Home Opportunities Made Easy, Inc. (HOME, Inc.)
Nearly 40 years ago, a group of Des Moines-area citizen concerned about the lack of decent, affordable housing decided to do something about it.
Their efforts resulted in the founding in 1967 of Home Opportunities Made Easy, Inc., which is the oldest private, non-profit housing organization in Des Moines. HOME, Inc., as it is commonly known, develops housing that is affordable to low-income people and provides programs and services to help people improve their housing situation and become self-sufficient.
One of its latest successes was completion of the Capital East Neighborhood Redevelopment Project. Using more than $1.5 million in public and private funds, HOME, Inc., built 10 new homes on a city urban renewal site to create an ethnically and economically diverse neighborhood.
“The 10 new homeowner families—17 adults and 19 children—now have safe, affordable homes located across the street from a new school and near a revitalized commercial district,” says Pam Carmichael, executive director of HOME.
HOME, Inc., uses a lease-purchase model that combines supportive services and acquisition with renovations or rehabilitation and construction of housing to assist low-income families to purchase their own homes. In its nearly 40 years, scores of local residents have had a chance to move from rental properties to home ownership with the help and guidance of HOME, Inc., Carmichael says.
In the past year HOME, Inc. has served:
24 Households (9 of these are new households)
34 Adults (12 are new)
41 Children (8 are new)
Family incomes: Households
9 < 30% MFI ($0-$20,450) (2 of which were $0 income)
6 31-50% MFI (20,451-$34,050)
9 51-80% MFI (34,051-$54,500)
Sources of Income: Households
24 Employment
4 Soc Sec/SSI/SSDI
0 Public Assistance
HOME, Inc.
1111 9th Street, Suite 210
Des Moines, IA 50314
(Phone) 515-243-1277
www.homeincdsm.org/