Rents and mortgages across the country continue to climb, making housing increasingly unaffordable for many families.
Last year, more than two-thirds of households with extremely low incomes in the Kansas City region were spending more than half of their paychecks on housing.
Researchers at Harvard compared the growth in wages to increases in rent and found that from 2001 to 2022, renter incomes only rose by two percent, while rents climbed by an astounding 21% in that same time frame.
“We believe our Latino community needs to have the ability, in collaboration with other partners, to create stability for the long-term,” said Elizabeth Reynoso, El Centro Vice President of Programs. “After the pandemic, we’ve seen so many more people turn to renting, and often not in the best circumstances, with high prices and not good quality living conditions.”
It’s why many of United Way’s Impact 100 partners are focused on creative solutions to the affordable housing crisis. During a recent impact bus tour with Garmin employees, El Centro shared about a new program called “Bienvenida a mi Casa” (which translates to Welcome to My Home), helping make the dream of home ownership a reality for Latino neighbors in Wyandotte County. It started as a pilot project this year, following conversations with clients that were dealing with inequitable living situations and facing challenges in trying to find quality rentals and even falling victim to online home buying scams.
“This opportunity is only for ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) holders, so they are paying taxes every year. They’ve also been working for at least five years and living in Wyandotte County,” Reynoso shared. “This is our first cohort, and we’ve had 25 clients participate. Already this summer, we now have five clients that have been able to purchase a home.”
It is an intensive year-long program including financial education and savings. Families must complete 10 classes and save $500 every month, or at least $5,000 by the time they complete the program. Once those goals are met, El Centro matches the household’s savings with an additional $5,000 to put toward the down payment on a home, and a local bank is pitching in an additional $5,000 for a total of $15,000.
“We believe in home buying for our families and really growing generational wealth and prosperity for all,” said El Centro CEO, Erica Andrade.
Another unique aspect of the program is the extension of El Centro’s commitment to being a Spanish-first organization.
“All the collaborators we work with assist our homeowners in Spanish. This includes the banks, realtors, home inspectors, the insurance companies, and all the steps of the education process, and even the underwriting paperwork are done in Spanish, so our clients fully understand the process,” Reynoso said.
El Centro is hoping to expand the program to Johnson County in the future, where the affordable housing crisis is even more pronounced. However, because the median home price in Johnson County is now approaching $500,000, getting “Bienvenida a mi Casa” off the ground there, will be much more difficult and costly than it has been in Wyandotte County, where the average home price is half that number.
El Centro’s CEO emphasized the value of United Way’s partnership in working toward its goals and meeting the community’s needs.
“We’re able to amplify our messaging and services through the opportunities United Way provides, in particular to how we can engage and connect with the Latino community in Kansas City,” Andrade said. “We like to think that our position at the table is even more important when it comes to advocacy and talking about stories of our community and making sure those things are front of mind with what the community is going through, especially right now when times are kind of tough.”
To learn more about the work of El Centro and how to connect with volunteer opportunities at the organization, visit here.