MISSION STATEMENT:
Housing Our Communities' mission is to strengthen families, neighborhoods and communities through quality housing.
VALUES STATEMENT:
OUR VISION:
Housing Our Communities is committed to changing lives by creating strong communities that residents are proud to call home, where families and individuals:
Incorporated in 1988, Housing Our Communities formerly known as Housing For Mesa, is the oldest, non-profit developer of affordable housing in the eastern portion of Maricopa County. Since program inception Housing Our Communities has administered over 60 contracts from federal, state, county and local sources, totaling nearly $11.5 million dollars in public funding for affordable housing development and/or down payment assistance. Housing Our communities has successfully administered an additional 27 homebuyer education and housing counseling contracts through the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), The City of Mesa and Save the Family.
To date, Housing Our Communities has provided affordable housing information and referrals for over 29,000 clients, homebuyer education for almost 2,900 clients, individual counseling for more than 3,900 clients, post-purchase education and counseling for 450 clients, and financial literacy classes for over 850 families. These services have resulted in more than 1,400 families securing affordable first-time homeownership. We have made the units affordable for the first-time homebuyers by providing more than $4 million in down payment assistance. Over 99% of households that have purchased through us successfully maintain homeownership at an affordable level (which we attribute to the quality of our education and counseling program). Housing Our Communities requires all staff counselors be certified through Neighborworks Training Institute or by the National Council of La Raza Homeownership Network. We recruit bilingual, bicultural staff reflective of the neighborhood composition of our service areas.
The Board of Housing Our Communities is comprised of HFM homeowners and representatives from the fields of real estate, architecture, banking and education. The Board is committed to expanding homeownership opportunities to low-income families and individuals, with an emphasis on outreach to the minority community.
Maria Thurman
Chairperson
Feb/1997
Henry Martinez
Vice Chairperson
June/2005Cheryl Barkes
Secretary/Treasurer
Aug/2003
Tim Ryan
Oct/2003
Mark Feliz
Mar/1998
Consuelo Alvarado
June/2005
Massiel Hernandez
May/2006
John Kapeliela
May/2006Moises Mota
Feb/2006David Dunlevy
Feb/2007
Sam Cioffi
Feb/2007
John R. Smith - President & CEO
John has been with us since 1988, originally on the Board of Directors and then in 1992 on staff as CFO. He became Executive Director in 1996. Prior to working for this organization, he taught in the Mesa Public School system for 20 years.
Burt Neal - Property Development Director
Burt is responsible for all aspects of our property division at Housing Our Communities and Housing For Nevada. He is a certified home inspector and provides needed acquisition and rehab oversight for all properties as well as development of new projects. He also oversees all new construction and development projects in Arizona/Nevada.
Jeanne Vega - Asset Management Director
Jeanne is currently managing all assets for HOC as well as all development projects in Arizona, Nevada, and expansion states. With Jeanne's multi-faceted non-profit experience, she has changed the face of HOC and has brought the organization to a place of growth and expansion.
Stacy Neal - Program Development Director
Stacy started with HOC in 1996. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Arizona State University. Stacy has a Certificate of Professional Recognition in Housing Counseling from Neighborworks America. She is the point person on all grant writing and development activities for HOC and HFN, as well as grant compliance and reporting.
Brenda Lopez - Counseling and Education Director
Brenda is the director for the education and counseling department and provides bilingual counseling assistance to our Spanish speaking clients. Brenda has a Certificate of Professional Recognition in Housing Counseling from Neighborworks America as well as her certification in Homebuyer Education. She reaches out to the community by participating in local events and outreach activities to create housing awareness.
Graciela Hernandez - Bilingual Housing Counselor
Graciela joined HOC to assist with housing counseling in all offices. She came to us after years in the mortgage industry and we are so thankful to have her expertise on our team.
Jessica Bencomo - Client Services Coordinator
Jessica provides bilingual assistance to the staff and HOC clients in all communities served. She provides the first contact with our clients and provides them with housing resources necessary for long term stability.
Lauren Vega - Property Development Assistant
Lauren joined the HOC team as an intern to assist with marketing, technology, and property development. Lauren currently assists in the Property Development Department and coordinates real estate transactions and rehabilitation to properties.
Jimmy Bencomo - High School Intern
Jimmy is assisting in front office tasks, client assistance, and homebuyer education. His assistance to our front office staff has really helped with staff growth and expansion of programs.
Tina Sanchez- Director of Nevada Programs
Tina provides the management of the counseling and education programs for HFN as well as one-on-one housing counseling for Spanish and English speaking clients in Nevada. Tina has a Certificate of Professional Recognition in Housing Counseling from Neighborworks America as well as a certificate in Homebuyer Education.Heather Sanchez- Housing Counselor/Program Development Specialist
Heather provides one-on-one housing counseling for clients in Nevada. She is also involved in grant writing and fund development for HFN.
Teresa Torres- Bilingual Housing Counselor
Teresa provides bilingual housing counseling for clients in Nevada. Teresa is also a certified Foreclosure Prevention counselor.
Irene Bernal - Program Specialist/Outreach Coordinator
Irene provides bilingual assistance to the staff and provides the first contact with our clients. She is also a certified housing counselor and coordinates outreach and marketing activities.