<Media Advisory: New Orleans Training Institute December 2004>

NeighborWorks

November 30, 2004
Contact: Becky Fleischauer, 202-220-2360; bfleischauer@nw.org

New Orleans Hosts Nation’s Largest Homeownership and
Community Development Training Institute

(New Orleans, LA) -- December 13–17, New Orleans will host the largest training force of housing and community development advocates in the nation—the NeighborWorks Training Institute. Thousands of city, county and state officials from across the nation will convene to become certified and trained in the most effective ways to close the homeownership gap between whites and non-whites; improve financial literacy; empower families to get the most out of the homebuying process; and, use community development strategies to improve safety and build wealth. (See attached at-a-glance agenda.)

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation CEO Kenneth D. Wade said New Orleans was a prime location for participants, who want to learn how to close the homeownership gap and revitalize neighborhoods. “New Orleans faces enormous affordable housing challenges and has one of the nation’s leaders in helping to close the gap and strengthen community—the Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans,” Wade said. “We are pleased that such a jewel in the neighborhood development community plays host to this national training.”

Wade said the benefits of homeownership multiply over time. “For families, owning a home is an opportunity to get ahead — to start building wealth they can use to send the kids to college, to invest in a small business, or to finance a secure retirement,” Wade said. A survey of consumer finances found that low-income homeowners had a net worth twelve times that of renters at the same income level. Other studies found that children of homeowners are more likely to graduate from high school and college and more likely to go on to own homes of their own. Research also shows that homeownership keeps communities attractive, safe and vital, generating higher property values, stable employment and other economic activity.

To ensure more families have those opportunities, the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling (NCHEC) will triple the number of counselors certified across the nation—increasing national capacity to serve more than two million individuals each year by 2007.To date, NeighborWorks has provided counseling to more than 470,000 families, and assisted over 80,000 low- and moderate-income families to buy homes.

The need for more attention to affordable housing in New Orleans is growing. The rate of homeownership in New Orleans is far below the state and national averages: 46.5 percent for New Orleans compared to 67.9 percent for the state, and 66.2 percent nationally.

New Orleans’ community development achievements and challenges offer a wealth of lessons and best practices for conference participants to observe and learn from. Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans—a charter member of the NeighborWorks network—provided 521 families with pre- and post-purchase housing counseling in 2003 and invested more than $6 million in affordable housing and revitalization efforts in the city.

“NHS takes a very holistic approach to homeownership services, providing individual counseling, classroom training, low-interest mortgage products as well as its ability to renovate New Orleans’ homes in a manner that is both affordable as well as sensitive to the city’s unique architectural heritage,” said executive director Lauren Anderson.

Anderson noted that NHS of New Orleans customers are overwhelmingly low- and moderate-income African American families with 61 percent comprising female heads of household. NHS helps families overcome the barriers to homeownership with high-quality education and counseling and financial incentives.

Profile of New Orleans NHS first-time homebuyer:
• $24,578 average income (represents 57% of the median income for New Orleans
• 61% female head of household
• 22% single
• 11% married
• 96% were African American; 4% were white

Recognizing the persistent homeownership gap between white and nonwhite families and the talented change agent represented in our youth, NeighborWorks has partnered with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to grow a new generation of informed, empowered black citizens. This is the first partnership of its kind to harness HBCU youth ideas and energy on behalf of affordable housing and community development. On December 14, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. CEO Ken Wade will recognize three HBCU students for their essays on “Taking Matters into Our Own Hands: How African Americans can reduce the homeownership Gap.”

If you would like to receive media credentials to attend and cover the Training Institute, please provide your name, phone number, e-mail address, the name of the media outlet for whom you will be reporting, and supervisor’s name to Becky Fleischauer at bfleischauer@nw.org or 202-220-2360. Because of the classroom set-up of the institute and conference facility security, you will be required to have credentials to attend the institute.

New Orleans NeighborWorks® Training Institute At-a-Glance

December 13-14
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Institute courses begin – tracks include affordable housing; asset management; community building and organizing; economic development; construction; homeownership and community lending; management and leadership; and, neighborhood revitalization.

Highlights:

Bridging The Digital Divide
Financial Fitness: Teaching Money Management Skills
The Cutting Edge: New and Unique Community Development Programs
Homebuyer Education and Counseling Methods
Essential Tools of the Trade: Neighborhood Analysis and Planning for Action

12:00 p.m. (December 14)

Luncheon speaker -- Doug Smith, “On Values and Values: Thinking Differently about We…in an Age of Me.”

6:00 p.m. (December 14)

Awards banquet – Three students from historically black colleges and universities will receive awards for their essays on “Taking Matters into Our Own Hands: How African Americans can reduce the homeownership Gap.” NeighborWorks has partnered with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to grow a new generation of informed, empowered black citizens. This is the first partnership of its kind to harness HBCU youth ideas and energy on behalf of affordable housing and community development.

December 15
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Institute courses continue – tracks include affordable housing; asset management; community building and organizing; economic development; construction; homeownership and community lending; management and leadership; and, neighborhood revitalization.

Highlights:

Understanding CRA Rules (banking rules for serving low- and mid-income families) and Making Them Work for You
Reading a Neighborhood: What a Block Walk Can Tell You
How to Develop Difficult Neighborhood Projects
Using the Community Development Block Grant Program

December 16
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Symposium -- “Unleash the Power of Your Board” – Tools and tips to help board members improve their leadership, maintain high standards for performance and accountability, and deliver better results

Institute courses continue – tracks include affordable housing; asset management; community building and organizing; economic development; construction; homeownership and community lending; management and leadership; and, neighborhood revitalization.

Highlights

Green Affordable Housing
Energize Your Local Economy with a Bustling Public Market
Beginner to Intermediate Foreclosure Prevention
Getting Things Done in Neighborhoods Through Strategic Collaborations

About NeighborWorks

The NeighborWorks network is a nationwide network of more than 230 community development organizations working in nearly 2,700 urban, suburban and rural communities across America. These organizations engage in revitalization strategies that strengthen communities and transform lives. Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation provides financial support, technical assistance and training for the NeighborWorks network. In the last five years alone (FY 1999-2003), NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $7.3 billion in reinvestment and helped more than 300,000 families of modest means purchase or improve their homes or secure safe, decent rental or mutual housing.