Homeownership for All

Grandmother knows best

When Sanrena Howard was little, her grandmother used to take her on banking errands to Second Federal Savings and Loan (now Self-Help Federal Credit Union) as a way of teaching her financial literacy. Now, as a kindergarten teacher, single mother of a teenager, and a first-time homeowner, Sanrena feels the impact of her grandmother’s teachings. Sanrena had always wanted her own home – especially because she wanted to provide her growing daughter with the sense of a stable, permanent place to live. But on a teacher’s salary, Sanrena had never had the chance to purchase a home, because although she is careful with her finances, saving for a down payment was challenging. When she heard about the Reclaiming Chicago Communities program, she applied. As part of the process, she was given a list of lenders to work with, and when she saw Self-Help on the list, she remembered her grandmother, and it was a no-brainer. Through the Reclaiming Chicago program, and with additional assistance via a Self-Help Equity Boost loan, Sanrena was able to purchase a home.  

At Self-Help, we are honored to participate in the Reclaiming Chicago Communities project and look forward to being able to share more stories of successful home purchases. Included are photos of additional home purchases.

Janay Brooks, also a Reclaiming Chicago Communities homebuyer, pictured with Self-Help Mortgage Loan Officer Virgil Booker.

About reclaiming Chicago communities

For over 43 years, Self-Help has worked to break down the barriers that can prevent underserved communities from accessing the generational wealth-building tool of homeownership. The Reclaiming Chicago Communities initiative is a program breathing new life into Chicago communities impacted by disinvestment.  

Reclaiming Chicago Communities was spearheaded by United Power for Action and Justice in partnership with other key advocacy organizations in Chicago to address community disinvestment through an innovative approach. It is a coalition united to purchase and refurbish homes and parcels throughout targeted areas of Chicago to create homeownership opportunities for members of the community who might not otherwise have been able to purchase a home. The program's objective is to provide homeownership opportunities for Chicago families while addressing decades of disinvestment by replacing vacant buildings with single family homes. 

It is our privilege to participate in the Reclaiming Chicago Communities program, and to provide financing for these homebuyers to experience the stability and wealth-building opportunity created by homeownership. We closed 5 loans in 2023, and anticipate that by mid-2024, less than a year into our involvement in the program, we will have financed 19 of these exciting home purchases.