A pair of programs that seek to pivot Section 8 tenants into new homeowners are gaining traction, according to Boston Housing Authority officials.
Jennifer Torres on the first-floor porch of the three-decker in the Bowdoin-Geneva area housing the condo unit that she hopes to close on by the end of the month.
Keanna Smith, 34, is one of the latest to take advantage of the grant program. A Section 8 certificate-holder for five years, she learned that she could use her voucher toward a mortgage instead of rent and began looking for a home with the help of housing authority counsellors. Megan Ryan, the housing authority’s director of homeownership and mobility grant programs, said the initiative is one part of Mayor Wu’s attempt to halt displacement of longtime city residents from the neighborhoods.
Smith, who was born and raised in Dorchester, sees the program as a corrective one in a city with a notorious history of redlining Black people. “With the history of Black people owning homes, there were things set up systematically where people weren’t able to get homes and loans,” said Smith. “There was a lot of gatekeeping and blocking and so this right here is a step forward in equality as well.
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