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 Rosalinda Natividad

Rosalinda Natividad is the Founder and CEO of Incite Network, which empowers change-makers along the U.S.-Mexico border by securing grant funding and supporting strategic planning for equitable community impact. She leads efforts to amplify the work of underfunded organizations, driving...

Conversation with Alana Boone

Alana Boone is a Social Policy Officer for the city of Brugge in Belgium, Europe. She works on a local level on policies promoting preventative health, long-term care policies, and age-friendly cities. Alana Boone spoke with Ashley Hopkinson on April...

Slowly but surely, Kigali city is reclaiming streets for people

From Nadia Lobti / The New Times: Twice a month the city of Kigali has a “Car Free Day,” a program that reduces air and noise pollution while simultaneously encouraging residents to be more active via walking, biking, and other...

Car Free Day: Global health leaders join Kigali residents in ‘Africa Walks against Malaria’

From Frank Ntarindwa / The New Times: ‘Kigali’s “Car Free Day” not only boasts an increase in residents’ activity levels, it also creates a space for more knowledge and service sharing for health conditions including Malaria.’ Screenings for non-communicable diseases...

These Local Governments Are Using Federal Aid to Cancel Medical Debt

From Oscar Perry Abello / Next City: With funding from city governments, the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt acquires and cancels medical debt by negotiating directly with hospitals. The only requirement is being under 400% of the federal poverty line and...

Conversation with Arbind Singh

Arbind Singh is a social entrepreneur and activist working with informal workers and their children in India. He founded Nidan in 1996 which along with various offshoots today works with more than 10,00,000 informal workers for better laws and polices,...