Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven

Organization and What We Do

The basic components of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven’s programs and activities can be summarized as follows:

• Affordable Housing Development: NHS acquires, rehabilitates, and sells 10-12 one-, two-, and three-family homes to first-time homebuyers per year, creating approximately 20 units of affordable housing annually.
• Housing Rehabilitation Services: NHS provides technical and financial assistance to existing homeowners who wish to rehabilitate their homes.
• Homeownership Promotion and Mortgage Origination: Working with local lenders and Neighborhood Housing Services of America, the New Haven HomeOwnership Center (a subsidiary of NHS) provides a variety of first mortgage products, including purchase/rehabilitation mortgages.
• Pre- and post-purchase Homebuyer Education and Counseling: the HOC provides pre- and post-purchase homeownership counseling services to prospective homebuyers to assist them with the entire home purchase process and to make them better-educated homeowners.  Landlord training is also provided to buyers of two- and three-family homes.  The HOC counsels nearly 500 families who are on the path to homeownership each year and maintains a list of more than 100 pre-qualified prospective homebuyers.
• Mortgage Delinquency/Pre-foreclosure Counseling: the HOC works with homeowners who have fallen behind on their loan payments to help them restructure their loans and avoid foreclosure.
• The Home Maintenance and Energy Conservation IDA Program: the HOC provides matching funds to help participants undertake home maintenance and energy conservation measures on houses they are purchasing or already own.
• The Home Improvement and Energy Conservation Laboratory : the Lab provides hands-on home improvement and energy conservation training to a broad audience.
• Community Building and Organizing: NHS works with residents in our neighborhoods to help form strong block watches and neighborhood associations.  Positive involvement on the part of an increasing number of neighborhood residents can bring about a renewed sense of pride on the part of these residents and help them work toward greater neighborhood stability.
• Revitalization Demonstration Project (RDP): This comprehensive revitalization strategy promises to provide the single most effective tool for strengthening New Haven’s neighborhoods, one area at a time.  The current RDPs focus on the Blake Street, Winchester Avenue, Howard Avenue and West Division Street neighborhoods.

NHS’ greatest strength is its ability to accomplish several of its goals simultaneously.  By acquiring and rehabilitating vacant, abandoned houses and selling them to low- and moderate-income first-time buyers, NHS can provide affordable homeownership opportunities while create stability on a block.  As a community-based organization, NHS can remain responsive to the needs and concerns of neighborhood residents, and incorporate these needs and concerns into its planning for future programs and initiatives.

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