How We Can Help

What We Do

What does it mean to be a HUD Certified Organization?

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that organizations providing housing counseling in connection with HUD programs be approved to participate in the national Housing Counseling Program. HUD further states that the organizations’ staff members be certified as well. The certification allows for a gold standard in delivery of housing counseling information. Agency certification involves a multi-step process that focuses on agency capacity, compliance, ethics, and integrity and requires ongoing recertification to ensure that quality standards are upheld. Housing counselor certification requires a significant investment in education and is attained only upon passage of a rigorous written examination.   Certification ensures that NHSIE’s housing counseling staff is well versed in financial management, property maintenance, responsibilities of homeownership and tenancy, fair housing laws and requirements, housing affordability, and avoidance of, and responses to, rental and mortgage delinquency and avoidance of eviction and mortgage default. Our staff’s expertise on these topics allows us to offer individual one-on-one counseling and group education to empower our clients on their housing journey. 

What is NeighborWorks?

  • NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities. Its roots date back to 1968 when Pittsburg, PA resident Dorothy Richardson led neighbors in her Central North Side neighborhood to fight back against community decay. “The solution was not to tear down the whole neighborhood, but to fix the houses,” she said. By 1976, the neighborhood model fostered by Dorothy Richardson had been replicated in 45 cities. Jimmy Carter commented as he signed the bill that officially created the national organization in 1978, “If we are to save our cities, we must revitalize our neighborhoods first. If we are to save our country, we must first give our families and our neighbors a chance.”
  • As a congressionally chartered and funded nonpartisan nonprofit, NeighborWorks America supports organizations that provide communities with affordable housing, financial counseling and coaching, training, and resident engagement, and collaboration in the areas of health, employment, and education.
  • NeighborWorks America works through partnerships, public and private, to drive change at the local level for individuals, families, and communities. They provide the resources, technical support and training that local community development leaders and organizations need to operate at peak efficiency and innovation.
  • The NeighborWorks network today includes more than 240 affiliates operating in urban, suburban, and rural communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This hub and spoke model amplifies the reach of network organizations so that they can empower more individuals and transform more communities than they could on their own.
  • NeighborWorks America is a leading trainer of community development, financial capability, and affordable housing professionals.

How do these things relate to NHSIE?

  • The strength of the community development field and the NeighborWorks network model rests on the understanding that community challenges are best solved at the community level.
  • NeighborWorks supports NHSIE by providing grants, technical assistance, best practice models and linkages to lending and affordable housing national partnerships that have been instrumental in increasing our organization’s sustainability and responsiveness to local needs.
  • NHSIE, as a NeighborWorks affiliated nonprofit, is held to rigorous organizational standards related to our programs, strategic planning, financial management and board governance. This high bar ensures that NHSIE adheres to strict operational guidelines that help safeguard our agency’s assets and maintain a strong focus on our mission.