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:

How Bogotá cares for its family caregivers: From dance classes to job training

From Rhitu Chatterjee / NPR: A unique program in Bogotá called Manzanas del Cuidado (Care Blocks) provides free activities and services to unpaid caregivers in local neighborhoods. These services span everything from wellness classes to professional training to educational courses....

Evanston has an affordability problem – community land trusts can help

From Duncan Agnew / Evanston RoundTable: Through a land trust, Community Partners in Affordable Housing sells homes to buyers at a fixed cost while maintaining ownership of the land they’re built on, allowing those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to...

What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt

From Noam N. Levey / KFF Health News: Germany, like the U.S., has a largely private healthcare system that relies on private doctors and private insurers. Like Americans, many Germans enroll in a health plan through work, splitting the cost...

Conversation with Vitor Del Rey

Vitor Del Ray is the Principal of Instituto GUETTO, an organization he founded to combat structural and institutional racism by empowering Black, Brown, and Indigenous individuals for the workforce and promoting social mobility. Through initiatives like Mapa Preto da Educação...

Conversation with Jonathon Freeman

Jonathon Freeman is a founding member of the Native Roots Network, an Indigenous community development organization that, most notably, has curated and organized Our Story: Native Art Exhibitions, advocated for Indigenous cultural revitalization, the protection of Indigenous lands and sacred...

Conversation with Donna Norton

Donna Norton is a founding member of MomsRising and serves as MomsRising’s Executive VP and Chief Advancement & Strategy Officer, helping to develop and drive the strategic direction of MomsRising’s agenda. Norton is an innovator and strategic manager with more...