|
Mayville, NY — The office of Congressman Brian Higgins, and Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation, one of 240 organizations across the United States that make up a national NeighborWorks® network, announced that CHRIC has received $50,000 in grant funding from NeighborWorks® America, which will support the agency’s continuing neighborhood revitalization activity in Jamestown at a time when communities need investment most.
“These funds will be used expressly for making mortgages more attractive to local lenders for mortgaging the houses we are acquiring, rehabilitating, and re-selling on Jamestown’s north side,” said John Murphy, executive director of CHRIC. “Our intent is to work with Jamestown Savings Bank and Lake Shore Savings Bank in making what are called 80/20% mortgage loans. CHRIC will use these NeighborWorks® funds for 20% second position mortgages, behind mortgages these banks will provide for 80% of their sale price. CHRIC has been acquiring vacant houses in north side neighborhoods of Jamestown that CHRIC defines as Buy Northside!”
"I have witnessed first-hand the transformation that takes place when CHRIC steps in and changes neighborhoods," Congressman Higgins stated in commenting on the NeighborWorks award. "CHRIC, through its various programs is rehabilitating deteriorating housing, making home ownership affordable, teaching our youth lessons in construction and life, and strengthening the City of Jamestown and communities across Chautauqua County."
In 2009, NeighborWorks America provided over $81 million in grants to its national network of more than 230 nonprofit organizations operating in over 4,400 rural, urban, and suburban communities, including Jamestown and Chautauqua County. The grants will be used to revitalize and strengthen communities by stabilizing areas hard-hit by the foreclosure and economic crisis by putting vacant properties back into productive use; empowering consumers through financial and homeownership education and counseling and creating homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families.
“On Jamestown’s north side we are trying to reinvigorate a targeted neighborhood by removing the blighting influence vacant houses have on a neighborhood by substantially rehabilitating them, and selling them to mortgageable families who will live in them,” said John Murphy, CHRIC’s executive director.
“The recent award of a $490,000 Neighborhood Stabilization Program award will allow us to fairly quickly have local contractors begin to work on them once we have our New York State Housing Finance Agency contract in place.”
In Jamestown, CHRIC is purchasing vacant and foreclosed houses in several areas of the city for rehabilitation and re-sale. CHRIC has also started an at-risk youth program called Youthbuild that is employing 24 young people in need of their General Equivalency Degrees and a job. Two of the vacant houses to be owned by the non-profit agency will be rehabilitated by the young people participating in Jamestown Youthbuild.
CHRIC is a member of the NeighborWorks network, which was created by NeighborWorks America to improve homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families, provide financial education and improve financial literacy, rebuild and repair properties; develop affordable multifamily units, and, use innovative strategies to improve safety and revitalize communities across the nation. Collectively, NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network have been able to:
• Invest nearly $15 billion in America's urban, rural, and suburban communities;
• Create the nation's largest force of certified homeownership education counselors and foreclosure intervention counselors;
• Provide homeownership counseling to more than 400,000 families;
• Assist more than 80,000 families of modest means to achieve their dream of homeownership;
• Develop, own and manage over 70,000 affordable, high quality rental units;
• Rehabilitate more than 80,000 homes using state-of-the-art methods, including green and healthy building techniques;
• Invest in rebuilding efforts in communities across the Gulf Coast; and
• Mobilize hundreds of thousands of volunteers to revitalize communities.
For more information about buying a CHRIC house in Jamestown contact Mayra Alvarado at 753-4180, or email John Murphy at John_Murphy@chric.org
For more information about NeighborWorks America, please visit www.nw.org, or contact Erin Angell Collins, 202-220-6317, ecollins@nw.org.
|
