AC Phoenix, March 1991, Page 3
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East Winston CPC
Brings Housing Programs, Famiiies Together
By Steve Sharp
Special to the Phoenix
Pour through the
various housing assis
tance programs offered
to low and moderate in
come homeowners and
prospective buyers and
you will find a host of
programs, ranging from
free paint to low interest
loans and grants. Then
wander through some
Winston-Salem neigh
borhoods and you will
find numerous boarded-
up and vacant houses,
abandoned houses that
until recently were
rented to families who
needed shelter and
paid as much as fifty
percent or more of their
income to get it.
Despite a variety of
programs available to
homeowners of modest
incomes and would-be
buyers, residents of de
teriorating neighbor
hoods face a number of
obstacles in their pursuit
of homeownership and
the upkeep of residen
tial properties. The
problems are not in East
Winston alone. As sub
urban life grows more at
tractive to middle class
Americans, many cities
throughout the state
face a deterioration of
urban neighborhoods,
leaving lower income
families with substan
dard, inadequate, or
unaffordable housing.
There are no easy
solutions to reversing
the trend which results
in deterioration and
abandonment. To
counter neighborhood
decline a variety of ap
proaches are needed,
not only by government
agencies, but by len
ders, builders and resi
dents as well. The nu
merous studies, reports
and task forces which
have addressed the
problem in recent years
have all reached the
same conclusion:
themselves as with the
process of putting
those who need it and
those who have the re
sources together.
Residents need good
quality housing at a
price that they can at-
There are no easy solutions to revising
the trend which results in deterioration
and abandonment. To counter
neighborhood decline a variety of
approaches are needed...
• There is a need for
affordable housing for
purchase and rent by
households with in
comes below $30,000 a
year.
• The majority of
households with in
comes below $15,000
have the greatest need.
The need far exceeds
the production of af
fordable housing units.
• Private sector in
volvement is necessary
in the development and
redevelopment of
neighborhoods.
The problems with
providing affordable
housing to lower in
come people are rwt so
much with the programs
ford.
Builders need evi
dence that construction
and renovation of lower
cost housing can be af
fordable to them, ie.
profitable.
Real estate compa
nies can realize profits
and still provide support
for emerging redevel
opment areas.
Banks offering special
home loan programs
can work with potential
home buyers to build
solid credit and savings.
Government assis
tance must contribute in
ways which make the
federal/local tax dollar
go the farthest. The use
of federal. community
1225 E. 5th Street • Winston-Salem, NC 27101
BASIR RAZZAK
Field Representative
GOLDEN STATE MUTUAL LIFE
(919) 722-3466
(919) 723-0546
721-9136
Residence
development funds to
leverage private invest
ment in housing or to
provide public guaran
tees to private lenders
can help to reduce and
share the risk of financ
ing projects traditionally
considered unfeasible
using traditional lending
criteria.
While neighborhood
revitalization is some
times an over used
phrase and an unreal
ized goal of the com
munity, the burden of
making dreams into real
ity falls squarely on
those who desire a bet
ter place to live.
By learning about
what is available to assist
the renter, understand
ing the process that
leads to homeowner
ship, taking advantage
of home improvement
funds, in short, by
knowing how, who,
when and where to go
when you want to get
involved in making your
apartment, your house,
your neighborhood and
your community a better
place for you and your
future, the resident be
comes the driving force
in improving and devel
oping the community.
The East Winston
Community Development
Corporation was created
to provide residents
with the information,
support, and resources
they need to make
existing programs work
for them and to design
and shape new and
innovative approaches
in the pursuit of an ever
improving community.
Continued On Page 11
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