Cincinnati Children's Empowers Employees
New Home Ownership Program
CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has established a Home Ownership Club to help employees achieve the goal of becoming a homeowner.
The club includes a loan from the medical center to help with closing costs and unexpected expenses. If a home is purchased in one of six neighborhoods near the medical center, and the employee agrees to stay with Cincinnati Children's for five years, the loan from the medical center is forgiven.
"We want to empower employees who think that home ownership isn't financially viable," says Emory Livers, director of Diversity at Cincinnati Children's, who devised the program. "We see this program benefiting employees, benefiting the medical center in reduced employee turnover, and benefiting these neighborhoods through the stability that home ownership brings."
When employees sign up for the program, they enroll in home ownership classes, which are offered at Cincinnati Children's and include information on how to save money, pay bills and improve credit. Cincinnati Children's helps with finding a real estate agent and navigating the purchasing process.
"It's a miracle," says Darling Thompson, a cook in Food Services at Cincinnati Children's who purchased a home with the help of the program. "The Home Ownership Club helped me understand things you need to through in purchasing a home and got me through the home-buying process.
The program is a collaborative effort between Cincinnati Children's and Greater Cincinnati Mortgage Counseling. The PNC Foundation provided initial matching funds.
The six neighborhoods are Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, Evanston, Mt. Auburn and Walnut Hills. Employees can participate in the program without buying a home in one of those neighborhoods, but they must buy in those neighborhoods to have the loan forgiven. So far, 16 employees are in the program.
The entire process, from signing up for the program to moving in to a home, is expected to average a year to 18 months, although many will complete the process quicker, according to Mr. Livers.
Contact Information
Jim Feuer,
jfeuer@chmcc.org, 513-636-4646
