West Side Neighborhood Housing Services, Congressman Higgins Announce $68,150 from NeighborWorks America for Community Economic Development

Press Release

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) and West Side Neighborhood Services announce help for Western New York, through a $68,150 grant from NeighborWorks America, at a time when communities are taking early steps back from the housing crisis and jobs need to be created most. This flexible funding source will help West Side Neighborhood Housing Services in a variety of ways, including providing key service delivery funds for homebuyer education, owner-occupied rehabilitation, foreclosure prevention and community building programs.

West Side Neighborhood Housing Services' Executive Director, Linda Chiarenza, says these flexible funds are vital as Buffalo communities face increasing needs and decreasing funding.

"In these tough times, Buffalo neighborhoods need programs that build and sustain homeownership to keep them strong," said Chiarenza. "The programs these funds support are stabilizing communities and building wealth in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods when they need it most."

"The team at West Side NHS is a valuable resource for local residents looking to begin and maintain the American Dream of homeownership," said Congressman Higgins, Co-Chair of the Congressional Revitalizing Older Cities Task Force. "This funding will allow for continued services that build better neighborhoods and opportunities in our community."

Collectively, over the last five years West Side Neighborhood Housing Services, NeighborWorks America and the other members of the NeighborWorks network have been able to:

* Invest more than $20 billion in America's urban, rural, and suburban communities;
* Create the nation's largest force of certified homeownership education counselors and foreclosure intervention counselors;
* Provide homeownership counseling to more than 500,000 families;
* Assist more than 85,000 families of modest means to achieve their dream of homeownership;
* Develop, own and manage over 80,000 affordable, high quality rental units;
* Rehabilitate more than 85,000 homes using state-of-the-art methods, including green and healthy building techniques;
* Create or sustain more than 23,000 jobs per year through local NeighborWorks-supported projects and activities.
* Mobilize hundreds of thousands of volunteers to revitalize communities.

"The need for nonprofit community development organizations and the work they do to stabilize communities, further economic development and create and sustain jobs has never been greater," said Eileen Fitzgerald, acting CEO of NeighborWorks America. "Communities are pressured by stubbornly high foreclosure rates and unemployment at a time when municipal and state budgets are stretched thin and private resources are scarce. This grant provides critical funding that strengthens West Side Neighborhood Housing Services' ability to serve its communities, create jobs and contribute to economic growth."

About West Side Neighborhood Housing Services: West Side Neighborhood Housing Services is a private, not-for-profit corporation providing full-cycle lending products to strengthen neighborhoods through successful homeownership. The agency partners with Black Rock-Riverside Neighborhood Housing Services to serve the communities west of Main Street in the city of Buffalo. Please visit wsnhs.org for more information.

About NeighborWorks America
Originally established by Congress in 1978 as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. Much of our success is achieved through our support of the NeighborWorks network ― more than 235 community development organizations working in more than 4,400 urban, suburban and rural communities. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated nearly $20 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation's leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.

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