The Faith Builders of Lake Village

This intensive, comprehensive housing and community development certification program provided 48 hours of classroom instruction and 12 field hours of hands-on project development, in total a sixteen week commitment. Originally planned for two representatives from 16 faith-based organizations, total enrollment was increased to 22 FBO's and 44 participants due to keen interest and an overwhelming response.

The Institute's workshop presentations and laboratory experiences were based on a collaborative instructional approach. While instructors were encouraged to present theory and principles in traditional lecture and multimedia modes, everyday participant experience was accorded equivalent value. To the maximum extent possible, each instructional team included a local practitioner who could provide practical insight.

One of the first organizations to apply was Lake Bethlehem Baptist Church in the Martin Luther King, Jr. neighborhood in north Shreveport. Led by Pastor Dennis Everett, they were already active in the community and seeking ways to improve the lives of church members and neighbors alike. Safe, decent, affordable housing was scarce, and they dreamed of building homes that families could afford. Enrolled in the city's first Faith Builders class, they were one of the first graduates of the program.

Using the skills they learned in Module 1, �Developing Organizational Capacity�, they formed a separate nonprofit, The Lake Community Development Corporation. As executive director, they named Pittre Walker, a church member and the Homeless Education Coordinator for the local school district's Homeless Children's program. Steadily they worked to build administrative capacity. Before long, the young nonprofit received their 501 (C) (3) status. They acquired land near the church and began to plan for their first housing development for low income families.

In the fall of 2005, something happened to make them look beyond their own neighborhood. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita sent Louisiana Gulf Coast residents scrambling to north Louisiana for safety. By the end of 2006, many found themselves still unable to return home. Some had become homeless or were living in substandard housing. Pastor Everett and his flock came to a benevolent decision. The first houses built by The Lake CDC would be built for hurricane evacuees.

The City of Shreveport awarded The Lake CDC $400,000 in HOME funds for infrastructure and construction costs. The local chapter of the United Way contributed $100,000 toward the project. The Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier gave a $60,000 grant. Lake Village became a reality as four modular homes took shape, complete with walkways, driveways and lawns.

On a February day in 2008, �The Lake Village Housing Project� dedicated the four houses with its partners and first residents, Kojo Livingston and his family. March 15, three more families moved into the new three bedroom, two bath homes. One family moved to Lake Village from a homeless shelter for families with children. The four families will have a rent-to-own opportunity that will initially cost about $600 a month for 18 months. They will then have enough equity to purchase the homes at a price below the cost of construction.

Joe Pierce, executive director of United Way of Northwest Louisiana, cited housing data to demonstrate the need for the project. �Seventy percent of inner-city housing is substandard,� he said, �and the majority of the units are rentals.� Pooling resources with other organizations to find housing solutions just makes sense. "No one of us could have done this by ourselves," Pierce said.

As city officials and Lake CDC partners cut ribbons and took pictures, Bonnie Moore, director of Community Development for the City of Shreveport looked on smiling. "There is a tremendous need for affordable housing development," she said. "We have to stop looking at our communities as liabilities and start looking at them as opportunities."

The new houses are but the first of many planned for this large expanse of land owned by this faith-based developer. The Lake CDC has indeed become a �Faith Builder� the City hoped for in its faith-based initiative three years ago.