Part of NeighborWorks America's mission is ensuring that people can be safely and securely housed. But inequities have made barriers to housing — and to homeownership — especially difficult to surmount for people of color. That's why in 2022 NeighborWorks introduced a new grant, "Accelerating Homeownership for People of Color," with the help of Fifth Third Bank. 

Part of NeighborWorks America's mission is ensuring that people can be safely and securely housed. But inequities have made barriers to housing — and to homeownership — especially difficult to surmount for people of color. That's why in 2022 NeighborWorks introduced a new grant, "Accelerating Homeownership for People of Color," with the help of Fifth Third Bank. 

In Vermont, the stereotype you hear about independence and self-sufficiency often holds true, says Dawn Cross, HomeOwnership Center director and the sole housing counselor at Rural Edge. As a result, the people who walk through her door needing housing help often wait until they've exhausted every possible resource. "They go into credit card debt. They empty their savings. And when people come knocking on the door to shut off the lights or take the house away, that's when they finally look for help." 

In Vermont, the stereotype you hear about independence and self-sufficiency often holds true, says Dawn Cross, HomeOwnership Center director and the sole housing counselor at Rural Edge. As a result, the people who walk through her door needing housing help often wait until they've exhausted every possible resource. "They go into credit card debt. They empty their savings. And when people come knocking on the door to shut off the lights or take the house away, that's when they finally look for help." 

When Shane Sutherland joined the NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program, his goal was to identify opportunities to develop affordable housing in partnership with Black churches. "Being a Black-led organization ourselves, we wanted to work with the Black churches in our community," shares Sutherland, director of operations for Community Housing Development Corporation (CHDC).

Lorena Arechiga-Playo was eager to join a matched savings program when she found one being offered through East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) in Oakland, California. She knew such a program, where a lender or nonprofit pledges to match a certain amount of what a client puts into savings, would increase her savings efforts.