Take a moment to talk with the families that will be moving into their new Paducah Alliance of Neighbors homes this month, and one theme will quickly be apparent.
These are women and families who have always maintained jobs as they are raising families, but homeownership has been just out of their reach.
“These families, like so many others like them, are working hard, but at the end of the month, it’s not enough to be able to save toward homeownership,” says Sharon Poat, PAN executive director.
When it came time in the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors’ life to contemplate the next best way they could serve their community, Sharon says new housing was the logical next step.
“The construction of good, quality, turn-key ready housing that is affordable to families qualifying for a mortgage in the $80,000 to $120,000 range meets a serious need anywhere in Paducah,” Sharon says.
And indeed, it is very difficult for a working mother or a working family to bridge the gap between renting and homeownership through traditional mortgages and loans. Few opportunities exist to both accommodate these types of funding situations and to educate first-time homebuyers who have spent a lifetime paying rent about the arduous process of homeownership.
The Paducah Alliance of Neighbors has worked for the past two years to find the solution to this problem. The solution meant coordinating assisting funding through the Kentucky Housing Corporation and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and making use of a Paducah City incentive provided as part of their neighborhood revitalization program.
And the fruits of those labors will come to bear this fall when three families will move into their brand new homes, the first that each has ever owned.
Sharon emphasizes that each of these women had worked hard to be ready to take advantage of PAN’s new homebuyer program. They qualified because each had a solid job with a stable income, each had managed their finances so that they had limited debt and a good credit score, and each was able to qualify for a home loan through one of the group’s banking partners.
A critical piece in PAN’s new homebuyer program is the assisting funding that the group is able to secure, which helps to cover the gap between the mortgage the buyers can afford and the appraised value of the home. It also helps cover additional construction and development costs above the appraised value of the home. In addition to the supplemental funding, the program provides each with the education they need to sustain the homeownership process successfully.
“We are coming alongside them so they can provide more for their family,” says Kanisha Parrish, part-time Paducah Alliance of Neighbors (PAN) assistant.
As the first homes in the new PAN program, Sharon says her team has also felt nervous jitters alongside the homeowners as well.
“We’ve been doing home repairs of all sorts for the last decade, but these homes are my first experience and the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors’ first experience in bringing new homes out of the ground,” she says. “I am thankful to the contractors, materials suppliers, and to our buyers for their help and patience with this process.”
Overshadowing the anxiety, however, has been the sheer excitement that everyone in the process has felt over this new step.
“It’s rewarding to work with the homebuyers to finalize cabinet finishes and color choices for everything from the siding to the walls and floors,” says Sharon. “We are really trying to make Kimberly’s home truly Kimberly’s and Ammie’s home truly Ammie’s, and Alishia’s truly Alishia’s.”
“I am ready for the houses to be complete and the yards to be finished, but I really can’t wait to drive by and see how they’ve turned their houses into homes.”
“It’s our house… It’s going to be our home.”
For Kimberly Dunbar and her family, homeownership was always a dream that never seemed achievable.
“I’ve always rented, basically always in public housing,” Kimberly says. “The opportunity to own my own home, something I can call my own, was very important to me because at least I can pass that on.”
The key to achieving that dream came in a rather unique place—namely, her daughter’s backpack.
“My daughter brought home a pamphlet for the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors from fifth grade,” Kimberly recalls. “It took me a couple of weeks to read it.”
Because the new PAN program was income-based, Kimberly says, for her, that meant it was finally affordable.
When she learned that she would have to complete several steps in order to qualify for the program, including an application and the homeownership education courses, she said she got to work.
“I was the first one out of everyone to complete everything,” she says. “It was first-come, first-served, so I put the pedal to the metal. I got them all the information that they needed fast.”
She believes that the most important part of the process was the education she received.
“It was very beneficial information, especially for new homebuyers,” she says. “I think they hit the nail on the head.”
Since she found out that she’d been approved and would be purchasing a new 1,200 square foot, three-bedroom two-bath home in the Fountain Avenue neighborhood for her family, Kimberly and her kids have been making plans for their future.
“It’s been exciting knowing that you have a new house that’s being built with specifications that will fit us,” she says. “I specifically asked for two sinks in the children’s bathroom, and for me, that small accommodation was very important to us. Getting ready will get a little easier, especially with two teenage girls.”
For her 11-year-old son, Kimberly says he is most looking forward to being so close to the Brockenborough Rotary Health Park so he will have room to play football with friends.
But for Kimberly, the new home represents something much bigger.
“It’s our house; it’s going to be our home,” she says.
A single mom who is taking classes as she works in the medical field so she can become part of the social work field in Paducah, Kimberly says the blessing that PAN has provided for her family is not lost on her.
“I realize that they made this available for individuals who are considered low-income, and the fact that they are helping the community out in order to own their own housing, I believe that is a wonderful thing,” she says. “Looking out for others—I don’t think there’s a better thing.”
“For me, the fact that my community is gathering to help and support a hard-working mother who just wants the best for herself, it’s a blessing, is what I would say.”
“It’s a God-send.”
“It’s a step moving forward to better my life.”
While homeownership was always a goal of Alishia Jackson’s, she never had an example of how to turn her dream into a reality.
“I didn’t grow up with people in my family buying homes,” she says. “That’s a big step to me.”
With the help of the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors’ new homeownership program, Alishia finally had the tools she needed. With the supplemental funding to help her afford a home loan as well as education about home buying and homeownership, she saw the chance to finally achieve what many in her family were unable to.
“I feel like I’m actually going to achieve that goal now,” she says.
For Alishia, the new home holds not only possibility for her but for her family as well. With a teenage daughter and guardianship over her teenage brother, the home they’d been renting was becoming a logistics issue.
“Where we live now, we have one bathroom, and two teenagers take forever in the bathroom. It’s hard being an adult with two teenagers trying to share a bathroom,” she says. “And my daughter has to go through my brother’s room to get to her room. They are ready to have their own bedroom doors.”
In addition to their own rooms and their own shared bathroom, Alishia says the new home that they will move into later this month has something she’s never had in her life—a master suite for herself.
She knows that all of these dreams would not have been possible without the help from the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors, and she believes that her family’s future will benefit greatly from the experience.
“To me, it’s a step moving forward to better my life,” she says. “And I want to to make sure that my brother and my daughter will have something to fall back on and that I am setting a good example for them,” she says.
“I’ve been so anxious and excited. It’s been a lot of feelings,” she says. “I’m very thankful and happy that this opportunity happened to me.”
“It’s hard being a single parent, and I don’t have much help. To have help to achieve my goal, I’m very grateful.”
“I struggled some, but I’ve been blessed also. This is one of my biggest blessings.”
“I want something to leave my children.”
Now that Ammie Reed is on the verge of becoming a first-time homeowner thanks to the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors, she’s realizing the stakes are very high for her and her family.
“I’ve been a nervous wreck because I’ve never been a homeowner,” she says. “I’ve been working hard and trying to save money. I know I’m a little more prepared now.”
Ammie knows that one thing will stand out for her when she and her two children finally move into their new Fountain Avenue home.
“The idea of owning your own place, you can take a little more pride in your things,” she says. Fortunately, the PAN education program has equipped Ammie with all the information she needs about how to keep her home’s repairs and maintenance up-to-date and how to optimize her home’s systems for their future.
The future is something that is on Ammie’s mind a lot these days, as the family prepares to move into their new home this month.
“I’m looking forward to having our own place together and being able to call it a home, and now I have something down the road to leave to my children,” Ammie says.
For those children, Ammie says her teenage daughter is looking forward to decorating her own bedroom, the first she’s had in a while, and to have a kitchen where she can practice her cooking skills.
“She loves cooking, so she has all these plans for things she wants to cook,” Ammie says.
Like the other new homeowners in the PAN program, Ammie says that, without it, she wouldn’t be facing the new start now that her family needs.
“I’m very appreciative,” she says. “I never had any idea how to do any of this. I’m just grateful.”
“It’s a God-thing.”
Can You Help Your Neighbors Achieve Their Dream?
The Paducah Alliance of Neighbors is busy putting the finishing touches on three brand-new, energy-efficient homes that will literally change the lives of the families featured in this series. But, for PAN leadership, this is hardly an ending. In fact, you can think of it as just the beginning.
“In 2021, we will welcome our new homeowners into their first homes, and we will be breaking ground on three more homes. In years beyond that, we would hope to provide at least six to eight high-quality well-done homes for income-qualified first-time buyers each year,” says Janel Tate, chair of the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors.
Changing lives is not an easy task, and combined with the other home repair PAN program recipients each year, it’s not an inexpensive one either.
The Paducah Alliance of Neighbors needs your help to continue revitalizing homes and helping new homeowners achieve their dreams.
If you’d like to help the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors meet these needs, you can mail donations to 300 Fountain Avenue, Paducah, KY 42001.
If you or an organization you are a part of would like to volunteer your time to help the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors with much-needed repairs for existing homeowners, please visit www.PaducahAllianceofNeighbors.com or email PaducahAllianceofNeighbors@gmail.com.
If you know of someone who would benefit from services from the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors, applications are simple to complete and can be found at www.PaducahAllianceofNeighbors.com.
The Dream Lives On
“Imagine a Paducah without the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors,” says Matthew Turley, CFSB Loan Officer.
“You’d likely see entire neighborhoods of homes in disarray occupied by unhappy residents. The Alliance’s work in revitalizing what once were failing neighborhoods has transformed not only the way the neighborhoods look but also the quality of life for the neighbors who reside there. When residents have stabilized safe homes, they are happier, and that mindset will radiate throughout our entire community.”
Thanks to the generosity of CFSB and FNB, who work every day to help our community reach its goals, VUE Magazine has had the special privilege of sharing with you the amazing work that the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors is doing to meet the myriad of housing needs most impacting our community. Through the journey, it’s been most rewarding to hear from our actual neighbors, who have said things like:
“It’s something I could have never done on my own.”
“In the world we are living in today, you don’t find very many people that will help a stranger, and that meant the world to me.”
“To some people, it might not mean much, but to me, it means a lot.”
“I couldn’t afford it, so I was super grateful.”
“For me, the fact that my community is gathering to help and support a hard-working mother who just wants the best for herself, it’s a blessing, is what I would say.”
“I’m looking forward to having our own place together and being able to call it a home.”
“It’s hard being a single parent, and I don’t have much help. To have help to achieve my goal, I’m very grateful.”
The work that the Paducah Alliance of Neighbors is doing is far from over. And, fortunately for us, we’ll never have to imagine a Paducah without the organization or the people who make it their daily mission to lift our community, one neighborhood at a time, one home at a time, and one family at a time.
