Comprehensive curriculum to build the capacity of homeownership practitioners and expand homeownership opportunities
COLUMBIA, Md. (Jan. 30, 2020) – Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) today launched Enhancing and Implementing Homeownership in Native Communities, a new curriculum designed to build the capacity of housing practitioners to provide homeownership opportunities for Native Americans. he curriculum, developed with support from Freddie Mac, includes a series of 12 interactive modules that enable practitioners to determine what assets they already have in place, identify gaps and outline concrete next steps for creating or strengthening a homeownership program for the communities they serve.
“Enhancing homeownership opportunities on tribal lands is a powerful way to address housing shortages in Native communities,” said Laurel Blatchford, president, Enterprise. “In addition to providing quality, stable homes for tribe members, homeownership programs create jobs and assets that strengthen local economies.”
The curriculum is designed as a companion guide to the 2018 Tribal Leaders Handbook on Homeownership developed in partnership with the& Center for Indian Country Development. The curriculum supports Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) and Tribal Housing Authorities (THAs), Tribal Housing Departments and Native CDFIs to enhance their capacity to deliver homeownership opportunities for& Native communities. The course enables practitioners to explore& the nuts and bolts of homeownership, including needs assessments, homebuyer readiness programming, available mortgage products and subsidies, land processes, community planning, home design and construction and enhancing affordability.
“Freddie Mac is proud to collaborate with Enterprise Community Partners to create this important free curriculum to help expand educational opportunities for Native communities seeking sustainable homeownership for tribal members,” said Simone Beaty, single-family product development director at Freddie Mac.
The comprehensive curriculum combines a range of participatory activities and exercises to facilitate shared learning and encourage participants to develop strategies for implementing high-quality programs in their communities. Throughout 2020, Enterprise will train partners from across the country to incorporate the curriculum into their existing work.
Shelli Marshall, executive director of Flandreau Santee Sioux Housing Authority in South Dakota, said training is important in helping to build stronger homeownership opportunities on trust lands. “Because our tribe and housing authority is so small, networking in the session held on native homeownership is wonderful for exchanging ideas and lessons learned. It was interactive learning which made it fun, and even though the designing of a home and community was only an exercise, it was awesome to imagine and put to paper what is needed in our communities.”
Since 2000, Enterprise’s Rural and Native American Initiative has supported the construction and acquisition of more than 2,100 affordable homes through partnerships with rural and tribal housing organizations.
About Enterprise Community Partners
Enterprise is a proven and powerful nonprofit that improves communities and people’s lives by making well-designed homes affordable and connected to opportunity. As a social enterprise, we bring together the nationwide know-how, policy leadership, partners, donors and investors to multiply the impact of local affordable housing development. Over more than 35 years, Enterprise has created 585,000 homes, invested more than $43 billion and touched millions of lives.
About Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we’ve made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders, investors and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.
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