June - August 2022
The Make it Home Learning Cohort provides an opportunity for cities and land banks to learn more about Detroit’s Make it Home program and explore whether they can create a similar occupied-to-owner program in their communities.
The learning cohort comprises teams from thirteen communities across eight states and includes an introductory meeting and four webinars in July-August 2022. At the conclusion of the learning cohort, Community Progress will provide each community a “Replication Playbook,” which provides a customized evaluation of their capacity to create an occupied-to-owner program and identifies next steps to creating such a program. During the learning cohort, Community Progress may ask participants to share local information to help develop the playbooks, including information about relevant policies, partners, tools, and resources.
The materials below will be updated throughout the cohort. If you have any questions, please contact Libby Benton, Associate Counsel to National Initiatives, at [email protected].
Learning Cohort Members
|
Organization |
State |
Primary Contact |
Title |
|
Blight Authority of Memphis |
Tennessee |
Steve Lockwood |
Interim Executive Director |
|
Chautauqua County Land Bank Corporation/City of Jamestown |
New York |
Gina Paradis |
Executive Director |
|
City of Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation |
Ohio |
Anthony Bango |
Assistant Administrator, City of Cleveland, Department of Community Development Housing Development Office |
|
Ricardo Leon |
Chief Operating Officer, Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation |
||
|
City of Lima |
Ohio |
Susan Crotty |
Director of Neighborhoods and Housing |
|
City of Milwaukee |
Wisconsin |
Amy Turim |
Real Estate Development Services Manager |
|
City of Salem |
New Jersey |
Jody Veler |
Mayor |
|
City of Tucson |
Arizona |
Liz Morales |
Director, Housing and Community Development |
|
Greater Syracuse Land Bank/City of Syracuse |
New York |
Katelyn Wright |
Executive Director |
|
Louisville Metro Government |
Kentucky |
Laura Grabowski |
Director, Office of Housing and Community Development |
|
Metro Atlanta Land Bank |
Georgia |
Chris Norman |
Executive Director |
|
Summit County Land Bank |
Ohio |
Patrick Bravo |
Executive Director |
|
Trumbull County Land Bank |
Ohio |
Shawn Carvin |
Director |
|
Village of Sidney |
New York |
Lisa French |
Clerk/Treasurer |
Training Schedule and Materials
INTRODUCTORY CALL
Thursday, July 7, 12-1:30 pm ET
Representatives from the Center for Community Progress and Rocket Community Fund will provide a brief introduction and overview of the Learning Cohort. One representative from each community team will be asked to share a 2- to 3-minute introduction of their community, including why they are interested in the Learning Cohort and what they hope to learn.
SESSION 1
Make it Home Program Overview
Thursday, July 14, 12-1:30 pm ET, 1:30-2:00 pm ET
Optional community team breakout sessions
Representatives from the United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) and the City of Detroit will provide an overview of the Make it Home program, including its history, evolution, and impact.
Panelists:
Amy Alexander, Director of Homeownership & Community Development, UCHC
Michele Oberholtzer, Chief Policy Advisor, Office of Mayor Mike Duggan, City of Detroit
Chelsea Neblett, Financial Empowerment Manager, Department of Neighborhoods, Office of Mayor Mike Duggan, City of Detroit
SESSION 2
Property and Participant Identification, Screening, and Property Acquisition
Thursday, July 28, 12-1:30 pm ET, 1:30-2:00 pm ET
Optional community team breakout sessions
This session will focus on the pre-foreclosure aspects of the Make it Home program, including how UCHC identifies properties, contacts and provides education to tenants about the program, and screens properties and participants.
Panelists:
Amy Alexander, Director of Homeownership & Community Development, UCHC
Chelsea Neblett, Financial Empowerment Manager, Department of Neighborhoods, Office of Mayor Mike Duggan, City of Detroit
Keturah Epps, Make it Home Program Coordinator, UCHC
SESSION 3
Repair Assistance, Homeownership Support, and Program Evaluation
Thursday, August 11, 12-1:30 pm ET, 1:30-2:00 pm ET
Optional community team breakout sessions
This session will focus on the post-foreclosure aspects of the program, including the Make it Home Repair Program and homeownership support. It will also include a presentation by researchers who have evaluated the program, as well as a discussion of ways to include evaluation in the program design.
Panelists:
Amy Alexander, Director of Homeownership & Community Development, UCHC
Tim Bishop, Director of Repair Services, UCHC
Margaret Dewar, University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Professor Emerita
Roshanak Mehdipanah, Associate Professor, Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health
Kim Stroud, Director of Homeownership Services, UCHC
Zoom Link | Recording | 2017 Make it Home Evaluation Slides | Lessons Learned in Making it Home Slides
SESSION 4
Alternative Programs for Consideration and Cohort Wrap Up
Thursday, August 25, 12-1:30 pm ET,1:30-2:00 pm ET
Optional community team breakout sessions
This session will include presentations by cities with similar occupied-to-owner programs. It will also include time for the community teams to meet to discuss key takeaways, lessons learned, and next steps.
Panelists:
Amy Turim, City of Milwaukee, Real Estate Development Services Manager
Katelyn Wright, Greater Syracuse Land Bank, Executive Director
Alysse Miller, Detroit Land Bank Authority, Grants and Occupied Program Manager
Zoom Link | Recording | City of Milwaukee Slides | Greater Syracuse Land Bank Slides | Detroit Land Bank Authority Slides
Additional Resources
Make it Home Materials
Alexa Eisenberg, Connor Wakayama, and Patrick Cooney, Reinforcing Low-Income Homeownership Through Home Repair: Evaluation of the Make it Home Repair Program, February 2021.
City of Detroit, Make it Home Helps 1,157 Detroit Families Stay in Their Homes, February 27, 2020.
Margaret Dewar, Roshanak Mehdipanah, Lessons From Detroit’s Make it Home Program For Sustaining Very Low-Income Homeownership, August 2022.
Karen Ann Kling and Evelyn Zwiebach, In Good Faith: Reimagining the Use of the Land Contracts, June 10, 2021.
Roshanak Mehdipanah, Margaret Dewar, and Alexa Eisenberg, Threats to and Opportunities for Low-Income Homeownership, Housing Stability, and Health: Protocol for the Detroit 2017 Make-It-Home Evaluation Study, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021
Baseline Survey for Intervention Groups (questions researchers asked Make it participants)
Other Occupied-to-Owner Programs
Detroit Land Bank Authority, Buy Back/Occupied Program
City of Milwaukee, Tenant Transition to Ownership Program
Community Progress Contact Information
Tarik Abdelazim, Director of National Technical Assistance, [email protected]
Libby Benton, Associate Counsel to National Initiatives, [email protected]