HOUSTON – Addressing inequalities and concerns about home ownership is the purpose of a new initiative taking shape in Houston to ensure people within marginalized communities can purchase homes.
According to the 2023 Kinder Institute survey, 20% of adults reported the cost of housing and housing instability as the biggest problem facing Houston. This is up from just 7% in 2022.
For Houston native Corisha Rogers, this concern is a reality.
“I didn’t think before turning 30, I’d be a homeowner,” explained Rogers. “If it wasn’t my income, it was credit. If it wasn’t my credit, it was finding a bank that is suitable for me.”
Own the Hou is the name of the new initiative launched by the Houston office of Local Initiatives Support Corporation, LISC and other local nonprofits and government housing experts.
“Affordability is becoming a big issue across the country, including Houston,” said Laura Jaramillo, the executive director of LISC
Jaramillo added that housing is one of the LISC’s key focus areas.
“Homeownership is one of the largest opportunities in building wealth, and we believe everyone deserves that,” she said.
Mary Guerra, a housing counselor with the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, said one of the biggest issues she’s seeing is credit.
“One of the problems a lot of clients are facing is credit issues, not having enough funding or resources for them to put a down payment on a house. We want to make sure once we are in that house, that they are able to maintain it.”
“I plan to own more homes and I plan to give my current home to my brother so we can build generational wealth,” explained Rogers.