|
Affordable
Housing
Santa Maria's housing advocates are guided by two
principles. The first is that everyone deserves a safe, decent
and affordable place to call home. The second is that neighborhoods
thrive when families have a stable home that they can be proud
of. Using these principals as a guide, our housing advocates work
with low-income families in East Price Hill, Lower Price Hill
and Sedamsville to ensure that they have quality housing that
meets their needs.
Our housing program has services for both homeowners
and renters. One of our newest services is a Tenant Education
Class for families to learn the skills they need to find and retain
housing. This is a one-day course that covers a wide range of
topics including: Tracking your spending, developing a budget,
the rental application process, home care, leases, security deposit,
evictions, and communication with neighbors and landlords. An
attorney from Legal Aid Society is on-site to teach several of
the lessons and answer questions. At the end of the course participants
receive a ceritficate of completion that they can present when
applying for housing.
Our affordable housing specialists also meet with
individuals on a one-on-one basis to provide tenant/landlord advocacy,
eviction counseling and help in finding affordable housing. Communication
with landlords is stressed to optimize outcomes. We also help
to organize tenant groups, resident associations, and landlord
forums.
Homeowners in East Price Hill, Lower Price Hill
and Sedamsville have benefited from our foreclosure prevention
outreach. Through partnerships with Price Hill Will, Housing Opportunities
Made Equal, Working in Neighborhoods and Legal Aid, we have helped
to save many families from foreclosure. Since foreclosure threatens
not only a familiy's stability but the stability of the entire
neighborhood, we consider this one of our most important endeavors.
In Lower Price Hill we have partnered with Model
Group and the Greater Cincinnati Homeownership Society on the
Lower Price Hill Homeownership Initiative, which aims to increase
the neighborhood's percentage of owner-occupied housing. There
are five new homes being built on State Avenue available for buyers
at or below 80% of the Area Mediam Income. Santa Maria has resources
and incentives for neighborhood residents making the transition
from renters to homeowners.
Another area of focus is home improvement. The neighborhoods
where we work have an impressive, but aging, housing stock. We
work with homeowners to help them bring these older homes up to
building code. We are lucky to have groups of volunteers who can
paint and do landscapting for homeowners in need. We have partnered
with Price Hill Will's Housing Resource Center and Working in
Neighborhoods to provide resources to homeowners as well as home-buyer
training classes. On a community-wide level, we work with Community
Councils and their housing committees to address neighborhood
safety, revitalization, and beautification efforts.
For more information on any of these programs please
contact:
You can also stop by to see us at the Lower Price
Hill office (718 State Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45204) during walk-in
hours, Monday - Friday, 10 am - noon or 2 pm - 5 pm.
|
