hope Communities’. Stranske wants to get back to hands-on development, while the nonprofit needs someone focused on running the organization.
“We just think it’s a good time to make that transition from an entrepreneurial organization to an organization that emphasizes good, sound management,” he said.
Stranske will continue to lead Hope until a successor is found. The board has enlisted the help of Transition Guides, a Maryland consulting firm that works with nonprofits going through leadership transitions. A new director is expected to be named early next year, Stranske said.
Hope’s next executive director needs to be “culturally competent” and committed to providing for the underserved, Wedgeworth said.
“Most of the people they’re dealing with are poor people of color,” she said. “I’m African-American, but if I don’t care about people, it doesn’t matter what color I am. I look at Ray as a person who cares about people who happens to be white.”
Susan Powers, whose career overlapped Ray Stranske’s while she was executive director of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, said the Stranskes should be commended for taking on risky projects in neighborhoods other developers overlook.
“They’ve proven that just because people have lower incomes, it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve quality housing. They can maintain it and pay their bills,” said Powers, who now is president of Urban Ventures LLC, a Denver development firm. “People who give their life to those kind of efforts are the unspoken heroes of our community.”
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at mjackson@denverpost.com or 303-820-1473.
