Metro West Housing Solutions (MWHS) was formed in 1974 as the Lakewood Housing Authority (LHA).  At the time, the Lakewood City Council acknowledged the community’s shortage of sufficient, decent, safe, affordable, and sanitary homes for its citizens.  The LHA was created to meet this need.  During the 1970s and 1980s, the LHA developed affordable housing programs for Lakewood residents including: implementation and management of the Section 8 program; purchase of dilapidated property and rehabilitation for sale to first time home buyers and moderate income families; and acquisition of affordable rental options in the community.

The agency increasingly recognized that housing may be a primary barrier to a high quality of life and self-sufficiency, but not the only obstacle.  Accordingly, the LHA broadened its efforts to include self-sufficiency and education programs and services including financial literacy, first-time homeowner preparation, health and wellness programs, and scholarships.  A 501(c)3 was created to expand funding opportunities in-house and to establish community partnerships for service provision.

The organization grew in the late 1990s and 2000s and the once cautious housing authority grew into a multi-faceted developer, property manager, and service provider.  The LHA began managing its own properties, acquiring and rehabilitating apartment complexes, and developing its own newly constructed apartment communities.  In 2008 the LHA purchased its own office building for headquarters and rebranded itself as Metro West Housing Solutions to reflect its evolving mission and expanding geographic reach. Today MWHS remains a fiscally-responsible, affordable housing developer, property manager and provider of resident services that is well known locally and nationally for its success in housing and service delivery. MWHS strives to not only develop and provide quality affordable housing and services to its clients, but to educate others on the importance of attainable affordable housing in communities and the positive outcomes and lasting impacts it provides.