Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven

Navigation

---

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 12-15 one-, two-, and three-family homes to first-time homebuyers per year, creating approximately 25 units of affordable housing annually.
• Housing Rehabilitation Services: NHS provides technical and financial assistance to approximately 12-15 existing homeowners who wish to rehabilitate their homes per year.
• Homeownership Promotion and Mortgage Origination: Working with local lenders and Neighborhood Housing Services of America, the HOC provides a variety of first mortgage products, including purchase/rehabilitation mortgages.
• Pre- and post-purchase Homebuyer Education and Counseling: the New Haven HomeOwnership Center (a subsidiary of NHS) 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 has a list of 250 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 (to open in April 2008): the Lab will provide 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 a comprehensive approach to 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 RDP focuses on the Blake Street neighborhood.

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 at the same time creating stability on a block.  As a community-based organization, NHS can remain responsive to the needs and concerns of neighborhood residents, and incorporate those needs and concerns into its planning for future programs and initiatives.

---