Neighborworks: Creating Equitable Housing Solutions While Advocating for Generational Wealth and Urban Development.

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: [00:00:00] The people that came through that said, I came through your foreclosure prevention, and I was able to negotiate a way to be able to maintain ownership of my home. One on one housing counseling to get answers to the questions that you didn't even know to ask, right? We're here to be your advocate and get the resources that you need to accomplish the goals that you have, whether it's to maintain your home, whether or not it's to become a homeowner.

Those stories are why we do what we do. I'm

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Thanks. Can you imagine losing your family home to foreclosure that was handed down from grandparents to parents? Simply because you didn't understand the details of what was necessary to maintain the home. Or, what if you've never been able to afford a home? What if your family's never had a home? How do you build generational wealth?

My guest today speaks specifically to how families can begin that journey. The journey to homeownership through understanding the steps and the process necessary. I'm talking with Loretta Kazimir Mahoney, a U. S. Navy veteran with over 20 years of [00:03:00] experience in mortgage lending, and she is now the CEO and President of NeighborWorks.

NeighborWorks is an organization that focuses on building healthy, sustainable, and equitable neighborhoods by partnering with underserved communities through education, housing development, empowerment, and advocacy. They provide comprehensive community development resources including residential and commercial lending, construction, loan servicing, and housing counseling.

I think you'll be amazed at not only the scope of what NeighborWorks does in our neighborhoods, but the vision going forward. Let's get started. Loretta Casimir Mahoney, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Thank you. Thanks for having me. 

Jeff Holden: I am excited to hear what you've got to say because, well, you had a lot of education for a lot of people here.

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: I'm excited to be here. 

Jeff Holden: I can't help but start with a little more about your journey that got you to CEO and President of NeighborWorks. You were in the U. S. Navy with a goal to be on the legal side as a judge [00:04:00] advocate general. How on earth did you end up in real estate and mortgage? It's 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: really kind of simple.

It's all about the money, follow the money. And even though like a lot of young people, I grew up watching all the courtroom dramas and thought I'd be my own version of Perry Mason or Johnny Cochran. Not 

Jeff Holden: Judge Judy. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: No , but when it really came down to it, it was the debt. All of my friends that were attorneys or judges at the time were strapped with student loan debt, and even though I would've had some advantages with being in the military, I still would've had some level of debt and it just wasn't something that I was interested in taking on.

So, I wound up building my first home at 21, 22, the time runs together, and got into mortgage and real estate finance shortly after that. And it's been a very long 20 plus years. 

Jeff Holden: Was it 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: here in 

Jeff Holden: Sacramento 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: that it all originated and grew? It did. I bought my first home in Elk Grove. Okay. And my mom's friend from dental school at the time had just started a mortgage company and she reached [00:05:00] out and said, you know, I really think that you would be good in real estate finance.

And I thought, well, I was an English major. I don't want anything to do with calculating things. And she suggested that I just let my new neighbors know that I was in the industry and that I could help them with refinancing their homes. And I went to my computer and drafted a little letter and took it door to door to my neighbors.

And by the time I got back home, my first neighbor said they wanted to refinance. And three weeks later, the rest is history. 

Jeff Holden: Oh my gosh, that's, that's an amazing entry into the, you know, the real estate field at such a young age on top of it. And you enjoyed it, I would imagine. I 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: did. I did realize very early on that.

I had come from corporate sales by this point and I felt like I could sell anything but it had to be something that I believed in. And in mortgage, I was simply selling me and establishing a foundational level of trust with people. And I felt like I could always sell me because I wouldn't let me down.

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: So making that the baseline for how I built my business. [00:06:00] you feed them when they are hungry, they will remember you when they are not. That I would always run a referral based business. And I was lucky to do that. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. What a perfect segue into NeighborWorks. So you got involved with the organization in 2013 as a board member, stayed engaged, board president in 2020, And now you are the president and CEO.

How does that transition happen? Wow. I mean, I'm 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: still asking myself that question almost two years later, but I think me joining the board originally was simply about giving back, right? Understanding from the other side, I knew what it was like to um, help people acquire homes on the mortgage side of things or on the real estate side of things.

But I wanted to understand what it looked like on the other side of people who had aspirations, but weren't at the level of reaching me right. Ready to put it across the finish line. And so in serving the board for 10 years, I got an inside look into that. into what NeighborWorks does, what the foundational goal is in helping homeowners, helping individuals to [00:07:00] become homeowners.

I'd never imagined that I would be their CEO. They had a long tenured CEO for over 25 years and like many organizations, that transitional period between a long tenured person and someone new coming in, the organization struggled a bit. And I was on that hiring committee for that replacement person and we did a nationwide search and I think we had the best of intentions and thinking of what the organization needed to serve the community.

And then COVID hit and that CEO, you know, experienced all of the changes and influx of changes that happened during then. And, um, I had semi retired right around this time and I had been in Southeast Asia for about nine weeks when the board, you know, ultimately made the decision that they wanted to pursue me being the CEO and I was in Singapore when I got the call.

And I would be lying if I said I wasn't reluctant, but not for the reasons that people would think on the surface. It wasn't about the work because no one's going to outwork me. That's never going to be the issue. It's really about, I didn't want to let anyone down. Right. And I really wanted to [00:08:00] make sure that I could impact change.

And so in contemplating whether or not it was the best fit for my family, those discussions narrowed down to two questions. And the first question was, could I leave it better than I found it? And was I ready to acknowledge the fact that too much is given, much is required? And in how I answered those two questions, it led me to now being their CEO for two years in November.

Jeff Holden: And in terms of those two questions, are you finding the answer yes to both? 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: I would definitely say yes to both. I don't think that I would have taken on the challenge if I didn't think that I could leave it better than I found it. I think I was naive in understanding What it looked like because what you experience on the governance side and the board looks completely different from operations.

Yes. And I thought I had a better grasp of how the organization functioned from governance, but peeling the layers back on the operation side was like, Oh, okay. So leaving it better than I found it? Absolutely. I, Approach the journey in this way, in that I'm not here [00:09:00] to reinvent anything, it's the restoration project.

I want to restore the best of NeighborWorks Sacramento, right, and expand upon that. It's, I say I'm not here to reinvent the wheel, I want to take the wheel that has been here and make it roll faster and more efficiently. 

Jeff Holden: And I had the opportunity to visit the facility and I can see your handprint all over it.

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Definitely. From detail, decoration and artwork and murals and rooms and offices, which is an in depth president and CEO. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes, 

Jeff Holden: definitely. So let's talk a little bit about the organization. 36 years serving the region, a billion dollars in assets. That's a lot of equity in the community. 35 million dollars in lending and over 40, 000 residents served.

So helping Sacramento's 40, 000 people. That's impact. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes. I 

Jeff Holden: mean, that's, that's a big deal. For those who don't know what it is you provide the community, would you walk us through the day to [00:10:00] day, the nuts and bolts of the organization before we get into the big picture of where you're going with it?

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Absolutely. There are a lot of people who don't quite know NeighborWorks. I think that most people's introduction to NeighborWorks would have been the Lyft program. Where there was funding, roughly 000 and a bunch of people went to Cal Expo and they signed up to get the grant funding to purchase their first home.

That is most people's introduction or memory or understanding of NeighborWorks Sacramento. But at its core, NeighborWorks is all about homeownership and housing sustainability. And the bedrock of that is our Housing Counseling Center, which is counseling, one on one counseling. That is free to the consumer.

They can come in for pre purchase, post purchase, rental education, and foreclosure prevention. That's the bedrock of what we do, right? And I think that my approach to taking over NeighborWorks is looking at NeighborWorks as a stool with four legs. I think for a long time it's operated as a stool with two legs.

It's been sustaining, but it may have teeter tottered back and [00:11:00] forth. Exactly. But for me, the four legs look this way. The education piece has been first in NeighborWorks, but for me it now has to be the community engagement. Coming from mortgage and real estate finance, I understand the baseline is trust and you establish that trust through community engagement.

So our Dorothy Make Good Deeds Day, which is where we go into the community and we, Help those underserved and disenfranchised and some deferred maintenance and things of that nature. We do that once a year. I introduced that last year was our first time doing that. And then this year we had our first housing education and resource fair.

So those community engagement pieces are the one leg. That's where we establish the baseline understanding of what we do with the community and build the trust, right? They get to know who we are through that. Then from there, they come in for the education piece through housing counseling. And then the next piece of that is the homeownership piece, right?

How do we walk you across the finish line to either homeownership or sustainable living through rentals that are affordable, equitable, right? Which is 

Jeff Holden: what I was just going [00:12:00] to ask. So it's not just homeownership. It could be rentals as well. Get a comprehension and understanding of what is required. Do I need insurance?

Absolutely. I have to, this, this, this down payment thing. What's that all about? Totally. Okay. And I 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: think on the rental component, everyone in California is not going to own. And I think a lot of people are afraid to have that discussion. People aren't going to own for many reasons. It could be that you have witnessed your Parents struggle through the crash of 08 and you have some fear around what it looks like to be a homeowner or you just want to be a person that travels the world and you want to be an Airbnb type person.

There's all different reasons why people in California may not own, but just because you're not going to own doesn't mean you shouldn't be entitled to sustainable and equitable living, right? A place that you can afford. So I am focused on both the homeownership piece, but on the equitable and sustainable living piece.

So that's Leg three, right? The fourth piece that I think is new in NeighborWorks approach to how we serve the community is the legacy piece. I was always taught that it's never what you earn, it's what you keep. And I think [00:13:00] that there's a big misconception in that our goal is to just create homeowners.

If we are just creating homeowners and we aren't teaching them how to maintain the home and keep it for generational wealth and legacy building. 

Jeff Holden: Thank you. You took the words right out of my mouth. I said, so we're now. working into that generational wealth. Absolutely. So we can change some of those cycles of, of poverty and neighborhood sustainability.

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Absolutely. And you cannot do that without understanding what legacy really means and how to maintain it. And I think that if I really think about the most impactful things that I experienced as a mortgage professional, it's the phone call that I've gotten that grandma's died and there was no will and there was no estate plan and there was no plan for that family to maintain that.

potential generational wealth and legacy building. So the legacy summit that I intend to introduce in 2025 is that fourth leg of the stool, which I think is the most important. Education is the bedrock, but the legacy piece is what makes it all work. 

Jeff Holden: Well, keeping it so important. You don't want to lose it into probate and then somebody else [00:14:00] takes advantage of it.

And next thing you know, you're back to square one. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: It's wealth lost for families. Probate means wealth 

Jeff Holden: lost. You are not only a mortgage provider. And I want you to explain that in a second, but you also have the potential to be a developer. So let's talk about the. value and the mortgage proposition to somebody who is going through NeighborWorks because you do fund.

We do fund. So you not only fund mortgages, but you also are getting into the development space. Yes. Let's, let's start with that funding mortgages piece. What does that look like? 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: So in addition to being a lender that can assist with second mortgages through various banking products, we have the ability to lend on a first mortgage capacity if we have the funding for it.

Well, we're also C-D-F-I-A community development financial institution, which means that we can operate like a bank, right? With our funding partners, we can develop our own loan products and things of that nature that will allow us to assist in the development portion of building a property to be [00:15:00] able to build to purchase.

Jeff Holden: So one stop. Somebody can come in and get everything accomplished from start of education, understanding, execution, paperwork, mortgage, all of it. We can do it all. That's amazing. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Now, traditionally in the past, NeighborWorks has been focused on USDA self help building. That's what we've done the majority of, but there's a rural component to that that's not going to fit everyone, right?

That's looking to build or to be a homeowner and rehab properties is what we did a lot of, you know, going and getting a home that needs a lot of work and fixing that up and selling it to the community at a good rate, good market rate. But I am looking to expand upon that for sure. 

Jeff Holden: So there's a little bit in it for NeighborWorks.

Yes. But a lot in it for the individuals who buy it because they're getting at it at a fair market rate. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that in a sustainable 

Jeff Holden: winning solution, everyone wins a little. And the more that happens. The more there is for everybody. Absolutely. Yeah. I totally agree with that space.

A lot doing a little is much more impactful [00:16:00] than a few doing a lot. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Absolutely. And to point back to my life in, in mortgage and real estate finance, I think part of my success was that understanding that I wasn't going to retire off of every transaction. It doesn't have to be a home run, right? Just went a little on every transaction and it's sustainable.

Jeff Holden: Tell me now about some of the bigger picture stuff that you get involved with in terms of the potential to do development, not just a house here and a house there or a few houses in a community for those who are able to get into the mortgages. What does that look like from a standpoint of a bigger picture?

So 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: going back to my stool with the four legs, that third leg that was walking across the finish line to home ownership, that leg has been reliant upon us. Educating the consumer, preparing them for, you know, being a good renter or being a homeowner, and then sending them out into the free market and saying, good luck with the availability of homes, right?

Here you go. Right. And so I thought, well, how can I shore up that third leg specifically? And that is the [00:17:00] development piece. So I am focused on bringing about a larger development to the community that is a mixed use development. I think one thing that we recognize from the experience in COVID is that we're not going We want to do everything we can in the communities that we live in.

I want to be able to get a sandwich there. I want to be able to get a cup of coffee there. I want to be entertained there. I don't want to have to live in an area and go outside of it to get all of my needs met. So the mixed use build for me at NeighborWorks is the next phase of where we're headed. 

Jeff Holden: That to me is incredibly exciting because you have the envelope and you have the access to resource to do this and you have the familiarity with the neighborhoods to say, okay, this should work.

You're actually going to tackle building the mixed use facility so you could have a 20, unit. Yes. rental property and or condominium owned properties with retail on the bottom, etc, etc. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: So my idea of mixed use looks like this. Number one, there's the parking because that's always the thing people [00:18:00] forget about.

That's the baseline for me. And then there's the retail portion of it. And then there's the mix of ownership. And rental within that mixed use. We want to teach the renter to be a good steward as a renter and segue them into homeownership with our offerings. So mixed use for me combines all 

Jeff Holden: of those. Not unlike a retirement center that says come in at 55 and at 65.

And the next thing you know, you've got care. Absolutely. You go all the way through the, uh, the mechanism. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Absolutely. 

Jeff Holden: I love that. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yeah, me too. 

Jeff Holden: Well, it starts people on the right path. Step. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes. And not only that. You get to see it. If you can see it, you can envision having it. Imagine living in a mixed use community and you're the renter and you're interacting with people who are the homeowner, who are going to move on to their next phase, their next purchase.

It's more attainable to you because it's within reach of where you live every day. 

Jeff Holden: So do you see the opportunity, you come in as a renter to a multi unit facility, mixed use building. Yes. That tenant then becomes. [00:19:00] An owner. Yes. At some point. Mm hmm. And it's a condo. It may be a studio. It may be one small two bedroom.

Then they say time for kids, time for family, time for house. Mm 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: hmm. 

Jeff Holden: You can then transition them to? 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: The next phase, right? Which is maybe a single family in the suburb. The subdivision that you're going to build, right? Yes, exactly. Thank you. That's the next phase for sure. Definitely. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. That's, that's great.

a fabulous vision. I think that puts it into perspective now of the progression that people can have by proper execution. Absolutely. And understanding. We'll continue with Loretta Kazimir Mahoney of NeighborWorks to learn more about where the money comes from to finance these projects right after we hear from the people who make this program possible.

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com. Now more on the continuing story of housing with Loretta Kasmir Mahoney. How are you funded? 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: This 

Jeff Holden: takes some money. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Definitely. It all takes money. It always comes back to money. So we have both federal and state funding and corporate donations and grants. That's how we're funded. What's the budget? So our annual budget is roughly two million, but it's been a tough year for nonprofits for sure.

I think it's extremely competitive, especially in [00:22:00] an election year. So in this restoration phase for NeighborWorks, we've really been focused on laying the foundation for To be in a position to be competitive, to earn the funding needed to serve the communities most in need. 

Jeff Holden: I would imagine with the vision that we're talking about today, there will be lending resources that will come your way too.

Because of your familiarity. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Absolutely. You're not 

Jeff Holden: just a developer. You're a developer that's had a long history in the, in the community with trust from the people in the space that we're looking to build for. Absolutely. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: We're not the new kid on the block. Right. We're just reintroducing ourselves.

Jeff Holden: Right. You've got money. You've got your people, but one of the things that you talked about was building trust. And that trust probably comes from collaboration with a variety of different organizations. Who do you find yourself working with? I think the list is probably too 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: long to name them all, but I will tell you this, it takes a village, right?

I don't think that any non profit can do the work that we do [00:23:00] without collaboration. And there's sometimes this scarcity mindset associated with a non profit where it feels like we're competing. And at NeighborWorks, I'm really focused on the baseline being there's abundance. There's enough for all of us to eat, right?

To contribute. And so our non profit partners, whether it be ARI. Which is ARI. Asian Resources. Thank you. Who's in our building. That's one of our great partners. They do a lot of great work in the community. Chambers? Oh, yes. Yes, the Sacramento Chamber, Sacramento Association of Realtors. We're in partnership with a lot of people that are like minded in our goal to put a dent in sustainable and equitable living.

Jeff Holden: Do you find, because of the neighborhoods that you're in, the places where you're developing and changing the dynamic of the neighborhood, that there's an interest from the retail sector and or even law enforcement, whether they're doing everything they can to support and promote? 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Absolutely. I think that We all have a baseline understanding that it takes us all, [00:24:00] right?

We all need to work in collaboration. I think that law enforcement, in particular, where our headquarters is in Oak Park, they've been really understanding and what we need from them to best serve the community. There's a lot of unhoused neighbors that we have in the area. So, we've been working with, you know, the city, with law enforcement, with our other non profit partners.

I think that us working in collaboration is the only thing that's going to make it go. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, I totally agree. And we see that to your point of abundance. One of the opportunities we get is by these conversations somebody may say something. It's like well, are you familiar with yes, and Shockingly, sometimes, no, the answer is no.

It's like, well, you need to talk to these people because you're in the same space. You're duplicating some of your efforts. And we're stronger 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: together. 

Jeff Holden: Totally. We can 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: get 

Jeff Holden: further together. You have a couple of new things that you're doing in your own facility that are neighborhood based for the benefit of the community in that geographic area.

Housed and access. Yes. What are they? I see you smiling because I know those are new. Those are, that was, I could see it when we [00:25:00] walked 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: through the building. Yes, those are new. So I'll start with how it was born. We own our building there at Hanford on Broadway. And we had a long term tenant that had been there for many, many years.

And like a lot of organizations or companies or what have you, they went remote, right? During COVID and we were left with a space downstairs and it was a matter of do I just re rent it out to another long term tenant or do I really use the opportunity to tackle a need in the community? And one thing that we recognized is that group counseling sessions were a good way for us to educate a lot of people at a, at one time, right?

But I wanted to create an environment where it was comfortable for the people to come and get the education that they needed. So Housed was born from that. Housed was designed to feel like you're coming into our home, we're sitting down at our kitchen table, and we're talking to you about all things home ownership and housing sustainability.

That's house. That's one of our spaces. The other space is access. So access is our space that is our business incubation space where we are able to help small businesses, other nonprofits. A lot of people started [00:26:00] businesses during COVID out of necessity, right? And they wound up being wildly successful businesses and they've outgrown doing them in their living rooms.

And they just need a little bit of a storefront, kind of an office space. So we have five individual offices in access. Almost like a coworking space. Exactly. A coworking space. We have five individual offices that can be rented. We have one that's like a day use if you just need to come in from the, for the day.

We have a conference space that you could utilize for a meeting, something where you need to look a little bit more official. And then we have the individual offices. But in addition to that, we also have a hundred PO boxes. Because you live in the neighborhood, you need an official address that you don't want to attach to your home.

And so we have the hundred PO boxes as well and a print station because print cost has gotten expensive. It used to be like a dime to, you know, make a print and now it's a dollar. So we have old school vintage pricing right at Access. So Access is our way of giving back to the business community, the startups, the other nonprofits and making success accessible to them through our Access 

Jeff Holden: building.

What a great [00:27:00] incubator right in the neighborhood. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Next to your mixed use development down the street from your subdivision. Yes. I, I love that. I love it. I can visualize where it can go, you know, just in so many different ways. Money no object. Mm 

Scott Thomas: hmm. 

Jeff Holden: If you had an unlimited budget. I know, right? Mm hmm.

What would it look like? What would NeighborWorks be doing? Vision and action be wow, that's 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: that's lofty. But yes, I like that. If money were no object, I would say we would be front of mind. It would be the first place that you think of when you think of all things, homeownership and housing sustainability.

When you think of financial literacy and education, we would be able to fund All of our projects, all of the ways that we'd want to give back to the community and to be in service, we'd be able to do it all. We'd be able to build those communities, the mixed use, the single family residence developments, money being no object, every idea that I've had over the last year and a half, they'd all come to fruition a lot faster.

Jeff Holden: When it's the first thing I noticed when we [00:28:00] initially met for the discovery conversation was she's thinking big, big, big, much differently than execution of necessity. Well let's get beyond that. That's, that's the given. Yes. Let's go beyond that. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes. I'm playing the long game for sure. I want to leave it better than I found it and I want to leave my legacy and my mark when I'm gone.

Jeff Holden: Now let's get back to reality. What is the biggest need? What's the biggest issue you're faced with right now that you want people to understand? This is, you know, It's critical, it's the essence of what we really need to do. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: For me, I think the biggest thing is the understanding that I get coming from the Bay Area, right, that I think Sacramento is just starting to learn, and that is when the land is gone, the land is gone.

And how we strategically develop whether we begin to look a little bit more like San Francisco and our sky builds that have to go up or we start to adapt a little bit more to what New York does with the co op feeling. It's just the understanding that [00:29:00] what we've always done isn't going to work moving forward.

It's getting people to understand and to change minds. We can still be that small cow town feel that we love about Sacramento, but in order for us to impact change and to put a dent in the lack of equitable living, we have to be willing to turn the page and understand that it can look different and still be familiar.

Jeff Holden: Well, the beauty of COVID, if we look at a bright spot, it opened a lot of people's eyes to Sacramento. 

Scott Thomas: Yes. And 

Jeff Holden: they said, wow, this is a livable alternative. 

Scott Thomas: Mm hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And. Maybe we can bring some of those big city ideas here and we can start to get them implemented in a positive way. Because we want the good stuff that the incoming people are bringing and they're coming from major cities in California.

They don't want to leave the state. And they found, wow, this isn't all that bad. And as we speak, the former Oakland A's are playing their last game soon to be. playing in Sacramento. Absolutely. Which really puts us on a different stage. And that's [00:30:00] in an area that is so developable. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And we're seeing what's happening.

That's the encouraging thing, especially when we think that's downtown. That's not far from

And it's how 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: do you accomplish all that in the face of functional obsolescence? We have to do it in a way that we are preparing for the capacity building. Having built my first home in Elk Grove, I understand what it looks like to build something and not necessarily anticipate what the future looks like.

There's a big difference when you look at how Roseville was set up versus an Elk Grove. It's how do we as a city prepare and think about capacity building on a real level and understanding what all the potential is. For 

Jeff Holden: And we see that taking place in Folsom as well. Absolutely. So we've got the, you know, the North, the South and the East, you know, the West is the water.

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Yes. We have 

Jeff Holden: such opportunity on the riverfront that I totally agree with you. In terms of the organization itself and the people that you serve, do you have any examples that you might share [00:31:00] that would be helpful? We had a couple come in and did this and this is where we see them. This is, this is what this looked like for them where you hear the feedback from them, the enthusiasm, the excitement for the ability to have gotten into their own place.

Absolutely. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: I'll give you a couple examples. We had our first housing education and resource fair a couple of weeks ago. And, um, Three of the individuals that came through the fair had just counseled, did their pre-purchase counseling with our housing counseling center, and all three of them came just to tell us face to face that they were in escrow.

Jeff Holden: It closed, it's closing. It worked. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: They, they were, yes. They, they were at the finish line, right? Yes. And it started with that education piece, but even bigger for me than that is the people that came through that said, I came through your foreclosure prevention. And I was able to negotiate a way to be able to maintain ownership of my home.

Those stories are why we do what we do, right? That one on one housing counseling to get answers to the questions that you didn't even know to ask, right? We're [00:32:00] here to be your advocate and to help. You get the resources that you need to accomplish the goals that you have, whether it's to maintain your home, whether or not it's to become a homeowner, those sort of stories is what drive us every day.

Jeff Holden: That's where I see the value of even this conversation because people need to know that you exist. Absolutely. The last thing we want to see is somebody who has that generational home, they get a little sideways for whatever reason and the next thing you know it's in jeopardy. Absolutely. And they freeze.

Yes. And they don't know what to do. Panic sets in. It's, 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: well, which one is going to be able to, you know, who's going to qualify? You know, no one has a plan, right? And I think that's why our legacy piece is so important. A lot of people are afraid to have a conversation about what, what life looks like after someone's passed and that estate planning piece that those uncomfortable conversations, if we're willing to have them now, could have lasting effects on families.

Jeff Holden: And you have to appreciate where they could be scary. Absolutely. You don't know. You don't know. You've never been there before. Absolutely. And that's a, that's a challenging thing to have somebody who is an advocate and a space [00:33:00] of comfort where they can come and they can get, you know, proper counseling, proper dialogue, proper direction to do what they need to do.

That's a wonderful asset in the community. Loretta, if somebody's interested in finding the organization, what's the best way for them to reach out? 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: Well, depending on how you like to receive your information, you could start at our website, which is nwsacramento. org. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. The 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: website has been designed to be a user friendly experience for those that may not understand what exactly they're looking for.

It's a good place to start. It's a good place to navigate information. And then if you're not comfortable with that and you like to pick up the phone and have a conversation, you can reach us at 916 422 4222. Call our office and book a one on one appointment, which is free to the consumer. And we'd be happy to help in any way.

Jeff Holden: And I'm going to do that again. 916 452 5356. Yes. Okay. And you're located where? Because you have a public facing office. People can stop in and get materials and [00:34:00] information, set appointments. Yes. Our 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: headquarters is at the corner of Alhambra and Broadway at 2411 Alhambra Boulevard and we are suite 200.

Okay. And 

Jeff Holden: it's, 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: I know 

Jeff Holden: when 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: you walk in, it's impossible 

Jeff Holden: to miss 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: you. You can't miss us. We have a lovely mural of our founding mother, Dorothy May Richardson on the side. Can't miss us. 

Jeff Holden: Excellent. How fortunate we are that our neighborhoods have you for their real estate expertise and experience as well as your familiarity with the greater Sacramento region.

And I mean, Thank you. both you in person as well as NeighborWorks because you come from the space, you know our area, and now you're leading an organization that is influential and instrumental in changing neighborhoods as we know them. You know, when you're moving to build the communities or it's rooted in equity and you benefit the marginalized with all the resources at your disposal and that's Another advantage that we don't see often when it gets to straight lending institutions.

Absolutely. Especially for people who are challenged, whether it even be some financial issues and or particular [00:35:00] neighborhoods, they need the advocacy. They do. Thank you for what you're doing to improve that generational wealth. It's a program that we need to do our part to educate, support, sustain, and help people build equity, not only for themselves but for their families.

Which is, if we could only get everybody to understand the value in doing that and how much different our communities would be. I mean, you know, the pride in the communities, it's pride in ownership, and, and Absolutely. It can change a lot 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: together. And we welcome the opportunity to earn the trust of any individual that comes through our doors for our service.

Jeff Holden: And I see that so much in the building and the people who are there, you know, so willing to welcome people from the neighborhood in and address some of those needs and concerns that they may have. 

Lauretta Casimir-Maahoney: I think in looking at our staff, one thing that was important to me is that anyone that comes through those doors can see themselves identified in somebody that they come across in our building.

Jeff Holden: Isn't that great? Yes. Well, thank you for the commitment. Thank you for the vision of what you've got for NeighborWorks. Thank you for having me. Thanks so much, Loretta. Thank you. for listening to the Nonprofit [00:36:00] Podcast Network. I hope you enjoyed the episode. If what you heard moved you, please reach out to that organization and do what you can to help.

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