For more than 20 years, Marie Shelton rented the same three-bedroom house in Charleston, West Virginia. Today, she owns it.

“I raised my kids in this house. Grandkids too,” she said. It’s just blocks from her office at the West Virginia Department of Transportation, with a big backyard and multiple fireplaces that she decorates for Christmas and in the fall.

Shelton’s path to homeownership started with an ultimatum: Her landlord had decided to sell the place that she called home. If she didn’t buy it, the landlord said, she would have to move. 

Marietta Rodriguez, president & CEO of NeighborWorks® America, joined a panel of housing leaders Wednesday to talk about the state of housing in the United States. The panel followed the release of the State of the Nation’s Housing 2026 report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, which sponsored the event and highlighted continued affordability challenges, subdued housing activity, rising economic uncertainty – and hope. 

There is strength in NeighborWorks® America’s network of nearly 250 nonprofits from across the country. Jim Peffley, CEO of NeighborWorks Capital, a community development financial institution (CDFI) created to serve NeighborWorks network organizations, wants to harness that strength to collectively raise capital at scale – and with better terms. The ultimate goal is to bring attractive capital to communities that often do not have access to capital with the best terms.

At first glance, it looks like a modest apartment building tucked into downtown Anchorage. 

But inside The Adelaide, operated by NeighborWorks Alaska, the work happening every day is much bigger than housing alone. 

During a recent site visit to Alaska, leaders from NeighborWorks® America toured the single-room occupancy property, known as an SRO, to better understand how supportive housing models are helping residents experiencing homelessness and housing instability find safety, stability and community. 

Nearly 200 NeighborWorks® network organizations celebrated NeighborWorks Weeks this year with activities, groundbreakings, block parties and more. Below, please find stories and snapshots from some of the gatherings, with more to come.

Building a community for seniors in Las Vegas

Nevada HAND, a NeighborWorks network organization in Las Vegas, Nevada, broke ground last week – NeighborWorks Week – on its largest development for older Americans to date. 

The sun shone brightly over the playground near Betsy Ross Circle in Milford, Delaware.

At the Housing Our Relatives Summit last month in Anchorage, Alaska, participants did more than attend panels and presentations. They rolled up their sleeves, shared lived experiences and worked together to develop practical strategies for advancing Native-led housing and economic development solutions. 

Affordable Homes & Communities, better known as AHC, broke ground this week on a new project with Goodwill of Greater Washington, the first of its kind in the U.S.

There was a moment during the Spenard Walking Tour in Anchorage, Alaska, when the entire purpose of the Housing Our Relatives Summit clicked for me. 

It was not during a housing finance discussion. Or even while we were talking about development during the first-of-its-kind event, which was hosted by NeighborWorks® America, Oweesta Corporation and the National American Indian Housing Council. 

When people talk about affordable housing in America, the conversation usually sounds familiar: rising rents, limited inventory, labor shortages and growing demand. 

In Alaska, the challenges are all of those things and then some.