SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington Department of Commerce recently awarded $29 million in grants to help organizations get more people into homes.
And one local organization will receive some of that money.
Take Up the Cause has worked on several projects over the past few years to make housing more affordable in Spokane.
Chauncey Jones, founder of Take Up the Cause, said his grandmother owned a house in this neighborhood, not far from here, which provided him a place to stay when he was younger. Now, he aims to keep the dream of homeownership alive for others in the Spokane community.
Jones now operates Take Up the Cause at the community center in the same East Central neighborhood where he grew up.
The organization is one of seven working together to create the Black Homeownership Spokane Cohort.
The cohort is already assisting 13 people looking to buy homes through down payment assistance and affordable homeownership programs.
With the help of an $809,000 grant, Take Up the Cause will use most of the funds for a new debt pay-down program for Black homeowners in Spokane.
The organization notes that the high debt-to-income ratio in Spokane can be a significant roadblock for prospective homeowners.
“Now, you can be a landlord yourself, or just to be able to have a place you can call home and build generational wealth, if you buy right,” Jones said.
Jones added that all $500,000 allocated to the debt pay-down program must be distributed by the end of June 2025.
For those interested in joining the cohort, visit Take Up the Cause’s website at takeupthecausenw.org.
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