Coalition of HUD Housing Counseling Intermediaries Launches New Website

By Drew Kessler
The Coalition of HUD Housing Counseling Intermediaries is announcing the launch of their new coalitionforhousing.org website. The purpose of the site is to provide information and resources to consumers and stakeholders on the availability of independent, effective housing counseling, financial coaching and education nationwide. The site will also be a portal for members of the housing counseling community to share expertise and information, inform public policy, build an advocacy infrastructure, and encourage sustainable long-term funding for the nonprofit housing counseling industry.

“Sustainable housing has a myriad of benefits for families and communities, and HUD intermediaries bridge a critical gap in knowledge both homebuyers and renters experience when searching for a home,” said Leah Coldham, co-chair of the Coalition and director of housing counseling programs at Housing Partnership Network, a national business collaborative of affordable housing and community development nonprofits. “Coalition members are laser-focused on empowerment through housing counseling. The new website will allow us to reach more stakeholders, expanding the services we provide.”

Over the last decade, the nation has experienced the catastrophic impact of unprepared homebuyers purchasing homes they cannot afford. At the same time, across the U.S. communities are seeing an unprecedented need for affordable rental housing as vacancy rates reached new lows over the last several years. Since the foreclosure crisis, multiple studies have been released demonstrating the positive impact of housing counseling and education in helping families achieve and sustain their housing goals, creating positive outcomes for households and the communities where they live.

Housing counselors drive these positive outcomes by working with consumers to set and meet financial goals, create individualized action plans and by providing the critical information consumers need to become successful homeowners and renters. The Coalition of HUD Housing Counseling Intermediaries represents about 70% of the housing counseling industry and is comprised of networks of counseling agencies providing these services nationwide through one-on-one, telephone and web based engagement.

The Coalition represents an unprecedented collaboration of the housing counseling industry to advocate public policy and build programs that serve the needs of housing consumers across the nation. With a track record of developing innovative, cross-sector partnerships with the federal government, financial services sector and other nonprofits, the Coalition seeks to create a stable and lasting infrastructure to standardize services, share best-practices, provide access to state of the art resources, and develop real-field collaboration that builds long-term success for the housing counseling industry and ultimately benefits underserved individuals and communities.

Members of the Coalition include: Catholic Charities, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, ClearPoint Financial Solutions, Navicore Solutions, GreenPath, HomeFree-USA, Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, Housing Action Illinois, Homeownership Preservation Foundation, Hope Enterprise Corporation, Housing Opportunities Collaborative, Housing Partnership Network, Minnesota Homeownership Center, Mississippi Homebuyer Education Center Initiative, Mon Valley Initiative, Money Management International, National Association of Real Estate Brokers Investment Division, National Coalition for Asian Pacific, American Community Development, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Council of La Raza, National Council on Aging, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, National Foundation for Credit Counseling, National Urban League, Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, New York Mortgage Coalition, Nueva Esperanza, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management, and United Way of Central Alabama.

Anyone interested in learning more about the coalition and offering support for their work is encouraged to visit http://www.coalitionforhousing.org.

The Coalition of HUD Housing Counseling Intermediaries is a national network of HUD-approved nonprofit organizations that provide housing counseling, education and community reinvestment programs, representing more than 70 percent of the HUD-approved housing counseling that takes place each year. Visit coalitionforhousing.org for more information.

Drew Kessler is Vice President of Marketing & Communications with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author, and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.