Neighborworks celebrates 30 years of helping Great Falls residents Play Video
Posted: Mar 13, 2010 7:07 PM
Updated: Mar 14, 2010 8:50 PM
A local program called Neighborworks aims to revitalize communities and help provide home ownership opportunities for those with low or moderate incomes, and 2010 marks the program's 30th anniversary. The News Station's Kay Rossi caught up with a new homeowner to learn more about the program.
Before Neighborworks, Lisa Gonzales had poor credit and didn't think she'd ever own her own home; she said, "I lost hope. I ripped up my credit report. I was very upset about it."
With help from Neighborworks, however, Lisa was able to rebuild her credit, save some money, and qualified to buy a brand new home.
But obtaining her dream home didn't happen overnight. Like all other participants, Lisa had to attend classes and work hard to become financially responsible before she was considered for the home.
She explained, "When I first came here I was just so overwhelmed because I did it. I finally did it. And I laid on the carpet and looked at the ceiling and tears were coming down my eyes because I was so happy."
Neighborworks has been building homes and helping people become financially stable for thirty years.
Sheila Rice, executive director of the organization, said, "There's a lot of non-profits that wouldn't be around after 30 years and because of the great partnership and all of the support from the community, Neighborworks Great Falls is here and is thriving and is still contributing to the community."
Neighborworks Great Falls is set to receive $1.3-million dollars in federal stimulus funds which will allow for an extra ten homes to be built this year.
To learn more, visit the Neighborworks website.
