Two events in two cities in HUD's Houston Office jurisdiction show what is possible when partners with different skills and resources come together with a common goal. Taking dramatically different approaches, two different partnerships created new homeownership opportunities for lower-income families who didn't think they could ever afford a home of their own.

In Houston, with the help of the Trinity Bethel Community Development Corporation (CDC), the American Dream of homeownership has become a reality for Ms. Leonanta Gilliam. A home rehabilitated by Trinity Bethel helped her reach her goal of becoming a homeowner; the goal of the CDC, a faith-based, nonprofit organization of Trinity Bethel Fellowship is to make an impact, one subdivision at a time. The CDC rehabbed its first home and sold it to a senior citizen last year, working with assistance from Carolyn Greer, Houston HUD's faith-based coordinator (at left with Ms. Gilliam).

Leonata Gilliam cuts the ribbon to officially open her new home, joined by Joyce Owens, Executive Director of Trinity Bethel CDC, and Brian Stoker, President of Southwest Bank.

Ms. Gilliam said she started to look for a home she could afford about two years earlier, but she was not optimistic about her chances. However, her tax preparer extolled the benefits of homeownership and encouraged her to do whatever it took to buy a home. That's when she was referred to Ms. Joyce Owens, Executive Director of the Trinity Bethel CDC. It didn't take long for the process to take off. While it could have been traumatic, when she first saw the condition of the house prior to rehabilitation she said she had a "vision" that it really could be a wonderful home, and she prayed about it.

Her prayers were answered through the work of the CDC, its contractors, Southwest Bank (which financed the home and also provided a $750 grant to buy Ms. Gilliam new appliances), and technical assistance and materials from a local Home Depot and its employees. "I'm excited and ready to move in!" she said at her housewarming celebration; and to make her dream complete, Ms. Gilliam said her father is paying to install a wooden fence for the back yard so her three-year old son, Joshua, will have plenty of room to play outside.

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For local partnerships that work to help low-income families become homeowners, there is always more than one way to reach your goal: in Galveston, one partnership built 32 new, affordable homes for income-qualified Galveston families, and revitalized an entire neighborhood all at once.

New homeowners Frances and Iishia Hatcher express their joy at the grand opening of Cornerstone Place. Several of the partners (background, left to right) include Galveston City Councilman Booker T. Price, HUD Public Housing Program Center Director Dan Rodriguez, and Sharon Strain, Executive Director of the Galveston Housing Authority.

Constructed on the site of a troubled, former public housing development, the project began with funds the Galveston Housing Authority received from HUD's early 90's HOPE I program. That assistance was supplemented with a $200,000 commitment from the City of Galveston's CDBG program, and income from the sale of the homes. In addition, the City provided in-kind services for infrastructure and site improvements - an estimated $400,000 - and a generous local company, Moody Gardens in Galveston, donated landscape materials for the new homes. Reliant Energy installed the new streetlights for the development under the power company's franchise agreement with the City. And while homebuyers were required to arrange their own financing through local lenders, they received downpayment and closing cost assistance from the Galveston Community Development Corporation.

The result is Cornerstone Place, a development of the Galveston Housing Authority sited on a three-block area. Designed by Michael Gaertner Architects of Galveston and built by General Contractor Services of Houston, the homes' design captures Galveston's traditional architectural styles, evident in the generous front and back porches. In addition, all of the houses are elevated above the 100-year flood plain and constructed in conformance with the Texas Windstorm Building Code. Durable, low maintenance materials suitable for Galveston's warm and salty-air climate were used, resulting in lower, long term maintenance costs for the new homeowners. Each of the homes has two bathrooms, an enclosed rear-entry garage, central air and heat, ceiling fans, laundry rooms with washer/dryer connections, dishwashers, disposals, range/ovens and vent hoods.

Several homes were sold to Section 8 Voucher families under the Galveston Housing Authority's Homeownership Option program, with two families who were living in public housing qualifying for loans to purchase their homes. Other homebuyers came from the Galveston community at large and qualified by meeting HUD income guidelines, with family incomes no greater than 80% of the area median.

In Houston and Galveston, these two different partnerships show what is possible, using entirely different approaches, to help local families willing to make their own sacrifices to become homeowners. Whether it's a small, one-house-at-a-time approach of a local, faith-based organization, or improving an entire neighborhood through an extensive public/private partnership, it is possible to help others realize what they thought they never could achieve - the American Dream of homeownership.