To the Contrary host Bonnie Erbe interviews Martina Guilfoil, president of the National NeighborWorks Association and executive director of Inglewood, Calif., Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., on homeownership rates among single mothers. (Photo by Jeff Epremian)

 

June 2, 2004 — The national NeighborWorks network and MANNA, a local NeighborWorks organization, were featured last week on the nationally syndicated PBS show To the Contrary, which examined the barriers faced by single mothers in attaining homeownership.

To the Contrary host Bonnie Erbe interviews Martina Guilfoil, president of the National NeighborWorks Association and executive director of Inglewood, Calif., Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., on homeownership rates among single mothers. (Photo by Jeff Epremian)

The guests discussed figures from the 2000 U.S. Census, which revealed that 49 percent of single mothers and 51 percent of all single women own a home in contrast to 81 percent of married couples. Martina Guilfoil, president of the National NeighborWorks Association and executive director of Inglewood, Calif., Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., cited three reasons for the lower homeownership rates among single women. First, there is a disparity in incomes between men and women and two incomes are often needed to purchase a home. Second, because of a lack of financial education, women often "self-select" out of the homebuying process. Finally, said Guilfoil, many women associate homeownership with marriage and are "waiting for Prince Charming" rather than buying a home themselves.

"A lot of education is needed to promote this wealth strategy [homeownership] for women," said Guilfoil. NeighborWorks organizations and financial education, she added, are "front and center" in boosting the rate of homeownership among single women.

MANNA's Homebuyers Club
A homeownership club operated by MANNA, a NeighborWorks organization in Washington, D.C., was also featured on the show. The club, a guided support group for prospective homebuyers, encourages its members to save toward the down payment on a home while providing the tools and knowledge needed in the mortgage application and approval process. MANNA Homebuyers Club member Jackie Ward, for example, adopted financial practices that allowed her to pay off her credit card debt and eventually purchase a two-bedroom condominium.

Asaki Johnson, MANNA real estate specialist, says that many female homeowners become very engaged in keeping up their homes and take on leadership roles in their communities, helping to improve home values and the quality of life. In Ward's condominium complex, for example, women took part in every phase of development and continue to work to improve the community.

"On a given night, you'd see women sitting down talking to police, which most people think you don't do here in Southeast [Washington, D.C.]," said Ward. "We have a private school on this ground for girls; we have a daycare; and we are starting a program to keep families together. We all come together and sit down to figure out how to make our corner of Southeast better, cleaner, and safer."

Check your local listings or visit www.pbs.org/ttc for To the Contrary airtimes. For more information on the NeighborWorks network of community development organizations, visit www.nw.org. For more information on MANNA, visit www.mannadc.org.

###

back to top