Print pageIt’s National Homeownership Month, a time to recognize the importance of homeownership. It may look a little different now, but for many, it is still the American Dream and a path to achieving generational wealth. Today, we share Dawson Bowcut's journey to homeownership, which is tied in with NeighborWorks America and its job of creating homes, building America.
For more than 45 years, NeighborWorks has put affordable housing at the forefront, and it shows. There’s still work to do. But separately and – especially – together, NeighborWorks and the network have made a significant impact, creating homes and building America.
NHS of Baltimore opens a long-time project: A food hall that focuses on the community of West Baltimore, which previously has been a food desert. This is how NeighborWorks and the network create homes, build America, and build communities.
NeighborWorks America was charged with designing and running a program to help people avoid foreclosure and eviction. Known as the Housing Counseling Stability Program, the program provided stability to thousands of individuals and families in the wake of economic fallout from COVID-19.
NeighborWorks America builds leaders -- part of the way the national nonprofit creates homes and builds America. Leaders gain strength through training, peer connection, mentorship, coaching, specialized programs and more.
The supply of affordable rental homes is at a crisis point in communities across America, with millions of renters paying one-third or even half of their income on rent. The cost of homeownership is climbing too, as national median home prices ratchet higher, and mortgage rates stay stubbornly close to 7%.
Building and creating homes. That’s the foundation of the mission of NeighborWorks America and its network of excellence. And when we build homes, we also build America.
“The NeighborWorks network continues to be one of the top builders of affordable rental and for-sale homes,” says Michael Butchko, vice president of Business Intelligence at NeighborWorks. “They are a critical part of this country’s infrastructure.”
The classroom at the Renaissance Community Loan Fund (RCLF) in Gulfport, Mississippi, is usually used for financial advising classes for families and individuals preparing to purchase a home. On Wednesday, it was also a place of celebration as NeighborWorks America welcomed RCLF as its newest affiliate.
Network organization aids in workforce development
Melvin had been bouncing between temporary jobs when he discovered Crawford-Sebastian Community Development Council (CSCDC), a NeighborWorks network organization in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He had heard about CSCDC’s Transitioning Out of Poverty Services Program, also known as TOPS, from Arkansas Rehabilitation Services and his goal was the same as TOPS’ goal: self-sufficiency.
Network leaders representing 48 states and Puerto Rico gathered in Washington, D.C., last week for the annual NeighborWorks Executive Symposium (NES). The two-day event, Reshaping Tomorrow: Investing in People & Transforming Communities, was a time for candid conversations and peer learning as the leaders talked about the most important issues facing their community development nonprofits.
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