1 minute read
Financial Wellbeing
by DevNW
Homeownership in 2022
Michele and Steven Weeks started working with DevNW in 2019. After completing Financial Foundations and Homebuying Foundations classes, the Weeks worked with a financial counselor to address student loan debt and personal finances. Through DevNW, they qualified for an IDA and began saving to fund closing costs for their first home purchased in 2022. As it turned out, the Weeks qualified for a Down Payment Assistance loan through the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. This allowed them to redirect their IDA funds from Homeownership toward the purchase of a vehicle that now provides secure transportation to accommodate their growing family.
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Until we bought a home, we had to move so many times. It was very stressful and destabilizing. It was hard to find affordable housing, and it seemed like as soon as we got settled they would raise the rent and we would struggle and have to find another place that we could afford. Now we can really settle down and raise our family without having to move again.
— Michele Weeks
Foreclosure/Eviction Prevention Counseling
After the COVID-19 moratorium ended in 2021, enrollment in DevNW Foreclosure or Eviction Counseling skyrocketed from 89 to 362 clients. Our Financial Wellbeing team responded by adding staff and finding funding partners to support residents’ housing stability. Counselors helped clients navigate
Financial Wellbeing Highlights
a challenging process, providing mediation, education on rights and responsibilities, and offering connections to financial resources like Rental and Mortgage Assistance. Of the 100 clients with resolved foreclosure cases, 62% have brought their mortgage current and 17% got their mortgage modified. Currently, DevNW is supporting 200+ clients.
Thank you for your help getting funding for my past due and future mortgage payments. It means the world to me. For once in a long while I can relax about losing my home and the home that provides shelter for my daughter and grandson. I have now made a plan that gets me on a budget to pay off my van and other debts so I can afford my mortgage payment in the future. Thank you so very much. I appreciate you.
— Donna R., Homeowner and DevNW Client
