Community Spotlight: Stability, Confidence and Connection

 

Imagine a family, maybe your family.  What does it take for it to be happy and healthy?   In my mind, the core of what families need most is stability, confidence and connection. 

 

It begins with stability—a roof over their heads and food on the table.  While many in our communities don’t have to think about this, there are thousands who carry the stress of uncertain shelter and food every day. The implications for their families are far reaching. Many low income parents work long hours at multiple jobs just to keep their families fed and sheltered. Unfortunately, this can make it difficult for them to give time and attention to the children they love.  But when affordable housing is secure, working parents and their children can grow confident in reaching their dreams and strengthen their connections to each other and to the community.  With the help of agencies like Bread and Roses Housing, BRH, they have a beautiful story to tell.

 

This is Louis’ story.  He and his two siblings spent their childhood in a public housing development, being raised by a loving and hard working single mom. Life was really a struggle for this family.  But when Louis was a teenager, life looked up when this mother became a homeowner through BRH. 

 

Louis was so proud of his mom for owning a house.  His mom was able to save money, paying only $650/month for her mortgage, much less than their former rent.  She was able to save and reallocate the money she used to spend on rent to things like her family's education.  This stability gave Louis confidence for his own success and an example of what he could achieve. With this confidence and his mom’s support, Louis graduated from high school and enlisted in the armed services.  Following his mother’s financial example, Louis was able to work in his chosen career and to save for something he wanted very much.  Six years after he and his family moved into their first home, Louis and his mom were able to sell it and purchase a two–family home on their own. Now another family on the way up has been afforded the opportunity for stability by purchasing the Bread and Roses home in which Louis used to live.

 

The Lenny Zakim Fund supports Bread and Roses Housing because we share a mission to building bridge and build our communities.  We both believe in the importance of real relationships, financial stability, and the many other factors everyone needs to be healthy and successful. 

 

BRH doesn’t just sell homes, they screen and counsel first-time home-buyers and educate them in the life skills they need to responsibly keep a mortgage and maintain a home.  LZF doesn’t just fund organizations, we engage and assist small, grassroots agencies and train them in the hard and soft skills they need to improve their operations. Mary Mara, Executive Director of BRH, understands that support from LZF means much more than money. “Part of the support LZF gives is helping us grow our vision and helping us get the resources to do that.”

 

Together, Bread and Roses Housing and the Lenny Zakim Fund are giving people like Louis and his family the stability, confidence and connections for a happy and healthy future.