Hospitals Can Partner with Banks Under the Community Reinvestment Act to Create Healthy Communities

Karen Kali, Senior Program Manager, Special Initiatives with NCRC

Marjanna Smith, a senior studying public health at The George Washington University

This column was originally published on NCRC’s blog.

Karen Kali

Marjanna Smith

Loans and investments made as part of banks’ Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) activities are an important source of funding for hospitals and health systems to address social determinants of health, the physical and social conditions in the environment that influence health. By funneling resources into upstream determinants of health to address root causes of health disparities, such as poverty, economic mobility and supportive community resources, hospitals and health systems have the distinct opportunity to disrupt the cycle of inequity that stymies both health and economic outcomes.

Nonprofit hospitals must conduct Community Health Needs Assessments (CNHAs) once every three years to ascertain the status of the community health and create a plan to enhance population health in their geographic footprint, in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. By partnering with banks, hospitals can meet their CHNA requirements by collaborating on upstream efforts. Similarly, banks must meet their community benefits requirements as a result of the CRA mandate. When the two entities collaboratively engage and partner with each other as well as community stakeholders, the result is mutually beneficial to both community-focused anchors.

The Community Reinvestment Act And Healthy Communities

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 states that financial institutions have an obligation to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they are chartered. In accordance with CRA, financial institutions are evaluated by how well they meet these credit needs, particularly for individuals with low- and moderate-incomes (LMI) and in LMI neighborhoods. CRA incentivizes banks to increase the availability of credit and capital to underinvested communities. Various types of investment activities qualify for CRA consideration. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the four categories of CRA-eligible community development activities are as follows: 

1. Affordable housing,

2. Community facilities and services targeted to people with LMI (including financial education and capability, charter schools, community centers and daycare facilities),

3. Activities that promote economic development by providing financing for small businesses or small farms (including workforce development and small business technical assistance),

4. Neighborhood revitalization and stabilization in LMI geographies, distressed or underserved non-metro middle-income areas or designated disaster areas.

Along with aligning within one of these categories, the activity generally must also be completed within the bank’s assessment area, the defined geographical range in which the bank conducts most of its business activities. Banks can pursue community development activities outside of assessment areas provided they have first met community needs in their assessment areas.

By partnering with hospitals and health systems, financial institutions can directly contribute to the development of healthy communities and enhanced health outcomes. Banks and nonprofit hospitals share common goals in their community activities — banks’ CRA activities focus on community development and reinvestment, and hospitals must develop strategies that create a community benefit based on their community health needs assessments (CHNAs). 

Nonprofit hospitals are required to promote community health and provide charity care (e.g. complimentary medical care and services) in exchange for the significant tax exemptions these nonprofit entities enjoy. Every three years a nonprofit hospital must conduct a CHNA in order to retain its nonprofit status. The CHNA is a process led by the hospital to engage the community (and its stakeholders) in identifying, analyzing, prioritizing and planning for community health needs and resources. 

Thus, the activities of banks and hospitals can overlap significantly when considering their shared goal of community development. As hospitals are working to improve health outcomes and health access to care in their communities, they face a growing demand to address the social and economic determinants of health within their community. To fund these initiatives, health systems must partner with financial institutions, as well as other stakeholders such as Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) target upstream community interventions, within the areas of affordable housing, enhanced neighborhood conditions and increased socioeconomic status. 

Banks may obtain CRA credit for working with hospitals and health systems in multiple ways. Funding for healthcare services, healthcare centers, homeless shelters and drug recovery centers are all CRA qualified activities that directly impact community health. Specific investments that have been approved as CRA qualified activities in the past include loans and investments that improve hospitals that serve LMI individuals, investments that fund the construction of health centers, grants to organizations to purchase specialty equipment for federally qualified health centers during a local health emergency, and loans to build health clinics in underserved areas. 

Along with directly contributing to community health, many other CRA activities affect social determinants of health. Activities that promote affordable housing development can improve the health of LMI individuals and families by increasing healthy living conditions and financial accessibility to determinants of health. Families with LMI are more likely to experience unhealthy and unsafe housing conditions in neighborhoods that lack health promotion resources. Severely cost-burdened renters are less likely to have a usual source of medical care, more likely to postpone clinical care and more likely to face food insecurity. Affordable homes can, therefore, allow greater access to food, healthcare and education — all of which are social determinants of health. CRA activities can also improve financial equity and wellbeing for local residents; similar to housing development, this can also increase the affordability of health-promoting resources and services. Lastly, investments or initiatives that improve the local economy and support small businesses improve community health, as research supports a link between economy and health.

Several hospitals and initiatives have emerged in recent years as new leaders and innovations in multi-sector, health and wealth-focused collaborations in community investment, utilizing CRA with leveraged sources of funding from public investments, private equity, grants, government funding and philanthropy. Traditionally siloed in the health field with little overlap to the community development world, hospitals are now becoming more integrated into the CRA environment. Recognizing that personal behavior and clinical care account for only part of the picture of community-level health outcomes, hospitals and health systems are partnering with banks and financial institutions to make significant local investments to upstream social determinants of health.

[See the original NCRC blog post for examples of what this collaboration can look like.]

Coronavirus Pandemic

While the United States continues to grapple with the Coronavirus pandemic, CRA is as critical as ever to the equitable revitalization and stabilization of communities. COVID-19 is hitting LMI households harshly, and it raises a new set of housing challenges for both the homeownership and rental markets, specifically LMI communities of color. LMI communities may be more susceptible to foreclosure, eviction, job loss, reduction in hours and reduced wages. Given health disparities, communities of color experience higher rates of death from COVID-19. 

The disparate effect of COVID-19 on LMI and Black and Brown communities illustrates the relevance of CRA and its essential community purpose of preventing redlining and confronting systemic inequities in financial services and access to credit within LMI communities. 

With more than 354,000 deaths and nearly 21 million COVID-19 cases (as of January 5, 2021), the United States is facing what may be the worst of the pandemic. In May 2020, the regulators of CRA, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, joined together to expand eligible CRA activities in response to COVID-19.  Banks can receive credit for these expanded CRA until six months after the end of the pandemic national emergency declaration.  

Qualified activities under the COVID-19 response include loans, investments and community development services that support the following:

• Emergency medical care, including medical facility services and supplies, temporary medical facilities and enhanced medical/hospital capacity;

• Purchase and distribution of personal protective equipment;

• Provision of emergency food supplies; or

• Assistance to state, tribal, territorial, or local governments for emergency management and to support communications of general health and safety information to the public.

Coronavirus activities may benefit the bank’s designated assessment area as well as areas beyond, such as statewide or regional areas as credit may be given outside of established assessment areas. 

Given the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis, this expanded guidance from the CRA regulators offers both immediate and long-term opportunities for hospitals and health systems to collaborate with banks and financial institutions and community based organizations to impact health outcomes.  

Looking Ahead

While banks and financial institutions have an urgent opportunity to collaborate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the health crisis has effortlessly exacerbated the inequality that existed in communities across the country well before the virus began. And when the virus is over, communities will need to pick up the pieces and address the widespread setback in housing, income, job opportunity and health outcomes that the pandemic has caused. The obligations of both hospitals and health systems and banks and financial institutions from the ACA and CRA respectively creates a mutually beneficial opportunity for the two community anchors to pursue long-term partnerships. Banks have demonstrated an interest in investing in projects with health impacts. Hospitals see the value in banks utilizing CRA credit to target investment in LMI communities, the same communities hospitals seek to improve population health. While the COVID-19 pandemic spurred targeted action from the CRA regulators, it is long-term engagement and collaboration between banks and financial institutions and hospitals that will ultimately create healthy communities, increase community wealth and advanced health outcomes. 

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Karen Kali leads the Special Initiatives work for NCRC and focuses on aging in community, Age-Friendly Banking, healthy communities and emerging areas of interest. Prior to joining NCRC, Karen assisted in comprehensive neighborhood planning community engagement in Iowa; provided technical assistance to cities, counties and states creating affordable housing trust funds; provided housing with services consulting with Capital Impact Partners; wrote extensively for HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research with Sage Computing; and served as a commissioner for the Montgomery County Commission on Common Ownership Communities, resolving consumer disputes filed within the Office of Consumer Protection in Montgomery County, Maryland. Karen is a certified urban planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners and holds a masters in Community and Regional Planning and a bachelor degree in Sociology. Additionally, Karen serves as the Wellness chairperson for her neighborhood school’s Parent Teachers Association, advocating for safe routes to school, clean and accessible water for all students and fresh foods and salad bars in elementary schools.

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Marjanna Smith is a senior studying public health at The George Washington University. As a student in the dual-degree BS/MPH program, she will continue to pursue a Master of Public Health upon completing her undergraduate degree. During her time at GW, she has worked as a research coordinator for multiple childhood nutrition studies and a peer health educator on a substance education task force. As an intern with the National Community Reinvesment Coalition, she wrote about public health trends and issues in healthy equity.

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Articles in “From the Field” represent the opinions of the author only and do not represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis or the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

We invite readers to contribute to the civic conversation about community development in St. Louis by writing an op-ed for the Community Builders Exchange. Op-eds should be short (400-700 words) and provocative. If you have an idea for an op-ed, contact Jenny Connelly-Bowen at jenny@communitybuildersstl.org.

Welcome to CBN’s Newest Board Member, Kathy Siddens

CBN is excited to be welcoming Kathy Siddens to our Board of Directors in January 2021!

When the CBN Board of Directors has a vacant seat, it appoints a Board Nominations Subcommittee to oversee the nominations process. During fall 2020, this committee evaluated current Board strengths and gaps, created a scoring tool based on identified priority areas, solicited nominations, scored and evaluated finalists, and made a recommendation to the full Board in December.

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Kathy Siddens
U.S. Bank
Vice President and Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility – Community Affairs

Katherine (Kathy) D. Siddens is Vice President and Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility – Community Affairs with U.S. Bank. Located in St. Louis, Missouri, she manages the St. Louis area and manages a team of Community Affairs Managers in nine states. She began working with U.S. Bank in February of 2003.

In this capacity, Kathy is responsible for representing the bank in community and economic development initiatives focusing on developing and maintaining strategic alliances with governmental agencies, community groups, and other organizations representing diverse interests of the Community Reinvestment Act and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Kathy is a graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri and completed a graduate fellowship with the CORO Midwestern Center in St. Louis. She is a member of the Dana Brown Charitable Trust allocations committee, a board member of the St. Joseph Housing Initiative, and a member of the United Way Financial Stabilities Initiative Advisory Board. In addition, she is a member of the NeighborWorks Training Institute faculty.

Kathy has served on CBN’s Fund Development Committee since 2019 and has long been a trusted source of guidance and support for CBN staff and many members of the CBN network.

From Sentiment to Structure: Institutionalize Resident Voice in Development

Amanda Colón-Smith, Executive Director, Dutchtown South Community Corporation

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For community development practitioners, 2020 was a year of unveiling, re-witnessing, and digesting disparities in health, policing, and other facets of community life that we work to undo daily. The visibility of acute pain in contrast to chronic issues should be embraced as a reflection and inflection point for our field. It is a call to action to move from sympathetic sentiment to bold and intentional redesign of systems and structures that uphold inequity.

In the realm of real estate development, there is abundant opportunity for redesign work that could result in the dismantling of the racial wealth gap. A new decade of strategic efforts is upon us. While frameworks such as Opportunity Mapping are being enhanced with the power of data, an old adage stands firm in how we implement tactics: “Nothing About Us, Without Us, Is For Us”.

In South St. Louis City, Dutchtown South Community Corporation is on a mission to advance neighborhood vitality through community empowerment, housing stabilization, and real estate development. In a recent comprehensive neighborhood planning effort, the Gravois Jefferson Historic Neighborhoods Plan was adopted by the City of St. Louis Planning Commission in May 2018. DSCC has recently formed a 13-seat Development Review Committee for the plan area, with nine seats for residents/stakeholders and four for local CIDs and neighborhood associations. Almost every resident who applied participated in a previous leadership training session or were active and known in this community. Each applicant had an interview with staff from the DSCC team and a guest reviewer from the local community development field. Guest reviewers included: Cristina Garmendia, Jenny Connelly-Bowen, Gary Newcomer, Catherine Hammacher, Jonathan Roper, Claire Ripple, Dwayne James, Jessica Payne, and Jay Watson.

Processes and tools for the committee were modeled on structure from other development committees in the St. Louis region. We also looked outside of St. Louis to develop a new tool to use in the development review process; the Neighborhood Plan Scorecard was modeled from a coalition in Twin Cities, MN. The scorecard outlines the most relevant and priority recommendations from the Gravois Jefferson Plan and will be used to measure alignment of projects to the overall community vision. With the plan document itself over 300 pages, this tool will make it easier for developers to understand plan priorities in a snapshot that’s just under 20 pages. We hope this tool can be the basis for development of concentrated geographies done differently—an approach of relationship-based development, where shared interests are explored and cultivated.

The development context of communities like those of the Gravois Jefferson Plan includes histories of extraction and exploitation. For example, our plan area has a 29% vacancy rate for residential units, a standout statistic, alongside being a community that is over 74% people of color with 39% of households living in poverty. For comprehensive neighborhood planning to be effective, it requires careful implementation, especially in terms of guiding the pace and quality of private real estate development. This work has an inherent racial equity overlap: disinvestment was not accomplished through race-neutral policy, and reinvestment cannot happen in a color-blind manner either. Resident review of proposed projects will allow for a focused analysis of who will preferentially benefit or be negatively impacted.

The equitable future we want, the one in 2039, not so far off from the untimely death of Michael Brown, will require intentional steps. As we build toward closing the racial wealth gap, the processes of private reinvestment into neglected communities must be refashioned. Processes that center the voices and decisions of residents most impacted must be central to creating this future. The next several years will bring pivotal moments, from a mayoral race to ward reduction in the City of St. Louis and redistricting based on Census outcomes. While these larger systems shift, we must ensure that housing and development systems also take up the responsibility to change how business is done.

A question worth asking ourselves: If you could change the ground rules of development, what would you change? It is time to transform the real estate development systems that do not serve us and build new ones that do. Communities not only deserve a seat at the table, they deserve to build those tables and set the agenda.

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Amanda Colón-Smith is the Executive Director of Dutchtown South Community Corporation in South St. Louis City. She works with residents, partners and stakeholders in the Dutchtown, Gravois Park, Marine Villa and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods. The organization focuses on Housing Development and Stabilization as well as Community Empowerment. Through activities such as comprehensive planning, improving parks, and tenant rights education, the organization seeks to advance neighborhood vitality through resident-led activities. She is a graduate of the Regional Arts Commission’s Community Arts Training program and holds a certificate from NeighborWorks as a Certified Housing Asset Manager. She holds a BA from Cornell University in Africana Studies, a MS in Special Education from City College, CUNY and is currently completing an MS in Geography at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

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Articles in “From the Field” represent the opinions of the author only and do not represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis or the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

We invite readers to contribute to the civic conversation about community development in St. Louis by writing an op-ed for the Community Builders Exchange. Op-eds should be short (400-700 words) and provocative. If you have an idea for an op-ed, contact Jenny Connelly-Bowen at jenny@communitybuildersstl.org.

Housing Mobility Programs are an Important Piece of Equitable Community Development

Jenna Hampton, Graduate Student at Washington University in St. Louis & Practicum Student with the Social Policy Institute

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Despite its name, the Housing Choice Voucher (or Section 8) program does not always offer families much choice in where to live. Research from Opportunity Insights found that out of the 2.2 million households who receive vouchers, the majority live in high-poverty neighborhoods. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains that families with vouchers are often unable to access low-poverty, high-opportunity neighborhoods due to a number of barriers, including:

• Lack of support services from public housing agencies

• Shortage of information on available housing options for voucher-holders

• Landlords who are unfamiliar with the Housing Choice Voucher program

Outright discrimination is also a barrier. In St. Louis City, a “Source of Income” law prevents landlords from refusing to rent to someone due to their use of a housing voucher. Still, the Metro St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council (EHOC) identified over 100 rental ads in St. Louis indicating that a landlord would not rent to anyone using a voucher. Last October, a local news story reported an instance in which a Central West End landlord turned down a woman named Phoenix after learning about her source of rental income. Phoenix reflected,

“It made me feel very belittled as well, like I wasn’t equal. There was no sense of equity in the situation at all.”

Housing mobility programs are gaining traction around the U.S. as a potential solution to these barriers. The 25 public housing agencies (PHAs) that currently manage housing mobility programs provide counseling, landlord outreach, and administrative support to help families access housing units in a broader range of neighborhoods.

This summer, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) opened an application for the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration. Congress authorized $50 million to support new housing mobility programs around the country as part of the demonstration. PHAs that participate in the demonstration will test a variety of support services and outreach strategies to identify which elements of housing mobility programs are most effective.

Ascend STL Inc manages the only housing mobility program in St. Louis. In 2017, Ascend partnered with the St. Louis City and County housing authorities to create the Mobility Connection program*, which “provides families with opportunities and resources to connect with quality housing in communities of their choice.”

Ascend helps families with Housing Choice Vouchers move to high-opportunity areas (HOA) in the St. Louis region—defined as having a poverty rate and concentration of subsidized housing at or below 10%. The image below shows Ascend’s map of HOAs as of 2018.

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Source: Ascend STL, Inc. 2018 Annual Report

Last year, as part of an evaluation by the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, I surveyed 20 Mobility Connection participants about their experiences. Though one might think that economic concerns would be the primary motivation for moving to a HOA, our survey found that most participants were motivated to move by factors related to the safety and general well-being of their families. These included a desire for lower crime rates (95%), better housing (90%) and school quality (80%), and more amenities such as grocery stores and parks in their neighborhoods (75%). One parent explained her motivation for moving as:

“You want your children to feel safe, you want them to have a good education, you want them to be successful in life. One of my main reasons for wanting to relocate in a better neighborhood is my children more so than myself.”

While it is not practical to move every low-income family in St. Louis to HOAs, mobility programs offer families an opportunity to proactively choose their neighborhoods. Many families do not want to let their children’s futures hang in the balance as they wait for the promised “someday” of community improvements. Another parent from my survey explained her sense of urgency for moving out of her old neighborhood:

“My house was broken into and then my car was broken into… there was a shooting up the street from the house, so I just didn’t feel safe… I don’t feel safe with [my son] being home by himself in that neighborhood.”

Every family deserves to feel safe and happy in their neighborhood. Housing mobility programs like Mobility Connection help put the choice back into the Housing Choice Voucher program. Landlords and developers are a critical piece of that change. When community developers focus solely on place-based development, they miss an opportunity to promote equity through mobility-based strategies.

As the housing and community development field works together to create safe, high-opportunity neighborhoods throughout St. Louis, we should also expand the choices available to families who want the best for themselves and their children. Here are some actions we can take together to strengthen housing mobility in our region:

• Pass a Source of Income law for all of St. Louis County

• Develop better enforcement mechanisms to monitor Source of Income discrimination

• Encourage more landlords to participate in Mobility Connection and to accept Housing Choice Vouchers in general

• Re-evaluate zoning laws that prevent multi-family developments in HOAs (families with vouchers cannot access HOAs if there are not enough units in their price range)

• Make HOAs more welcoming for low-income families who move there by encouraging more service providers to open offices in the area, working with schools on anti-bias trainings, etc.

• Communicate with families who use Housing Choice Vouchers to learn more about their motivations, their hopes, their frustrations, and how we can help

* The original Mobility Connection program officially ended in March of this year. However, MDRC and Opportunity Insights will help Ascend re-launch the program as part of a broader study on housing mobility programs.

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Jenna Hampton is a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. In December 2020, she will complete her Master of Social Work and Master of Social Policy degrees. In addition to classes, Jenna works part-time for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) and is a practicum student for the Social Policy Institute (SPI). While in St. Louis, Jenna has been an active member of CBN’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund Coalition (AHTFC). Originally from Oklahoma City, she became passionate about public and affordable housing policy when she worked as an intern for the Waco Housing Authority in Waco, Texas. Jenna hopes to continue working in the housing and community development field following her upcoming graduation. She believes that quality, affordable housing is a foundational need that should be guaranteed for all.

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Articles in “From the Field” represent the opinions of the author only and do not represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis or the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

We invite readers to contribute to the civic conversation about community development in St. Louis by writing an op-ed for the Community Builders Exchange. Op-eds should be short (400-700 words) and provocative. If you have an idea for an op-ed, contact Jenny Connelly-Bowen at jenny@communitybuildersstl.org.

The Most We Can Do: A National Mandate for Housing Justice

Tony Pickett, Chief Executive Officer, Grounded Solutions Network

Robert Burns, Senior Vice President, Citi Community Investing & Development

This column was originally published in Shelterforce.

Tony Pickett

Americans are experiencing an unparalleled and historic series of crises, in many ways defying words to capture the magnitude of the damage.  Beyond the grave health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, our nation is tragically divided by a human rights crisis. Due to a long and painful history of institutional racism and the lack of responsive action by many elected leaders, Black Americans are disproportionately suffering once again. Police brutality, acts of inhumane cruelty, and widespread neglect are perpetrated daily in our streets.

Robert Burns

Serious policy reforms targeting the elimination of racism within law enforcement agencies and judicial systems are long overdue. However, there is also an urgent simultaneous need for the elimination of racial bias and barriers in our education, health, and housing policies. Anti-Black racism means Black American families are not only at higher risk for homelessness and eviction, making it difficult to shelter in place, they also often remain either excluded outright or acutely disadvantaged in fairly accessing, maintaining (especially during economic crises), and building wealth through homeownership.

Since COVID-19 is affecting Black Americans harder in terms of both health outcomes and employment outcomes, the housing stability of current Black homeowners and the ability of Black households to access homeownership after the pandemic should be top concerns. In 2016, the average net worth of a white family was already nearly 10 times greater than that of a Black family. Without sweeping and radical federal action on housing, this growing racial wealth gap will not only not be reduced, but it will also get substantially worse.

Focusing public and philanthropic resources on shared-equity homeownership models that include active stewardship is one way to advance racial equity in housing in the current moment.

Shared Equity and Stewardship

Shared-equity homeownership is a self-sustaining model that takes a one-time public investment to make a home affordable for a lower-income family and then restricts the home’s sale price each time it is sold to keep it affordable for subsequent low-income families who purchase the home. The model balances wealth-building for families who would otherwise be unable to afford to own a home with preserving the community’s investment.

One notable model of shared-equity homeownership is the community land trust (CLT), an enduring legacy of the civil rights movement, stemming from the struggle of Black leaders in Albany, Georgia, to combat anti-Black racism during the late 1960s. CLTs are nonprofit, community-based organizations created to safeguard collective community stewardship of land. CLT real estate development activities may include commercial and retail, but the model is most often used to ensure long-term housing affordability. A CLT typically acquires land and maintains ownership of it permanently. Homes on that land are sold to prospective homeowners, who all agree to a long-term, renewable lease for use of CLT land, dividing ownership of the home and land instead of a traditional sale. CLTs also sometimes develop rental housing. Because CLTs are community-led, CLT homeowners, tenants, and neighborhood residents have an active role in their governance and decision making. A well-functioning CLT that serves Black households can strengthen Black families, communities, and networks of partners by helping them attain housing justice and withstand the multiple major shocks of an increasingly uncertain world.

Affordable housing stewardship is a unique set of specialized practices that shared-equity programs use, designed to help households generate wealth while balancing long-term protection of local housing subsidy investments. Stewarded affordable homeownership programs work with buyers both before and after they purchase their homes to ensure that they are well-prepared for homeownership, financially responsible, and able to maintain the property. Stewarded programs also protect the subsidy investment by monitoring the physical asset, intervening to support homeowners experiencing financial distress and enforcing program requirements over the long term.

Shared-equity programs are increasingly intentionally serving communities of color, with new large-scale CLTs being inspired, created, and led  by leaders of color in locations such as Houston, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Grounded Solutions Network (GSN) is supporting a nationwide effort to accelerate the scale of shared-equity homeownership production.

Why Shared Equity, Why Now?

Stability—A 2011 study of CLT shared-equity homeownership performance during the Great Recession found that conventional homeowners were 10 times more likely to be in foreclosure proceedings than CLT homeowners at the end of 2010 (respectively 4.63 percent in the conventional market versus 0.46 percent in mortgages held by CLT homeowners). The results were based on 3,143 mortgage holders in 62 CLTs across 29 states. Over 200 GSN members today are committed to replicating that outcome by protecting their COVID-affected tenants from eviction; recording and tracking mortgage forbearance agreements; providing anti-eviction housing counseling efforts; proactively exploring the use of shared-equity mortgage refinance options to cure delinquencies for homeowners who have faced a financial or life crisis; and distributing targeted public financial support to keep families in homes using proactive stewardship.

Efficient use of investment—State and municipal governments are reeling from significant losses in revenue and increased spending, and the economic effects of the pandemic are likely to continue for a long time. This means we must choose affordable housing investments that will make the most of each dollar invested. Shared-equity models such as community land trusts and limited-equity co-ops do this. They retain and even grow the effect of the one-time initial public or philanthropic investment through resale price restriction and equity-sharing legal agreements that enable homes to retain their affordability in perpetuity. Shared-equity homes allow multiple families over many years to potentially become first-time homeowners, benefiting from ownership of the same perpetually affordable home without ongoing additional subsidy investments.

Wealth Creation Results—CLTs are highly effective in building wealth for families of color. The share of families of color living in a sample of over 4,000 shared-equity homes (73 percent of which were CLT homes) increased substantially from 13 percent during 1985-2000 to 43 percent during 2013-2018. Shared-equity homeownership performance data from a 2019 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy study, collected over that same period, shows that the majority of lower-income families who participated in shared-equity homeownership were able to use it as a stepping stone to purchasing traditional market-rate homes within a 5- to 7-year period. The data also shows that the median investment made to purchase a shared-equity home was $1,875 and that 6 out of 10 families accumulated at least $14,000 in earned equity upon the sale of their home. Notably, shared-equity sellers are accumulating wealth and experiencing smaller decreases in home values than market-rate sellers during housing market downturns, something that has historically caused large equity losses for Black households in particular.

Black Americans specifically are suffering daily from traumatic emotional, physical, and economic hardships stemming from arguably the most extensive series of crisis events experienced in our nation’s history. Like the admittedly flawed, but nonetheless powerful initiatives of the 1933-39 New Deal, which responded to the Great Depression, an equitable COVID-19 recovery urgently demands national public policies and major financial investments. But we need to make them using a racial equity lens. A new and targeted “Better Deal” must be launched, with a multifaceted federal policy relief initiative centered on the Black community, including a $2 billion to $3 billion investment to expand the availability of shared-equity housing with lasting affordability as a means to close the racial wealth gap. We estimate—using the methodology employed by the National Association of Home Builders—that creating 1 million new homes with lasting affordability over the next decade would generate over $45 billion in annual economic activity and would support 619,000 jobs. Only then will we be able to simultaneously strengthen our economic, health, and housing systems to intentionally benefit Black American families for the first time in history.

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Tony Pickett is the Chief Executive Officer of Grounded Solutions Network. Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer for the Grounded Solutions Network, Tony was the Senior V.P. of Master Site Development for the Urban Land Conservancy, leading efforts to plan, finance and construct multiple equitable transit oriented development initiatives, complementing the $7.2B Denver FasTracks regional transit system. ULC’s Master Site Development work led by Tony has been described by collaborators as innovative; thinking about and achieving equitable outcomes in a comprehensive and cross-disciplinary manner.

Prior to joining ULC, Tony worked as the founding Executive Director of the Atlanta Land Trust Collaborative; a non-profit Community Land Trust entity focused on achieving equitable development outcomes as part of the Atlanta Beltline transit oriented development initiative. The Atlanta Beltline vision included the creation of 5,600 permanently affordable housing units over a 25 year period, in order to mitigate potential displacement and gentrification impacts in existing underserved communities along a 22 mile transit oriented development corridor. Prior to that Tony served as the Atlanta Housing Authority’s Director of Real Estate Strategy and Development; successfully creating multiple new mixed-income communities using innovative financing and public/private partnerships. Tony’s experience includes planning, creating and using local tax increment financing districts to leverage private investments in combination with additional federal and state funding sources to revitalize distressed communities.

Tony is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Architecture, Art and Planning and a strong advocate for holistic and equitable neighborhood development efforts.

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Robert Burns is the Senior VP of Community Development with Citibank. Prior to this position, he was President and CEO of City First Homes, a DC-based nonprofit developer of committed affordable properties, specializing in locations and projects identified as areas needing community development in “hard to develop” census tracks. Robert has also served as Director of Local Government Solutions for IBTS, a leading service provider in the building environment to all levels of government, community and industry worldwide. Robert enjoyed a long career as Director of Field Operations for NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts. Robert also has served as City Manager and Assistant City Manager in Ferguson, Missouri. He also serves on the board of the National Community Land Trust Network. Robert is the AHDC Board Vice President; he joined the Board in 2004.

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Articles in “From the Field” represent the opinions of the author only and do not represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis or the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

We invite readers to contribute to the civic conversation about community development in St. Louis by writing an op-ed for the Community Builders Exchange. Op-eds should be short (400-700 words) and provocative. If you have an idea for an op-ed, contact Jenny Connelly-Bowen at jenny@communitybuildersstl.org.

Federal Housing Assistance Falls Short of Meeting COVID-19 Needs

Charlene Crowell, Senior Fellow, Center for Responsible Lending

This column was originally published in The St. Louis American.

As the nation’s double dose of health and economic crises continue, many consumers believe that federal assistance to make ends meet has virtually disappeared.   

While the $600 weekly federal supplement to augment state unemployment benefits expired July 31. And the Paycheck Protection Program again stopped accepting applications on August 8.   

A recent policy analysis developed for the Brookings Institution suggests that the wages and earnings of economically vulnerable workers left little—if any—funds for regular household savings.   

“Unemployed respondents, on average, report a household income of $33,000 which is well below the U.S. median household income of $78,500 and less than 130% of the federal poverty line for a family of four,” wrote authors Jevay Grooms (Howard University), Alberto Ortega (Indiana University), and Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).   

“While all unemployed Americans are facing significant economic challenges, these findings suggest that unemployed Black workers are less likely to receive unemployment benefits and are disproportionately experiencing delays in receiving critical benefits designed to mitigate economic hardship,” wrote the professors. “These findings indicate that our society has failed to address many of the socioeconomic inequities faced by racial and ethnic minorities that were brought to light during the Great Recession.”    

Additionally, a three-part consumer survey by Morning Consult, a DC-based global intelligence firm, determined that by the end of this August, 5.4 million consumers who lost $600 per week in unemployment insurance will also lose their ability to pay for daily living needs like housing, health care, food and clothing. By the end of September, the same survey found that an additional 9.2 million consumers will be in the same financial dilemma should Congress fail enact new or extended aid.    

Despite COVID-19’s ongoing disruption to the economic health of many Americans, our lawmakers have not taken steps to alleviate all the resulting strain, including housing.  

In late May, the U.S. House passed legislation to continue vital federal assistance as the pandemic continues. Entitled the HEROES Act, it would extend the CARES Act’s previous moratorium on evictions and foreclosures. But it would also provide new housing assistance including $100 billion in emergency rental assistance, $75 billion for homeowner assistance, $11.5 billion in homeless grants and expand Section 8 vouchers with a $1 billion revenue infusion.  Together, these measures could help shore up housing, a major pillar in the nation’s economy.   

In the ensuing three months, the Senate never considered this proposal and instead put forth a much smaller package this August that provided nearly nothing to assist homeowners and renters. This approach garnered little support and now the upper chamber is not expected to return to work until after the Labor Day holiday.  

Likely as a result of one of four recent executive orders, HUD extended the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures on homes with FHA-backed mortgages. As reported by Politico, an estimated 8.1 million single-family homeowners will now be protected until 2021. Omitted in this new development are mortgages that originated with other government-sponsored mortgages like VA and USDA, as well as those backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And no assistance in this action addresses the needs of many renters who do not live in FHA-backed housing. It is estimated that these renters already owe up to $25 billion in back rent, and could reach $70 billion by year’s end and no way to pay.     

By contrast, the CARES Act included limited forbearance, a postponement—not forgiveness—of monthly payments for financially-challenged homeowners with an FHA, VA, or USDA loans. These mortgage borrowers can request a suspension for up to 180 days plus an additional 180 days if needed. Thirty days before the end of forbearance, mortgage servicers should contact these homeowners to discuss available options.  Repayment options will also depend upon the type of loan held.   

Fannie Mae’s most recent annual housing survey shows that one-fifth of Americans are unaware that this assistance is available. Mortgage servicers should do more to notify borrowers of these options.   

Many homeowners sought to take advantage of lower mortgage interest rates, and filed applications to refinance their loans, in hopes of lowering their monthly payments.   

But beginning September 1, a new surcharge fee will be added to refinance applications with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the other GSE with a large share of the mortgage market. A 0.5 percent fee on refinanced capital will be charged directly to lenders and then be passed on to consumers making applications. This new fee adds an upfront, estimated $1,400 to the mortgage cost, and as a result may eliminate any savings that might have been possible.   

In reaction, outraged housing stakeholders are demanding that the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA), that oversees both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reverse this new and harmful fee. Their stance is based on the facts that housing accounts for almost 20% of the nation’s overall economy, and further that the fee undercuts the Federal Reserve efforts to support an ailing economy.     

“It doesn’t make sense,” Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, told MarketWatch. “The implementation timeline is intentionally punitive and absurd.”  

"This is harming American families," says Mike Calhoun, president of the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending. "It's absolutely the wrong thing to be doing now… We should be doing more to help people refinance," he says. "And this is going in the opposite direction."   

Most reasonable people would agree that now is the worst time to add home costs. And for Black America—already reeling from disproportionate unemployment, COVID-19 diagnoses, and far less wealth—any increase in costs will be harder to absorb.   

Some online resources provide additional information: 

• An online Look-Up Tool enables consumers to enter information and learn whether their home or landlord’s mortgage is held by Fannie Mae; 

• Fannie Mae renter assistance information is available online at: https://www.fanniemae.com/heretohelp/renters/; and 

• Access to live personalized assistance from HUD-approved housing counselors is available through its Mortgage Help Network or the Disaster Response Network.  

What lawmakers, regulators and corporate decision-makers must remember during these terrible times is that everyone deserves a future full of hope and genuine opportunity. It’s time our lawmakers got back to work. Every consumer should be afforded an equal opportunity to survive this pandemic and achieve financial prosperity. 

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In a career that spans posts in three state capitols and major markets in the Midwest and Southwest, Charlene is an articulate spokesperson and seasoned journalist. As a Smart Growth lobbyist, she has championed affordable housing, land use and transportation. As a communicator, she has served as press secretary to both a state attorney general and mayor, managing strategic and crisis communications over a broad range of public policy developments.

Honored by the Texas Publishers Association and twice by the National Newspaper Publishers Association for her feature and editorial writing, she currently writes twice-monthly commentary on consumer finance as a standing assignment with the Center for Responsible Lending.

The Charlene M. Crowell Collection, housed at the Calumet Regional Archives at Indiana University Northwest, makes available to scholars and researchers many of her noteworthy government and journalism papers.

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Articles in “From the Field” represent the opinions of the author only and do not represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis or the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

We invite readers to contribute to the civic conversation about community development in St. Louis by writing an op-ed for the Community Builders Exchange. Op-eds should be short (400-700 words) and provocative. If you have an idea for an op-ed, contact Jenny Connelly-Bowen at jenny@communitybuildersstl.org.

Property tax assistance funds are an easy gap for philanthropy to fill

Peter Hoffman, Managing Attorney for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s Neighborhood Vacancy Initiative (NVI)

This column was originally published in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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In the first of five annual sales, St. Louis City last month auctioned more than 400 properties for delinquent taxes. These included a significant number of vacant “investment” properties, but public records also show that more than 100 of the properties may very well be owner-occupied. Another auction is scheduled for Aug. 18, followed by a St. Louis County auction on Aug. 24. Last week, Jackson County, which includes Kansas City, postponed its sale citing public health concerns and the economic hardships facing taxpayers. Our region must also respond.

However, rather than postpone these auctions, we should consider a long-term approach by partnering with philanthropy to create a charitable property tax assistance fund. For a few hundred thousand dollars a year, the property tax burden of more than 100 struggling homeowners could be met. Charitable property tax relief programs are common across the country and serve a dual purpose of both benefiting vulnerable homeowners and our shared tax base.

The pandemic has created a housing crisis, the scale of which we are only beginning to grasp. Renters cannot pay rent. Homeowners and landlords cannot pay mortgages. Governments — federal, state and local — have responded with rental, utility and mortgage assistance programs. Those resources are critical, and we applaud the community leaders who acted early and decisively to prioritize that relief.

However, another critical gap remains. Like lenders and landlords, local governments are also facing the economic fallout. Tax foreclosure can be seen as one way to make-up for the lost revenue that local governments haven’t been collecting through the loss of local sales taxes. Unfortunately, without safeguards in place to protect vulnerable homeowners, tax foreclosure could exacerbate the economic and housing crises.

After the Great Recession, the number of parcels auctioned for delinquent taxes ballooned across Missouri. Tax delinquent property flooded metropolitan housing markets, driving down property values and leaving communities vulnerable to cash-rich coastal land speculators who gobbled up notoriously “affordable” properties at the expense of local developers. In St. Louis city, the under-resourced Land Reutilization Authority received a massive influx of tax-foreclosed properties, much of which the authority is still struggling to repurpose today.

Outside of Missouri, in places like Texas and Michigan, cities and counties partnered with local charities to make property tax assistance funds available for homeowners experiencing economic hardship. Many of those programs are still going strong today.

When homeowners lose their property to tax foreclosure, they lose equity that some have worked for generations to build. This transfer of wealth worsens disparities between Black and white St. Louisans. Nationally, the Black-white homeownership gap is now 30.1%, the widest it has been in 50 years. With Black Americans suffering disproportionately greater health and economic effects of the pandemic, we can expect the current recession to broaden this gap even more.

Startlingly, a new study also shows that property taxes weigh disproportionately higher on Black homeowners. As a result of higher assessed values, Black homeowners in Missouri pay 25% higher property taxes relative to the market value of their home than whites. Simply put, without relief funds available for homeowners, tax foreclosures hit Black communities harder.

For St. Louis, a charitable property tax assistance fund is easily within our reach. Compared to the millions of dollars being directed to landlords and banks through rent and mortgage relief, the amount needed locally is relatively small. Property tax assistance would leverage philanthropic dollars to produce a return on investment that would benefit the entire community. Tax assistance programs help fill local budgets, prevent an increase in vacant property, stabilize neighborhoods, and protect homeowners facing economic hardships — now and into the future. They are an investment in our shared, long-term prosperity.

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Peter Hoffman is the Managing Attorney for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s Neighborhood Vacancy Initiative (NVI). Peter created NVI in April of 2018 to provide free legal assistance to nonprofit neighborhood and community organizations to help prevent vacancy and propel the grassroots rehabilitation of abandoned properties. Peter previously worked in Kansas City on similar efforts with Legal Aid of Western Missouri starting in 2010. In 2015, Peter helped create that organization’s “Adopt-a-Neighborhood Project”, a Legal Services Corporation “Pro Bono Innovation Fund” recipient bringing together urban neighborhoods with local volunteer law firms. He served as that Project’s Director until relocating to his hometown of St. Louis in 2018. 

Peter received his JD/MPA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with an emphasis in Urban, Land Use, and Environmental Law. Peter’s articles, “Bringing Self-Empowered Revitalization to Distressed Neighborhoods” published in the Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, and “Legal Services and Pro Bono Lawyers Help Neighborhoods Tackle Vacancy” published in the St. Louis Bar Journal, both spotlight the role pro bono lawyers can play in community revitalization.

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Articles in “From the Field” represent the opinions of the author only and do not represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis or the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

We invite readers to contribute to the civic conversation about community development in St. Louis by writing an op-ed for the Community Builders Exchange. Op-eds should be short (400-700 words) and provocative. If you have an idea for an op-ed, contact Jenny Connelly-Bowen at jenny@communitybuildersstl.org.

2020 Award for Transparency and Trust

Congratulations to Jessica Payne, Board President at Old North St. Louis Restoration Group and Founder/Owner and Social Justice Communicator of Osiyo Design + Engagement, recipient of our 2020 Award for Transparency & Trust.

The Award for Transparency & Trust recognizes a person, organization, institution, or initiative that:

• Works with honesty and openness and isn’t afraid to be vulnerable, especially when things don’t go as planned.

• Co-creates work with the people and partners they serve and works to build shared trust so that all at the table feel supported and valued as part of the process.

• Embraces mistakes and weaknesses in the open as opportunities to learn and grow.

Humans of St. Louis storytellers Maleeha Samer and Colleen O’Connell Smyth met with Jessica to learn more about her and her work. Here’s some of what she had to say.

Jessica Payne

“I’m originally from Oklahoma, and I had a very idyllic childhood. I lived on a street full of kids. My hometown saw maybe one or two murders a year. I grew up camping, taking ballet lessons, playing the clarinet, taking art classes, and living an average middle-class life. I witnessed my parents always display kindness and generosity. I also witnessed a lot of injustice and struggles, like extended family’s issues with poverty, drugs, and incarceration. So I knew not everybody has ballet class on Tuesdays and art class on Saturdays. I was always aware I was living a privileged existence. I moved to Chicago for about seven years and lived with people from all over the world and different economic backgrounds. I started to experience what was different from my upbringing even more. I started to ask more questions. But at the core, being raised by people who were kind and patient and encouraged me to take chances and do bold things led me to move to a city I didn’t know and get into a field I didn’t know. Hopefully, I did a lot of listening first and not a lot of, ‘Oh, I know what’s right,’ because I didn’t.”

- Jessica Payne, Board President with Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group and Founder/Owner and Social Justice Communicator at Osiyo Design + Engagement

Jessica Payne

“There are many times I can think of when I’ve had to apologize. Once, my neighbor was upset when I made a suggestion about flyering for an activity she was trying to promote. She said I needed to step back and stop telling Black women what to do, and it hit me really hard because that’s not what I was trying to do at all. But, I stopped and listened. We had a conversation offline and have had many since then. Now, we have a great relationship where we can be honest with each other and talk to each other about hard things. I appreciate that we were able to keep building that relationship after a moment in which I was called out for stepping over a line when I shouldn’t have.

Resiliency requires a certain amount of blind faith and hope. I’ve only lived in Old North about six years now, and I read stories from the past and talk to a lot of people who’ve been here decades longer. I look back at the history of this place and all of the terrible policies that led it to be what it is today. There’s really no reason a lot of predominantly Black neighborhoods should even exist anymore, because they were starved for resources for so long. And it’s amazing to see the way Hyde Park is coming back, how Old North has been able to rebuild, and St. Louis Place is still growing their community organization. People here care so much about their own history, their own place, and the people they refuse to give up. Someone might think these neighborhoods are challenged and only see struggles or paint a picture that they’re helpless and need charity and pity. What I see are strong communities that have survived an incredible amount because they believe they deserve better, and they’re willing to do what they can. The community always knows what it needs, and they just need the resources to make it happen.”

- Jessica Payne, Board President with Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group and Founder/Owner and Social Justice Communicator at Osiyo Design + Engagement

Jessica Payne

“I shouldn’t have children telling me about their friends or family members who’ve been shot. We’ve had a lot of tragic incidents in the neighborhood that should never happen to anyone. And there’s a whole lot of trauma that exists in our communities across St. Louis. We have a big National Night Out every year with St. Louis Place, and it’s a time for all of us to just be. I always find it to be a really healing event and our best attended. We also have a community garden that’s full this year where people can grow food and where we host a weekly market to provide fresh produce, which I will add is at the best prices in town. That’s our way of trying to help heal –– by bringing nutritious foods into a community that didn’t have access to them for so long. People here watch out for each other; it’s not everyone out for himself. It’s a misconception that there are a lot of negative things about North City. From my experience, everyone here knows their neighbors because they have to. Part of the way people deal with trauma is finding ways to be connected.

It’s important to listen. That’s something I try to do and, obviously, I’m not perfect and fail constantly. But I try to think back to those reminders of all these superficial processes I’ve witnessed where people think they’re listening, and I don’t actually see that they are. I’ve seen people lead many meetings not listening to anyone who was there. It was a check-the-box type of event, and nobody left happy or feeling like things were going to change. At the first giant National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency meeting at Vashon, they let people come up and talk. The whole time, all of these residents were going up and sharing their concerns and feelings, but not a single person was taking notes or recording it. Nothing. And that doesn’t build any trust with anybody because you’re not even trying to capture what is being said.” 

- Jessica Payne, Board President with Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group and Founder/Owner and Social Justice Communicator at Osiyo Design + Engagement

We hope you can join us to celebrate community builders like Jessica at our 8th Annual Community Building Awards on July 29!

Photostory by Humans of St. Louis, Maleeha Samer, and Colleen O’Connell Smyth. Photostory narratives represent the opinions of the speaker(s) featured only and do not necessarily represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis.

2020 Award for Resident Leadership

Congratulations to Tonnie Glispie-Smith, Board member with Cornerstone Corporation and Saint Louis ArtWorks; graduate of Neighborhood Leadership Academy and Neighborhood Leadership Fellows; leader and volunteer with the West End South Community Improvement District, the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative, Creating Whole Communities, and more, recipient of our 2020 Award for Resident Leadership.

The Award for Resident Leadership recognizes a person who:

• Has shown incredible volunteerism and involvement in their community and/or community initiatives.

• Goes above and beyond typical resident action to sit on boards, head committees, and/or encourage the engagement of other residents.

• Works to challenge the status quo in the St. Louis region.

Humans of St. Louis storytellers Maleeha Samer and Colleen O’Connell Smyth met with Tonnie to learn more about her and her work. Here’s some of what she had to say.

Tonnie Glispie-Smith

“What is the cost that racism has had on America? Who got killed that could have been a brain surgeon or found the cure for cancer? They didn’t get the opportunity to live up to their potential, not only for themselves, but what could they have done for the United States? Policies are put in place that give the impression our neighborhoods are how we want them to be or that we did this to ourselves. The real truth is there were federal banking and housing policies that led to these conditions. I’m not sure if a lot of people are aware of that. They may think people like to live that way. When, really, these properties got burned down or people can't afford to take care of 'em because they're poor and the owners couldn't get loans. I gained a different perspective from this book called ‘The Warmth of Other Suns’ by Isabel Wilkerson. She talks about The Great Migration, and there are all of these stories about people who lived in the South, but their families wanted better for them, so they moved North. Also, you see people with nice cars, but their house may not be in the best of condition. So maybe you think, ‘They have their priorities wrong.’ Then when you research the history, it could go back to how African Americans couldn't get loans for houses but how they were still allowed to get a car loan, at an exorbitant rate. That would be the only way they could show that they're successful. I had never thought about that. And how some of that carries on to this day.”

- Tonnie Glispie-Smith, Board member with Cornerstone Corporation and Saint Louis ArtWorks; graduate of Neighborhood Leadership Academy and Neighborhood Leadership Fellows; leader and volunteer with the West End South Community Improvement District, the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative, Creating Whole Communities, and more

Tonnie Glispie-Smith

“We want to redevelop Hodiamont Tracks in the West End into a greenway. As we’re telling people about this opportunity to make it more appealing, Judith Arnold, who lives in Vandeventer, spearheaded a cleanup. She organized from her neighborhood all the way to the West End to get people to come out and clean that whole entire section. That showed me as a region we can definitely work together. Just because I’m across the street from you, what goes on in your neighborhood still affects my area. I have several friends throughout those neighborhoods that connect all the way going east, and whenever there's an opportunity I think we could all benefit from, I share that information. I want their community to thrive and do better as well. It helps me, and it helps them to make those connections. It’s the right thing to do.”

- Tonnie Glispie-Smith, Board member with Cornerstone Corporation and Saint Louis ArtWorks; graduate of Neighborhood Leadership Academy and Neighborhood Leadership Fellows; leader and volunteer with the West End South Community Improvement District, the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative, Creating Whole Communities, and more

We hope you can join us to celebrate community builders like Tonnie at our 8th Annual Community Building Awards on July 29!

Photostory by Humans of St. Louis, Maleeha Samer, and Colleen O’Connell Smyth. Photostory narratives represent the opinions of the speaker(s) featured only and do not necessarily represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis.

2020 Rising Star in Community Building Award

Congratulations to Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank CDC, recipient of our 2020 Award for Rising Star in Community Building.

The Award for Rising Star in Community Building recognizes a person who:

• Demonstrates strong dedication to and passion for community building work.

• Exhibits leadership, vision, and a commitment to action and results.

• Shows promising potential to catalyze outstanding impact in community building policy, investment, and/or community change.

• Works to challenge the status quo in the St. Louis region.

Humans of St. Louis storytellers Maleeha Samer and Colleen O’Connell Smyth met with Neal to learn more about him and his work. Here’s some of what he had to say.

Neal Richardson and his daughter Harper

“The misconception is that people don’t want to live in North City, and that’s false. Some people want to move to areas in which they grew up, similar to myself. They want to move into a community that has a rich African American history. They want to have a sense of heritage and pride in where they live. They want to be around people who look like them, who have similar experiences growing up like them. I hope to one day move back to Lewis Place. But right now the housing stock isn’t there, the safety isn’t there, the schools aren’t there. I have a daughter, and those are all things I have to consider, similar to others, whether they’re young professionals, tradesmen, just seeking to buy their first house or any house. I tell my daughter this is where I grew up. This is where I used to ride my bike and play basketball and football with the kids in the neighborhood. She’s only four, so I don’t think she’s registered the differences between neighborhoods. Obviously, she recognizes vacant houses on the street. She always asks whenever we’re at Lewis Place or I’m working on a house, ‘Are we working on a Dream Builder’s house today?’ That makes me feel pretty good, and it’s super humbling when she says she’s proud of me.”

- Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation

Neal Richardson

“On a lighter note, while we were working on the property on Lewis Place, I got poison ivy for the first time. That was one of my fondest memories because Mike, my business partner, says I acted as though I were dying. It’s hilarious that we had no idea what it was, but now we use a picture of it for our presentation for investors.”

- Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation

Neal Richardson

“My mom tells this story all the time. I remember walking to my bus stop and seeing a needle on the ground, and I was about to pick it up. My mom said, ‘Oh, don't do that.’ I said, ‘I don't want anybody to get hurt.’ And she said, ‘People used it for drugs. I don’t want you to touch it because you could get very sick.’ At 12 years old, that opened my eyes to what was happening in my community. I was a lot younger, but I had this sense of knowing right from wrong. It was experiences like that which shaped me because I’ve always wanted to help others, and I felt helpless at the time.

Neal Richardson and his daughter Harper

It gave me an additional sense of purpose around changing things for other kids so they wouldn’t have to experience things like that. When we finished our first project at Lewis Place and I saw the homeowner’s excitement and student’s pride, I knew this was the work I was meant to do. And there’s more that can be done. We can create opportunities for people to earn a living wage, give mental health support, and equitably invest in healthcare, real estate, and education.

Let’s not only talk about the problems but also about the change and the solutions that are needed. We all know the issues and challenges, but we need to start talking more about opportunities and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. We need to engage each other and work together because Dream Builders can’t do it on their own. No community development organization can do it on their own. Government can’t do it on their own. The more we realize it’s not about us individually but the collective impact we’re able to make is when we’ll start seeing more positive change happen.”

- Neal Richardson, Co-Founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity and Vice President and Director of Business Impact Group at U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation

We hope you can join us to celebrate community builders like Neal at our 8th Annual Community Building Awards on July 29!

Photostory by Humans of St. Louis, Maleeha Samer, and Colleen O’Connell Smyth. Photostory narratives represent the opinions of the speaker(s) featured only and do not necessarily represent the views of the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis.