NeighborWorks® network organizations will have a chance to meet with industry partners, engage with one another, and address housing challenges together during a brand new Housing Supply Solutions Lab. The lab will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 25, during the  NeighborWorks® Training Institute in Chicago, Illinois. 

CHN Housing Network in Cleveland, Ohio, broke ground this month on a housing solution: The NeighborWorks network organization is building an affordable housing development devoted to veterans. Cleveland West Veterans Housing is scheduled to open next fall.

“We’ve done a lot of permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless,” explained Kevin Nowalk, president and CEO of CHN. “Within that group, disproportionally, we see veterans.”

On Season 2, Episode 1 of The Community Effect, NeighborWorks® America's podcast, we revisit Hurricane Katrina two decades later, and the communities and leaders who rose from the disaster to rebuild stronger than ever. Host Marietta Rodriguez, NeighborWorks® America's president & CEO, sits down with: 

In the days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, communities began to think about rebuilding, even while still responding to the devastation. In South Mississippi, community and business leaders organized a business council to try to understand the region’s recovery. From that council came the Renaissance Community Loan Fund, now known as RCLF. The nonprofit was supposed to be temporary.

It’s easy for me to remember both the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and my own anniversary working with NeighborWorks America: They happen at nearly the same time. One anniversary marks a storm 20 years ago that still seems like yesterday. The other marks the continuance of a career in affordable housing and community development helping people – including myself – recover. 

It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast, bringing with it high winds, heavy flooding and devastation of land, homes, businesses and life. In New Orleans, where the levees failed, more than130,000 homes were damaged. Just weeks later, before people could even begin to clean up and rebuild, Hurricane Rita hit.

Greenville Housing Fund (GHF), a nonprofit committed to affordable housing and community development in Greenville, South Carolina, held a chartering ceremony this week celebrating its recognition as an official part of NeighborWorks® America’s network. Formed in 2018 with a commitment to creating opportunity, GHF supports development, preservation and financing solutions to meet the community’s growing housing needs.

In Florida, where the community development nonprofit Wealth Watchers is based, a Lady Bird Deed – a deed that says who will inherit the property if the owner dies but where the owner retains full rights (including sales rights) while living – is a legal way to transfer wealth. One state over in Georgia, which Wealth Watchers also serves, this type of deed is not legal.

Photos by Cody-Fay Alameda

Hawaiian Community Assets, which for a quarter of a century has worked to enable families to achieve economic self-sufficiency, is now a chartered member of NeighborWorks® America’s network of excellence. The nonprofit reaches the entirety of Hawai‘i and has a focus on working with Native Hawaiians.

When Nina Teasley took the podium at the ribbon cutting for The Residences at Forest Glen, she shared more than her gratitude, she shared a story of resilience, community, and a new beginning.

Teasley grew up in Ohio, where she raised four children. When her marriage ended, she said, so did her financial security. “I hadn’t paid into social security. I had no retirement plan. And the divorce meant I had to start over. And I did.”