Statewide, housing organizations will receive more than $2.3 million
BOSTON, MA – March 17, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Senator John Kerry today announced that Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc. will receive $163,500 in federal funding from NeighborWorks America. The funding will be used to help local communities revitalize and sustain their neighborhoods and to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure.
NeighborWorks America, also known as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, provides funding to communities to help stem the tide of foreclosures that threaten neighborhoods and local economies; create homeownership opportunities for families, produce and manage affordable, high-quality rental properties, and revitalize and strengthen communities.
Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc. has been working to transform and revitalize the physical, economic, and social landscape of Lawrence since 1981.
“Our housing market has been through hell and it’s not recovered yet. Too many working people are hanging on by their fingernails and these community efforts bring some peace of mind to those who need it most. These investments mean financial counseling to thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure or trying to buy a home for the first time, and will help preserve affordable housing options,” said Senator Kerry.
This year, NeighborWorks America, a program created by Congress in 1978, is providing more than $119 million to more than 235 community-based non-profit organizations nationwide. In this year’s first round of funding, nine organizations in Massachusetts are set to receive a total of $2,326,250.
For the past five years the NeighborWorks network has been able to:
· Invest nearly $20 billion in America’s urban, rural and suburban communities;
· Provide homeownership counseling to 500,000 families;
· Assist more than 80,000 American families of modest means achieve their dream of home ownership;
· Develop, own and manage over 73,000 units of affordable, high-quality multi-family housing;
· Rehabilitate more than 85,000 homes, using state-of-the-art methods, including green and healthy building techniques;
· Create the nation’s largest force of certified homeownership education and foreclosure intervention counselors;
· Invest in rebuilding efforts in hurricane-affected communities across the Gulf Coast; and
· Mobilize hundreds of thousands of volunteers to revitalize communities.
For more information about NeighborWorks programs, please visit www.nw.org.
CONTACT:
Boston Press Office, 617-565-8519
