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 Sabrina Habib

Sabrina Habib is a social entrepreneur & global leader advocating for quality childcare, early childhood development, and women’s economic empowerment. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kidogo, the leading childcare network in Kenya, serving over 38,000 young children in...

Conversation with Deepa Iyer

Deepa Iyer is the co-founder of Ayeko Farms, an initiative focused on sustainable agriculture and building community resilience through farming practices. She works to promote environmental sustainability and social equity by fostering deeper connections between communities and the land. Deepa...

The Women Leading a Social Revolution in Syria’s Rojava

From Lucy Clarke-Billings / Newsweek: The Committee of Diplomacy of Kongreya Star is a women’s organization in Rojava Syria that aims to liberate women in the region by adding women into all sectors of local life including education, the economy,...

Climate disasters hit poor people hardest. There’s an obvious solution to that

From Sigal Samuel / Vox: An effective way to help those most vulnerable to climate disasters is by providing just-in-time cash transfers right before a disaster hits for them to use as they see fit for resilience and climate change...

Students, schools agree NV tuition waiver program for Native Americans is off to a promising start

From Jennifer Solis / The Nevada Current: A new law in Nevada prohibits the state system of higher education from charging tuition to Native American students who are members of tribes in Nevada. Read the original story here. Read more...

Pay-What-You-Can Farm Stands Feed Communities Against Tough Odds

From Gabriel Pietrorazio / Civil Eats: Farm stands operating on sliding-scale and pay-what-you-can models are improving access to fresh, healthy food in communities battling poverty and food insecurity. In these models, residents who can afford to pay full price are...