Renew Indianapolis will join a national network of organizations focused on affordable housing through NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit chartered and funded through Congress.
The partnership will give Renew Indianapolis more access to money, training and technical support. In the short term, many of those resources will benefit the Martindale-Brightwood area, a small section of which was recently named a Lift Indy neighborhood.
“Everyone is entitled to affordable housing that is safe and decent, where they can be part of a stable community,” NeighborWorks President and CEO Marietta Rodriguez said during a virtual press conference April 19.
Renew Indianapolis CEO Steven Meyer said the extra resources, including a grant for $85,000, will go toward what the organization has already committed to do, including programs for mortgage refinancing and construction to spur new homeownership in Martindale-Brightwood.
The grant money is not specific to Martindale-Brightwood but will support the organization’s initiatives in general.
Mayor Joe Hogsett said part of strengthening neighborhoods is combining affordable housing with revitalization and economic growth, terms that notoriously are associated with gentrification and displacement.
“Every resident should be able to dream of homeownership,” Hogsett said.
NeighborWorks America has a network of nearly 250 organizations. Renew Indianapolis is the first from Central Indiana and fourth in the state. There are 57 organizations in the Midwest, according to Rodriguez.
The nonprofit said it distributed $90.9 million in grants from its federal appropriation in its most recent financial report.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
