On the ownership side of the equation, several neighborhood community development groups already have programs for helping low-income families purchase their own homes. Dozens of new homes have been built a number of older homes renovated. That kind of emphasis on ownership will do more for the city than just provide housing for low-income families. One of the major problems for teachers in urban areas is turnover among the students within a semester or a school year. Families moving from one rental property to another make it a big educational challenge for teachers and school officials who do not see the same children in class by the end of the term.
Home ownership is the key to neighborhood stability and progress.
It also provides a way to avoid the natural landlord-tenant conflicts that wind up in court and allow absentee owners to take advantage of renters. But the burden for opening up ownership opportunities has tended to rest on government and the non-profit sector for many years. In Indianapolis, Habitat for Humanity has played a major part in offering ownership opportunities for families that help volunteers in building their own homes, reducing the monthly mortgage payments to affordable levels. Most of the other ownership programs are built around some kind of government partnership with non-profit charitable organizations. Yet in Pittsburgh, an unusual savings and loan has demonstrated that a business can provide low-cost home ownership opportunities, make a profit do it out of a biblical motivation.