Family puts down roots thanks to community partners
Lisa Williams enjoys the yard of her new home with son Verondell and niece La’breah.
It really does take a village. Five organizations recently helped pave the way to home ownership for a Portland family.
Lisa Williams bought her first home affordably through Proud Ground and other housing partners. Now her monthly house payments are less than what she was paying in rent.
“It was meant to be,” Williams said. “Proud Ground was the perfect fit for me and my desire for a home of my own that I could really afford.”
Williams sees homeownership as bringing stability and independence to her family.
Her road to finding adequate housing began in 2007 when she was a student at Portland State University and she gave birth to her son. Needing a stable home, she was able to secure an affordable rental home through Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives. Due to that stability, Lisa graduated from PSU in 2009 and today she is employed with PCRI.
“As a Resident Services Coordinator I’m assisting residents, and part of assisting residents is also assisting myself to become more self-sufficient so that I can be an example,” Williams said. “I set a goal to own a home within two to three years.”
Today, thanks to Proud Ground, PCRI, the Portland Housing Bureau, Community Frameworks’ Self Help Homeownership Opportunity Program, and the African American Alliance for Homeownership, she met her goal.
“Lisa really is an example to other families out there who may think homeownership is out of reach,” says Proud Ground Executive Director Jesse Beason. “The same resources that helped Lisa are available to anyone who wants to achieve the dream of homeownership.”
For more information, visit Proud Ground at proudground.org, PCRI at pcrihome.org, and the African-American Alliance for Homeownership at aaah.org.
I am so proud of you my friend. You continue to not only inspire me but everyone you come in contact with. You are so driven to provide for your family and others. You are and have always been a wealth of knowledge. I wish that I had the resources you were able to utilize.
I am a Beauty Student at Tigard Phagans. I graduate in March 2014. Right now, I am living with my friend, essentially homeless. I am trying to make a new start, and I am in need of housing. I would prefer to own a home than rent. While in school I receive a stipend, that I could use to pay rent or a mortgage. I am wondering, what can you do to help me?
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