ADC Receives HUD Approval
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department specializes in all things related to housing including dealing with homeless issues, helping first time homebuyers, providing information on how to avoid foreclosures, how to access fair housing and avoid the many scams which are out there. This makes it a natural alliance with the ADC since we have offered assistance with home ownership since December 2004.
The training in the organization’s first time homebuyer education program begins with the Homestretch workshop which helps participants understand their financial situation particularly regarding their credit, the role of the lender, the loan closing process, and finally the rights and responsibilities of a homeowner. The second step is the individualized counseling. Our trained counselors meet with clients to help them identify financing options that best meet their household needs. If clients have encountered barriers to home ownership, this is where the counselor’s work becomes vital because they create and implement step by step plans to remove those barriers and help them become successful homeowners.
What makes ADC unique is the sensitivity to cultural differences in the African communities of Minnesota. Many of our clients are Muslims and do not accept interest, this limits their ability to develop a sound credit history and means that the dream of owning a home is out of reach. We show them ways they can improve their credit beyond the traditional interest based avenues.
To date, about 1300 families have completed our workshops and forty percent of them have gone on to become homeowners, this outperforms the national average of fourteen percent. We have also counseled about 600 families most of whom are credit-worthy and are navigating the US financial system with remarkable success. The assistance we provide helps students develop a strong financial footing on which to establish the foundation of their hopes. ADC is proud of the success our clients have had.
While most of our classes are offered in the Twin Cities, we have begun to expand to Greater Minnesota. We currently offer training in St. Cloud, Willmar, Owatonna, Rochester, Mankato, and Marshall. We would be happy to expand to other cities, wherever the African diaspora can be found across the state. However, our classes are not limited to African immigrants and refugees, as we are open to and welcome everyone in the broader community.
The HUD approval we received will mean that we are now recognized nationally as a housing counseling agency, which will likely bring more clients to our doors. Also, the approval will allow us to accept funding directly from HUD in order to expand our financial counseling program. Our expectation is continued growth for us as we assist our clients in achieving their dreams.
