Split the Plate is one of UUCW’s programs of outreach and generosity. Each month we give half of all undesignated offering monies to a non-profit organization as a way to help us live our Unitarian Universalist values and serve our community.

As a minority-run non-profit, Housing Resources, Inc. has provided education to over 22,973 people in the past 29 years.  They have provided credit counseling to over 14,809 people and helped over 5,464 households purchase a first home. Here is a story about one of those people.

Early in 2020, Heather Long began working with Housing Resources, Inc. when she decided to become a homeowner. She completed the Home Buyer Education course on-line since all the in-person classes are canceled due to COVID-19.  After the course, she met –on-line– with her counselor to review her finances. Her counselor identified several areas that needed attention before she applied for a mortgage. As Heather tells it, “They will give you advice, tell you how to do it, and set up an appointment for you to come back at a different time. When I say they hold your hand and literally walk you through the process, they do.”

In addition to the education and the individual financial counseling, Housing Resources helps clients like Heather with access to grants to facilitate down-payment and closing costs up to $10,000.

Ms. Long noted, “When I was thinking about renting, I was thinking about how I was paying my landlord’s mortgage and helping him raise his credit and making things better for him.”  Now she is putting her hard-earned money to work making things better for herself.

It took her about 7 months of education and working on her credit issues, but now Heather is a first-time homeowner.

To donate to the Housing Resources, Inc., go to the UUCW website’s donate tab. For more information about Split the Plate, contact Jim Maletta. For more information, go to the Housing Resources, Inc. website.

This article is based on a story originally published on-line by WTMJ on July 23, 2020. The photograph is by WTMJ and provided by HRI.