Church Group Helps 6,500 Families Buy Their First Homes

The Nehemiah Strategy is a powerful community development program that has helped over 6,500 families become first-time homeowners. Led by faith communities and organizations like East Brooklyn Congregations, this program transforms empty lots and abandoned land into affordable homes in low-income neighborhoods. The strategy works by getting city governments to sell empty lots cheaply and provide building subsidies. It has created $1.5 billion in wealth for African-American and Latino families in cities like Brooklyn, Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Rev. David Brawley from St. Paul Community Baptist Church explains that it started with imagination - seeing something better where there were only empty lots. The program works with both Democratic and Republican mayors to secure funding. CBS News featured stories of homeowners like Matilda Dyer, who called her application an 'act of faith,' and Sandra and Armando Martinez, who call their home their 'palace.' This approach helps neighborhoods grow stronger without pushing out existing residents through gentrification. The program proves that with organized community power and vision, the American Dream of homeownership can become real for working families.

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