-May 2010 – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, CHA Hosting June 5th Homeownership Event; Former Public Housing Resident Lori Jones Gibbs of North Carolina Keynote Speaker
Posted on 28. May, 2010 by cmarsh in News Archive
The Chattanooga Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and the Chattanooga Housing Authority’s Neighborhood Networks Program are hosting the Delta Challenge: DST’s Homeownership 2010 Initiative Seminar. This event, which targets anyone interested in becoming a first-time homebuyer, will take place Saturday, June 5, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at CHA’s central office located at 801 N. Holtzclaw Ave. A continental breakfast will be served at 10 a.m.
Lori Jones Gibbs, vice president of affordable housing/industry affairs for Genworth Financial’s mortgage business in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C. area will be the keynote speaker. Ms. Gibbs, who is a Delta, was reared in public housing from the age of 5 until she graduated from college. She obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s from the University of Bridgeport. At Genworth Financial, she is responsible for developing strategies to increase homeownership in diverse, underserved markets nationwide.
Guests attending the seminar will have an opportunity to speak with mortgage lenders, realtors and nonprofit agency reps about available homeownership assistance. A continental breakfast and catered luncheon will also be available.
Ruby Key, the East Tennessee state coordinator for Delta Sigma Theta’s Homeownership Initiative, contacted CHA officials about partnering with the sorority to host the event. “We are a public service sorority, and we felt it was important to reach out to those communities that are sometimes viewed by society as unreachable,” Mrs. Key said. “June is also National Homeownership Month, so the timing for this seminar is perfect.”
CHA has homeownership programs designed for residents living in public housing and for Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) participants. Since 2000, CHA has assisted 34 clients in becoming homeowners. Carol Johnson, project coordinator for the agency’s Neighborhood Networks Program, said she hopes the June 5th seminar empowers even more residents.
“We sent a direct mailing to more than 600 of our clients to inform them about this opportunity,” Mrs. Johnson said. “We wanted to let families with low to moderate incomes know that becoming a homeowner is possible. And what better person to bring home that message than someone who’s walked in their shoes?”
CHA was awarded a $400,000 Neighborhood Networks grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a technology center to assist public housing residents. The Neighborhood Networks lab is located at Greenwood Terrace Apartments.
Mrs. Johnson said CHA is excited to be working with the Deltas on this homeownership project, and she hopes to continue the partnership. “This is allowing CHA to not only reach out to the clients we serve, but to the community at large,” she said.
Co-sponsors for the Homeownership 2010 Initiative Seminar are Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Inc., Key Bonding, Olivet Baptist Church and Greater Second Baptist Church. Other partners include Wells Fargo, State Farm, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise and the Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization.
Those wishing to attend this event should RSVP with Mrs. Johnson by calling 752-4828.
###