Achieve Homeownership
InCommons Collaboration Challenge
Achieve Homeownership
Three Rivers Community Action and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership established Achieve Homeownership, a joint collaboration, in June of 2008 to address the widening gap of homeownership rates between white and diverse households in Southern Minnesota. The development of the collaboration was in response to a study released by the State of Minnesota in 2005 showing a significant difference (32%) in homeownership rates between white and diverse households. Additionally, communities in Southern Minnesota are experiencing a growth in the number of diverse individuals and households. Between 2000 and 2006, all but one county in the 38 counties in Southern Minnesota saw a decrease in the percentage of white persons and an increase in the percent of diverse persons. Using a community-based, community-building model, the program supports the advancement of diverse homeownership throughout Southern Minnesota by coordinating a comprehensive network of professionals dedicated to educating and supporting individuals and families as they progress toward the goal of owning a home. While these efforts are focused on supporting diverse families and individuals on their pursuit for homeownership, services are available to anyone seeking the comfort and stability that comes with owning a home.
About You
About You
First Name
Maggie
Last Name
Haley
Country
United States, MN, Murray County
About Your Organization
Organization
Three Rivers Community Action, Inc.
Organization Website
Organization Phone
507.732.7391
Organization Address
1414 North Star Drive, Zumbrota, MN
Organization Country
United States, MN, Goodhue County
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Your Story
Collaboration Title
Achieve Homeownership
Country your work focuses on
United States, MN
Describe your locally-based collaboration and the problem it sought to address
Three Rivers Community Action and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership established Achieve Homeownership, a joint collaboration, in June of 2008 to address the widening gap of homeownership rates between white and diverse households in Southern Minnesota. The development of the collaboration was in response to a study released by the State of Minnesota in 2005 showing a significant difference (32%) in homeownership rates between white and diverse households. Additionally, communities in Southern Minnesota are experiencing a growth in the number of diverse individuals and households. Between 2000 and 2006, all but one county in the 38 counties in Southern Minnesota saw a decrease in the percentage of white persons and an increase in the percent of diverse persons. Using a community-based, community-building model, the program supports the advancement of diverse homeownership throughout Southern Minnesota by coordinating a comprehensive network of professionals dedicated to educating and supporting individuals and families as they progress toward the goal of owning a home. While these efforts are focused on supporting diverse families and individuals on their pursuit for homeownership, services are available to anyone seeking the comfort and stability that comes with owning a home.
Tell us about the community in which this collaboration took place
The regional program covers various communities in Southern Minnesota. Target cities include Willmar, Marshall, Worthington, St. James, Mankato, St. Peter, Owatonna, Albert Lea, Rochester, Faribault, Northfield, and Austin. Though these are the current target areas, the initiative provides services to any community in need no matter how small.
Issue Selector
n/a
Partnership
Who was involved in co-creating or implementing your collaboration (other organizations, leaders, community members, etc.)?
Using pilot funds provided by the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, Three Rivers and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership were able to implement a sustainable collaboration as both organizations have significant experience and offer a comprehensive collection of programs to accomplish the goal of Achieve Homeownership.
To what extent does your collaboration involve partnerships that are outside or cross traditional organizational or sector boundaries?
Relationships with Community Education, Adult Education, English as a Second Language, University of Minnesota Extension, Workforce Development, local lenders and real estate agents provide educational and financial opportunities for clients. Collaboration with agencies, like Somali Community Resettlement Services, that provide direct service to immigrants builds cultural understanding and trust.
Innovation
What makes your locally-based collaboration innovative and unique?
Achieve Homeownership is the only homeownership initiative targeted to diverse households that covers such a broad service area in Southern Minnesota. The unique collaboration among partner agencies better equips households for a successful homeownership process from start to finish by providing access points to clients along a continuum of services. Clients who are new to the lending and banking system can start with a financial literacy class. Others who are looking for homebuying information can attend a Home Stretch class that is culturally tailored to them, as classes are available in Spanish and English with translation into other languages. The initiative also provides hands-on classroom and in-home trainings that review home maintenance and energy efficiency practices to reduce utility costs. Cultural Working Groups comprised of local leaders and service providers are established that help identify gaps in services and allows Achieve Homeownership to create flexible programming to meet local needs. For example, Worthington has seen an influx of Karen/Burmese refugees in recent years, thus, the collaboration introduced Burmese/Karen Home Buyer Education in Spring of 2010.
Did you take risks in establishing this collaboration? Explain
Yes. Achieve Homeownership was funded as a three-year pilot program, therefore, the issue of sustainability was a known risk when establishing the collaboration. Covering such a large geographic area and offering a number of services pose a risk as numerous resources, effective communication, and cooperation among all partners is necessary to provide quality services for all clients.
How did this collaboration differ from the normal way of doing your work?
While both Three Rivers and SWMHP have a strong history of providing housing services to all residents, the collaboration is an effort to address the needs of diverse clients and provides an opportunity to dedicate resources specifically for this purpose. The best practices learned from this initiative will be integrated into the programming at both agencies in an effort to mainstream services.
Impact
How do you know your collaboration has been effective?
Now in its third year, the collaboration has proven to be successful with the number of clients served. To date, Achieve Homeownership has had 105 new homebuyers, 50 households using EMHI down payment assistance, 444 participants in Home Stretch, 717 individuals participating in financial literacy, 173 households in pre-purchase counseling, 165 community training opportunities, Cultural Working Groups established in 9 communities, and 74 high school students attended the Youth Housing Industry Careers Summer Camp in 2009 and 2010.
What progress or impact has been made?
Impact has been made on both families and the communities where they live. The majority of homeowners report the value of their homes has increased since they have owned them and homeownership provides them with a sense of security and empowerment. Homeowners have proven to be a stabilizing force for communities by creating economic benefits like increased tax revenues and private investment.
Next Steps
How would you go about continuing, expanding, or replicating this collaboration?
The collaboration continues to expand and evolve to meet the needs of its residents and increase the homeownership rate among diverse households. To continue its success, Achieve Homeownership will continue to work with established community and funding partners to maintain its level of services. The effort will also continue to expand when needed and as opportunities arise. For example, Achieve Homeownership has adjusted services to meet the needs of the African immigrant community and has set up office hours in the Somali Community Resettlement Services offices in Faribault to provide individual counseling to African clients and launched a homebuyer club for Sudanese clients in Rochester. Montevideo has a large Latino population thus the program is now providing Spanish language Home Stretch Home Buyer Education classes. Additionally, Walnut Grove has an increasing Hmong population; Achieve Homeownership has begun working with the communities of Walnut Grove and Tracy to find housing for these households.
Describe the current stage of implementation and desired next steps
Achieve Homeownership is in its third year of providing services to strengthen Southern Minnesota’s communities by enriching its families’ and individuals’ understanding of the home buying process. Currently, the collaboration is able to provide financial literacy training, pre- and post-purchase counseling, bilingual Home Buyer Education classes, financing programs for qualified buyers, trainings for local lenders and realtors, increased access to skilled interpreters and translated materials, and provides post-secondary education resources and career education for at-risk students. The immediate next steps for the collaboration include expanding the territory covered by the initiative and also expanding services. For example, Achieve Homeownership staff is currently working with the City of Marshall to begin an annual Youth Housing Industry Careers Summer Camp in the community this upcoming year. To date, the camp has only been held in the City of Worthington but proven to be successful in the last two years. Additionally, with an increase in diverse populations, such as the Karen and Burmese refugees in Worthington and African refugees in Faribault and Rochester, Achieve Homeownership has found that creating Home Buyer Clubs would be beneficial. The Clubs seek to expand on the basic Home Stretch course to include 12 two-hour classes that give greater explanation on home purchase and financial literacy for targeted groups.
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