Greater New Haven NAACP and Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Announce New Partnership

Supporting $10,000 Down Payment Assistance Program

New Haven, CT (February 14, 2018) - The Greater New Haven Branch of the NAACP and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven held a press conference today to announce a new partnership that strengthens a seven-year old, no-interest loan program for urban home buyers known as "Home Ownership Matters." The new partnership will help to sustain the inroads made by the previous GNHNAACP initiative which made homeownership possible for over 65 families. "Homeownership Matters" is a Forgivable Down Payment and Closing Cost Program. This partnership will help to improve opportunities for urban home buyers with a $10,000 five-year interest free forgivable loan to assist in the purchase of their homes.

"The Greater New Haven Branch of the NAACP is excited to partner with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and begin a new phase that will continue to offer much needed assistance and support around home ownership in the greater New Haven area. This initiative remains a major program for our Branch. It will help to revitalize our neighborhoods by providing families with the opportunities to move from rent to home-ownership, often at lower monthly expenses than renting," says NAACP President Dori Dumas. "We hope that over the next several years that many of residents of the Greater New Haven area will take advantage of this tremendous opportunity through the program."

"Home-ownership can both create a pathway for low-income families to build wealth and security and to stabilize neighborhoods," says William Ginsberg, President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. "This new partnership is one aspect of a multi-faceted strategy by The Foundation to strengthen our community's neighborhoods and increase equity and access to opportunity for area residents struggling to make ends meet. This is why we are so pleased to be working in partnership with the Greater New Haven NAACP."

According to the Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, recent homeownership rates for Whites is at 73.5 percent, while rates of homeownership in the African-American and Hispanic communities remains below 50 percent. In addition to the financial benefits associated with home ownership, social benefits can include greater satisfaction with one's life, better living conditions, greater community involvement, improved outcomes for children, who tend to do better in school, have higher graduation rates and are less likely to become involved with crime.

Bridgette Russell, the Managing Director of Neighborhood Housing Service of New Haven (NHS) and the Chair the Greater New Haven Branch's Housing Committee, along with the lending team at NHS, will administer this "Homeownership Matters" Down Payment and Closing Cost Program. To date 3 first- time homebuyers have successfully closed with an additional 37 applicants currently in the pipe-line.

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