Richard B., former Blueprints client, single father, and longtime resident of Washington County, Pennsylvania moved out of a local public housing community, Jollick Manor, after five years and purchased a new home in the City of Washington on September 29th, 2017.
Richard was always a hard worker, despite struggling with illness and having a kidney removed in 2008. While living at Jollick Manor, Richard participated in Blueprints’ HUD-funded Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) program. Through ROSS, Blueprints helped Richard to gain employment as a full-time Machine Operator at Pleiger Plastics after he was laid off from his previous employer.
With a long time goal to move out of public housing, Richard was immediately interested in Blueprints’ Home Ownership Center and its Assets for Independence Program. Taking the initiative, he also enrolled himself in financial literacy classes that were not a necessary component of either program. “Richard was a model student,” said Mallory McHugh, supervisor for the Home Ownership Center. “I didn’t even know he went through the standalone financial literacy program until he told me. After he went through the Assets for Independence Program, he was mortgage ready in six months.”
Through the Assets for Independence Program, where his savings could be matched with both federal and local dollars to help him achieve his goal, Richard saved $1,000. Through the Home Ownership Center, he worked with a housing counselor who helped him improve his credit score to obtain a mortgage loan. Richard received almost a $3,750 match through the Assets for Independence Program, which helped with his closing costs and down payment.
“The classes helped me out tremendously because every class I took was another step towards buying the house,” said Richard B. “So that was wonderful. If you don’t know the vocabulary when you’re looking to buy a home, it can be a little tricky. If you go through the Blueprints program, it will make things very easy. I did everything they told me to do and it could’ve been a very rough road. With the help Blueprints gave me, it made everything pretty smooth.”
