Nehemiah: Making the American Dream possible for first-time homeowners

From CBS News: The Nehemiah project began in the 1980s building privately-owned homes on land that nobody wanted in East Brooklyn and sold the homes at prices that were affordable to working class families. Church and community organizers mobilized local politicians to sell the land for almost nothing and provide subsidies for community members and raise money that could be used for loans. The program has built 6,500 homes and created an estimated $1.5 billion of wealth for first time Black and Latino homeowners.

Click here to read the original story.

Issue Areas:

Housing, Land Use, Sustainable Development

Impact Areas:

Distributed Trust and Power, Equity

Actors:

BIPOC Communities, Lending, Banking, and Financial Institutions

Communities Served:

BIPOC Communities, Communities Experiencing Economic Hardship

Strategies:

Collective Action, Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals, Redefining Land / Land Ownership

Success Factors:

Building Distribution Systems, Eliminating Barriers, Embracing the Power of Relationships, Leveling the Playing Field, Meeting People Where They Are At, Overcoming the Big Challenges

Geographic Region:

North America

Countries:

United Kingdom

Date:

September 11, 2022

More Resources:

Conversation with Lais Fleury

Laís Fleury has twenty years of experience as a social entrepreneur and has been a Fellow of Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs since 2003. Over the last decade, Laís has been working for Alana, advocating for the right of every child to...

Why Paid Sick Leave Is Good For Workers, Employers, and the Economy

From Peter Hull / NBC LX: Research shows workers who receive paid sick leave are more likely to stay home when sick, thus limiting the spread of illness. Read the original story here. Read more articles on health related to...

Conversation with Karina Víquez

Karina Viquez is the Program Director of the Certificate in Regenerative Entrepreneurship at the University for International Cooperation (UCI) in Costa Rica. She has over 10 years of experience playing key roles in impact learning, regenerative program design, development project...

Conversation with Victoria Ivanova

Victoria is a curator, writer and strategic consultant, currently R&D Strategic Lead as part of Serpentine’s Arts Technologies team. With a focus on systemic and infrastructural conditions that shape socio-economic, political and institutional realities, Victoria develops innovative approaches to organisational...

Conversation with Friendly Vang-Johnson

Friendly Vang-Johnson manages Friendly Hmong Farms, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) social enterprise business, leveraging her 20+ years of experience in social justice work. Her understanding of the intersection between food sovereignty, land reparations, and racial justice was shaped by...

Conversation with Tara Campbell

Tara Campbell (she/her) is a designer specializing in change-enabling collaborative processes. In her role at the David Suzuki Foundation, she is working alongside a national network of organizations, alliances, and individuals to accelerate the transition to economies that prioritize wellbeing...