Tucson Standard

Family Housing Resources Inc., a Tucson nonprofit that assists low-income families and first-time homebuyers with grant resources, has served more than 321 people over the previous year, with more on the way.

The organization has provided $600,000 in down payment assistance to more than 23 households already this year, a recent KGUN 9 report said. And while anyone can be affected, the greatest need for aid can readily be identified. 

"We have a long ... systemic problem with racial equity around homeownership," Meghan Heddings, executive director of Family Housing Resources, told KGUN. "So White Americans still continue to have homes at a much higher rate than African Americans or Hispanics. And so we're trying to bring equity to that landscape."

Bank of America recently allocated a grant to Family Housing Resources to expand the program, the KGUN report said.

"Most of it is low income or extremely low income that we're working with, and making sure that they look at their budget, their financial picture today and then work towards that long term goal of homeownership and some folks are closer than they think," Hedding said. "And some are a little bit farther away and we just continue to work with them until they're ready."

The program connects families with programs that can help with down payment assistance and other grants available to first-time home buyers. They also provide free financial education, which Tucson resident Cevar Thompson said was particularly helpful.

"The financial class was great," she told KGUN. "Just the way that they offer these classes for free and it gives you different information and we learn from each other learn from the instructor and just becoming financially stable. Hopefully I will purchase a home one day here."

For now, Thompson said her goal is "to keep and try to get myself situated and acclimated to the city and everything else. I don't even know where to begin with the house search."

More information about Family Housing Resources is available on the organization's website.