NeighborWorks® Southern New Hampshire Partners with CATCH Neighborhood Housing in a new Home Ownership Initiative

Support from Citizens Bank Foundation helps develop new home ownership model serving New Hampshire residents.

In a collaborative effort to pool resources, streamline and extend home ownership services, NeighborWorks® Southern New Hampshire and CATCH Neighborhood Housing have partnered to create HOMEteam, a new non-profit entity dedicated to providing home ownership education, coaching and resources.   The collaboration extends the service area of the two NeighborWorks® Charter member organizations to communities previously underserved in the state, reaching 48 communities in Hillsborough, Merrimack and Rockingham counties, including the cities of Manchester, Nashua and Concord.  HOMEteam provides New Hampshire residents with the information and tools to make practical financial decisions related to purchasing, renting, and maintaining a home. Through a series of free workshops, one-on-one counseling, and other resources, HOMEteam is dedicated to helping people in the following areas: first time home buyer, foreclosure prevention and intervention, financial capabilities, reverse mortgage and landlord training.

When initially approached about the collaboration between NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire and CATCH Neighborhood Housing, the leadership team at Citizens Bank, a long-time funding partner of both organizations, was receptive to the new model and supportive of an initiative that seeks to extend the reach of affordable housing education programs to locations and demographics previously underserved in New Hampshire communities.

“The Citizens Bank Foundation has been a key partner in launching HOMEteam, providing seed support for the collaboration’s development.  The Community Development staff at Citizens Bank saw the potential and value of a new manner of delivering our services, helping our organizations to unify efforts and staff capacity to provide a full range of quality housing education and resources to New Hampshire residents,” stated Robert Tourigny, Executive Director of NeighborWorks® Southern New Hampshire.

“NeighborWorks® Southern New Hampshire and CATCH Neighborhood Housing have each demonstrated significant success in helping residents prepare for homeownership,” said Joe Carelli, President, Citizens Bank, New Hampshire. “This collaboration will help both organizations realize efficiencies while expanding their reach across the region.  We applaud them for taking this strategic approach, which will better meet the needs of our communities, and ultimately help more people become homeowners. “

HOMEteam is innovative in large part because of the streamlined approach to handling client intake.  Consumers are quickly and easily directed to the most relevant resource for their specific needs.  Whether clients reach the collaborative by telephone, email, or via www.hometeamnh.org, they will receive timely and relevant education and resources.  HOMEteam coordinates the schedules of a full range of seminars and workshops offered by the two organizations in Nashua, Manchester and Concord, allowing for increased flexibility and the greatest array of times and locations for participants.

For more information, or to register for a seminar or workshop, please visit us online at www.hometeamnh.org or call us at (866) 701-9097.