"We must, as a country, keep the pathways of property ownership and homeownership open," NeighborWorks President and CEO Marietta Rodriguez said during a panel at the National Fair Housing Alliance's 2020 conference. Rodriguez said it's particularly important to keep those pathways open to people of color and to communities that have been disenfranchised."In this country, the ownership of land gives the property owner power and a voice that a non-property owner doesn't have.

When she first started working as a homebuying educator in 2006, "it was a buyer's boom," says Gabriela Luna, now an educator and housing counselor at Tejano Center for Community Concerns in Houston, Texas. "Everyone was buying. There was so much support from all banks."
 

Marietta Rodriguez, president and CEO of NeighborWorks America, believes nothing is worse than doing nothing. That was the theme of a NeighborWorks campaign during the housing crisis of 2008. At the time, Rodriguez was NeighborWorks' vice president of National Homeownership and Lending Programs. Now at the helm of the organization, Rodriguez spent the week of Sept. 15 – the anniversary of the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2008 – sharing lessons from that period. She continues to share those lessons, which follow, in her own words:

Training isn't just a way to keep certifications current; it's a way to keep knowledge current. And as current events continue to create moving targets for affordable housing and community development professionals – with eviction moratoriums, unemployment, rental relief, and a kaleidoscope of grants and programs – housing counselors, educators and trainers need to keep up.

Economic hardships are changing the way we live, according to a new NeighborWorks America survey released on July 16. The survey, conducted annually, examines Americans' feelings and behaviors when it comes to housing and personal finances.

Americans are facing unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19. Even with some HUD-approved housing counseling agencies shuttered or operating at reduced capacity, counselors can still help clients stabilize their housing. Telephone and virtual counseling can be added to the agencies' service delivery model.

During this time of crisis, remote counseling supports social distancing practices. The physically impaired, immuno-suppressed, seniors, and those who either prefer not to or cannot commute have much to gain.