PITTSBURGH — A local non-profit received a big financial boost to help first-time homebuyers and families who historically have had inequitable access to homeownership.
“This is a blessing,” DeShaun Robinson-Cobb said.
Robinson-Cobb always dreamed of owning his own home.
“I moved about six times in my childhood,” Robinson-Cobb said. “We never owned a home. It was always house. An apartment. An apartment then house and stuff like that, but I was always sheltered. That was the most important thing.”
Robinson-Cobb’s dream of providing a forever home for his family became a reality last month when he purchased a home in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood. He says he was able to buy a home because of the non-profit, NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania. NeighborWorks helps people with the home-buying process, from navigating the financial side of buying a home to managing the responsibilities of home ownership.
“Our goal is to be working over the next four years to provide services for the next generation of homeowners, and we’re very very intently focused on increasing black ownership and closing that Black, white homeownership gap,” said NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania CEO Colin Kelley. “In the last decade, Black Americans have seen the largest drop in homeownership rates. Allegheny County experienced a 62% decrease in housing inventory between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2022.”
On Wednesday, the KeyBank Foundation donated $400,000 to NeighborWorks so it can help even more families like DeShaun’s.
“This funding will help NeighborWorks expand efforts to increase equity in homeownership in the region,” said KeyBank Western Pennsylvania Market President Victor Laurenza. “Efforts will focus on Black individuals and families who have historically had inequitable access to homeownership. At KeyBank, we believe accessibility to homeownership is a crucial element to thriving communities.”
Another non-profit, Level Equity Building, is restoring neglected homes for future families.
“They’ll all be completely redone,” said Level Equity Building Executive Director Jason Tigano. “We’ll redo the porches. We’ll redo the siding. We’ll redo the windows. They get all new systems. Electrical. Plumbing. Heating. Airconditioning. Everything will be sort of turnkey as far as what the buyer would receive. As we step onto streets like Woodward Avenue, we’re really trying to identify the vacant parcels that are just tax delinquent and underutilized in some way. If we can rehab them, we’ll rehab them. But we’re also working with the borough and the community on parcels across the street here that have fire damage from previous fires. Those are going to be demolished by the borough just to help to continue to clean up the streets.”
Jason Tigano says, over the next year, they’ll be rehabbing a row of homes on Woodward Avenue in McKees Rocks as well as homes on Boquet and Grove Streets.
“Our goal is to do 100 units in McKees Rocks,” Tigano said.
And with the help of NeighborWorks, they’re looking for first-time homebuyers now.
“To be able to provide those types of opportunities to families that have traditionally never had an opportunity to do that,” Tigano said. “It’s life-changing.”
“It’s amazing,” Robinson-Cobb said. “It’s unexplainable. Just makes you feel good that you’re able to provide for your family.”
The hope is to have families buy these homes on Woodward Avenue and move into them by next summer.
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