Marcia Erickson grew up on a cattle farm in rural South Dakota where neighbors knew and took care of one another. If one neighbor fell ill or got hurt when it was time to bring in the corn, the others were ready to help. “The crops can’t wait,” Erickson said.  

“Housing is a spectrum,” says Mel Willie, senior director of Native American Partnerships and Strategy at NeighborWorks® America. “And we want to reach people on all parts of that spectrum.”

NeighborWorks® America recognized the achievements of the newest graduates of its Advancing Leaders in Real Estate Program with a ceremony during the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Chicago.

NeighborWorks America capped off its NTI on Friday the way it began: With learning and a focus toward the future. More than 1,000 affordable housing and community developers came from across the U.S. to expand their resources – and capacity – during a weeklong training institute in Chicago.

A treasured historic landmark in Houston has been restored, thanks to Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation (CRC). The NeighborWorks® network member organization, with its partner Cloudbreak Communities, recently transformed the former St. Elizabeth Hospital in Houston from a vacant shell to a flourishing apartment community named St. Elizabeth Place.

The upcoming NeighborWorks® Training Institute in Chicago promises to be an incubator for ideas, innovations and energy when it opens on Feb. 23. One of the courses that has people talking is Building Legacies: Property Inheritance and Estate Planning Strategies for Housing Professionals (HO233). The course continues the conversation on how to increase generational wealth and make sure that when families or individuals do buy a home, they are able to pass that wealth on. It should be of particular interest to housing counselors.

NeighborWorks® network organizations will have a chance to meet with industry partners, engage with one another, and address housing challenges together during a brand new Housing Supply Solutions Lab. The lab will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 25, during the  NeighborWorks® Training Institute in Chicago, Illinois. 

Elizabeth Velasco and her family started the new year in a new home of their own. The dream was made possible with the help of NeighborWorks Home Partners through a new loan product that offers mortgage-like financing for manufactured homes.

Velasco had rented a home with her family in Bloomington, Minnesota, for years. After a recent divorce, she started looking at homeownership options, including a sustainable manufactured home.

Any time of year that staff at Housing Partnership of New Jersey can get a client into a new home is the best time of year, says Stephanie Otaegui, program director for the housing counseling department. And during a season when people talk about hope is a good time to talk about their work.