Homes of Hope Unveils LoCAL Housing

April 5, 2012

GREENVILLE, SC – April 5, 2012 – Homes of Hope, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing safe, energy-efficient, affordable housing for low-income families along with job training for men overcoming addictions, announces its newest program initiative, LoCAL Housing. The program was unveiled to influential community members through a virtual groundbreaking held at Zen last week.

As a program that will solve three persistent problems of affordable housing in Greenville County with one solution, LoCAL Housing will provide poverty-level families with long-term, energy-efficient and affordable housing that will appreciate in value. At the same time, men participating in Homes of Hope’s job-training program will receive LEED-certification, giving them more marketability for future job success. 

LoCAL Housing is an innovative solution to three problems that poverty level residents of Greenville County are burdened with every day. Through our virtual groundbreaking, we are proud to officially announce that LoCAL is no longer just a concept-but a reality, noted Don Oglesby, CEO of Homes of Hope.

title=LoCAL homes will be available to poverty-level families with incomes of $1000-1300 per month. Qualifying families will first complete a Homes of Hope leasing program, where they will learn budgeting, adequate savings plans and the costs and benefits of homeownership. Because of opportunities including the Homes of Hope men’s construction labor and financial support from generous sponsors, families will ultimately be able to purchase their LoCAL home for $30,000, with a standard mortgage payment of no more than $250 a month. Moreover, no family will spend more than 30% of their income for housing and utility bills.

Sign-on sponsors for the LoCAL Housing program include Upstate Forever, USGBC-SC and Greenville Forward. Homes of Hope has currently raised monetary support necessary for the completion of two LoCAL homes due in part by: The Jolley Foundation, The Graham Foundation, The F.W. Symmes Foundation, John I. Smith, The Wells Fargo Foundation, Hollingsworth Funds, United Way of Greenville County, and the South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations. Construction for the homes is set to begin this month. As a continuation of the virtual groundbreaking event, Homes of Hope will provide building progress updates to attendees through videos, e-mail and social media outlets. 

Homes of Hope has taken the vision for affordable housing and turned it into a reality that holds tremendous promise for the future of Greenville. Not only will LoCAL provide an answer for the prevalent problems facing poverty-level families today-it will give the men mentored and trained by Homes of Hope even more of a foundation for future success, said Russell Stall, Executive Director of Greenville Forward.

About Homes of Hope
Now in its 14th year of operation, Homes of Hope has housed 362 families and helped 278 men lead restored lives free from drug and alcohol addiction. For more information on LoCAL Housing, please visit www.homesofhope.org or contact Jordon Weldon at 864-269-4663.