AUTHOR: Ginger Cain, Housing Counseling Program Manager
PHONE: 814-933-8471
AGENCY: The HOME Foundation/Housing Transitions
The HOME Foundation (THF) and sister agency, Housing Transitions (HT), know it is important for everyone in Centre County to have a safe, affordable, place to live. It is essential to the well-being of the individuals and families who live here, and the overall health of the community. There are many challenges to achieving stable housing like housing costs, low wages, and socio-economic barriers, and the pandemic has heightened them. Both THF and HT focused on increasing capacity to address these challenges.
The HOME Foundation’s mission for 23 years has been to create housing solutions to address the lack of affordable housing options for low to moderate income households. Since 1997, THF has purchased and rehabilitated 33 homes to resell to First-Time Home Buyers in State College. We have also purchased, rehabbed and now manage 21 affordable rental units in the Borough. Our vision is to make Centre County a secure and affordable place to live for all residents. Achieving this goal requires both short-term and long-term solutions. We are proud to introduce the newest development in the pursuit of our goal; a Comprehensive Housing Counseling Program. This vital service is designed to help educate and assist residents in all areas of housing, from homelessness to homeownership.
THF is now offering the following housing counseling initiatives fee-free to all Centre County residents: budget and credit services, renter assistance, homelessness prevention, default and delinquency counseling, and emergency mortgage assistance. If your budget has been challenged and it is having an impact on your housing, if you need to find a more affordable living situation, if you have lost income or a job and are struggling to pay your rent or mortgage, if you fear losing your home to eviction or foreclosure, if you have experienced any life event that is jeopardizing your ability to secure or maintain safe affordable housing, contact us. We may be able to assist you.
In addition to housing crisis services, individuals and families can work towards achieving homeownership with our HUD Certified Housing Counselors. Potential homeowners will work with a counselor to develop their credit, budget, savings plan and knowledge of the home buying process. THF has recently become a member of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Network and has been approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide counseling services to all residents wanting to purchase a home in Centre County. Through our new program, THF hopes to help more of our neighbors become homeowners.
THF and Housing Transitions are here for our community now and to come. For more information about THF’s comprehensive program, contact Ginger Cain, THF’s Housing Counseling Program Manager, at ginger.c@housingtransitions.org.