HCV HOMEOWNER MENTOR PROGRAM

The HCV Homeownership Program is considered a special voucher type under the Housing Choice Voucher Program that gives participants the option to use their voucher assistance to purchase rather than lease a home. For homeownership, it truly takes a village inclusive of the real estate community, service providers, and others.

CAFHA's Housing Choice Voucher Leaderboard, a group of HCV holders and housing advocates, envisioned and built an HCV Homeowner Mentor program modeled after the “Community Navigator” or “Promotores” program, where community members receive specialized training to provide peer support, information, and services to their communities. Thanks to the Connecting Capital and Community (3C) Initiative, led by The Chicago Community Trust, and a partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS), and Breakthrough Urban Ministries, an HCV Homeowner Mentor program by and for voucher holders was born.

CAFHA's HCV Homeowner Mentor program is an additional offering for program participants who are already working with a housing counselor to meet their HUD-required training needs. Homeowner Mentors are housing choice voucher holders who have the lived experience of using a voucher to purchase a home of their own. They serve as guides for prospective homeowners and provide one-on-one support throughout the homebuying process by working with their housing counselor counterparts to help participants meet program requirements and set personal goals.

Our current Mentors, selected via CAFHA's HCV Homeowner Fellowship application process, are all experienced homeowners who have successfully purchased their homes through the CHA Choose to Own Program. They are passionate about helping others and dedicated to working with their Mentees to achieve a successful purchase through this specific program. Since the start of the program in October of 2023, five Mentors have been recruited and they have worked with 41 mentees. Of those mentees, 13 mentees (32% of the total enrollees) successfully purchased a home. The remaining mentees are in various phases of the process from working on their credit, to obtaining a pre-approval on a loan, to searching for a home.

An additional component of this program is the Housing Choice Voucher Homeowner’s Club, a place for HCV Homeowners to access trusted resources, helpful recommendations, home maintenance tips, and ways to locate reliable and affordable contractors. The HCV Homeowner Club will host periodic events that include presentations and resources from on-site housing counselors, attorneys, tax experts, and experts on home maintenance and contractors.