St. Joseph Housing Initiative

Building fences!  This GiveSTL Day, help SJHI build fences at our three homes being renovated in the Baden neighborhood of North St. Louis.  All funds raised will help purchase supplies, including lumber, hardware, cement and screws to build three fences.  These fences will be built by SJHI volunteers this summer.

ABOUT SJHI:

Mission: As a faith-based organization, our mission is to create vibrant communities through affordable quality housing where low and moderate income families can thrive, prosper and build wealth. 

Program: SJHI homes are completely renovated and sold at an affordable price to low and moderate-income homebuyers who have been pre-qualified and participated in SJHI-sponsored home buying education programs. Our Buyer Support takes many forms:

1.) Home Buyer Education--We co-sponsor classes at Prosperity Connection at the introductory Level, and prior to buying an SJHI Home, we sponsor buyers' attendance at an in-depth workshop offered by Beyond Housing.

2.) SJHI Down Payment Assistance Program--We offer our home buyers $5,000.00 of Down Payment Assistance in the form of a 5-year forgivable loan.

3.) Our Home Renovations--SJHI complete extensive, quality and energy-efficient renovations on our all our homes. Typical renovations include new roof, windows, plumbing, electric, and heating & cooling systems, a prepaid security system, fence, new kitchen, bath, flooring, lighting and appliances. This is to ensure that home buyers are not facing any major unexpected home-related costs in their first 5 years of homeownership.

4.) Partnership with Home Sweet Home-- Each SJHI family can visit the showroom of Home Sweet Home, an organization offering families the opportunity to shop their own selections of new and gently-used household furnishings and household items based on family size and needs, and have their items delivered to their new home on the same day.

5.)First Neighbors Program --Each new homeowner is paired with a team of current community residents facilitated by SJHI, to offer ongoing support and foster community.

Neighborhoods: Our initial focus areas are Dutchtown (13 homes) Carondelet (1 home) and Baden (3 homes). We focus on renovating long-vacant or dilapidated properties. In doing so, we seek to not only positively impact the lives of the individual homebuyers but also the community-at-large. SJHI is dedicated to Community engagement and outreach. We have an amazing team volunteers who help us in a variety of ways, from landscaping, yard overhauls and fence building projects, to painting work days and post-reno home cleanups. Brick by brick, hand in hand, we are building stronger homes, stabler neighborhoods, and a more vibrant, more humane St. Louis.