By Tre’Dessa Smalls, Homebuyer Assistance Coordinator for CommunityWorks.
In the spirit of Oprah Winfrey, we here at CommunityWorks scream out “you get access to the dream! You get access to the dream and you; you all get access to the dream!” The American Dream is the dream to live a financially secured life and have a home for you and your family to grow in. That is our dream here at CommunityWorks, to help give people pathways to that dream.
Fair housing is important to us. What does fair housing mean? To us, it looks like our Homebuyer Assistance Program, coaching on financial wellness, lending, affordable housing assistance, providing equitable information, and just giving people hope to access a small piece of the American Dream of homeownership no matter who you are.
We went around the office and asked a few people what Fair Housing means to them, and here are the responses:
Lindsay Neal, Loan Operations Specialist said, “Fair housing means opportunities for everyone to access safe and affordable housing regardless of income. Even those who do not make a lot of money can still have a safe place to call home.”
According to our Women’s Business Center Coordinator, Sara Carter, “Fair housing is having access to information/education, resources, and support to obtain housing. It does not matter if it is owning, renting, or staying with a friend but being able to live in a safe place to their liking without any discrimination based on background, ethnicity, religion, age, or anything else.”
My personal definition of fair housing is similar to the above statements. I said, “Fair housing is giving everyone the means and opportunity to have a safe place to live. No one getting turned away because of how they look, who they are, nor anything out of their control. Fair housing is all about safety, affordability, and access to all.”
We gather that fair housing has many different meanings for many different people, but the key factors are equitable access, affordability, and no discrimination. CommunityWorks champions Fair Housing practices and strives to provide the means, resources, and efforts to make the American Dream of home ownership or simply just a safe place to lay your head achievable.
Check out our Down Payment Assistance Program, it helps first time homebuyers be able to reach the dream of homeownership by assisting in the down payment and/or closing cost process. We work with the lender and homebuyer to help cover up to $10,000 in down payment cost for first time homebuyers. We send our buyers through a homebuyer educational course prior to securing the loan so they can go out there prepared to be the best and most educated buyer possible. What would access to financial assistance on a down payment on your first home do for you?
Are you looking to purchase your own home? Click HERE to learn more about our Down Payment Assistance Program.
