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WTVM CH. 9: June 8, 2004 $100,000 Helping Home Buyers Columbus Housing Initiative If you have a dream of buying your first home and need some help, there's good news. Monday morning, Congressman Sanford Bishop and a national non-profit organization gave the Columbus Housing Initiative a check for a $100,000. James Moore used to live in a small apartment, but started buying a 3-bedroom home a month ago. The AFLAC security guard got help from the Columbus Housing Initiative, a non-profit group, and believes more money for this program will help give more people a sense of worth. "I like the neighborhood, surroundings. I like owning my own home, instead of renting, where I'm paying someone else and putting it in their pocket. I can have something for me later down the line," Moore said. After the check presentation, leaders released balloons as a symbol of hope. Congressman Sanford Bishop of Georgia said, "Homeownership is the bedrock of the American dream. This community is being revitalized. It has been a community taht has had homeowners over the years, but we're now going to new levels." He's talking about newer homes and development, planned for the future of Columbus. $75,000 of the federal money will be for downpayment assistance and home repairs. The other $25,000 is for three programs - filming for the East Wynnton history project; revitalization of the East Highland neighborhood; and "home save" accounts, where people put money in and get matching funds for closing costs. CHI is not required to spend the money a certain way. "They do not come with a lot of strings attached. We come and visit every three years, give them a report card," said Margo Kelly of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, who gave the money to Columbus and gives organizations nationwide more than $100 million per year. To help more low to moderate-income families in the future, the Columbus Housing Initiative can apply for competitive loans like this, every year. -by Jason Dennis |
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A proposal that would provide tobacco farmers with a $9.6 billion buyout in exchange for them dropping a federal quota program that has propped up the price of the crop since the Great Depression would be an "economic shot in the arm" for hard-pressed tobacco growing communities, U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop said.
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