Homeownership Staff Spotlight: Jeremy Paquette
Jeremy, the Homeownership Program Coordinator, is the first point of contact for anyone looking to become homeowners and homeowners looking to find support. For some that can mean signing them up for one of our monthly Homebuyer Education Workshop, for others it can be explaining the Shared Equity Homeownership model. He may be walking homeowners through the intake process for securing a low-cost loan for their home-repair needs with the Green Mountain Home Repair program, and it can mean navigating crisis situations where homeowners are facing foreclosure and are in great need of support through the Housing Retention Program.
“I’m motivated by this work for the same reason I was attracted to it- it’s making a real impact in my own community.” Jeremy shares. The position is not without challenges, however, “It can be challenging, getting a front-line view of broken systems in America while being an empathetic person.” In the cases where more assistance is required, Jeremy has built a list of referral agencies to point clients to when needs stretch beyond our program capacity and continuously seeks out additional resources to include.
He balances work with enjoying arts across all medias- galleries, books, to movies and gets out hiking, cross-country skiing, and kayaking as much as possible. He jokes saying he used to like taking drives around but that’s become uneconomical and more consumptive than he prefers.
Board Member on Green Mountain Home Repair loan committee: Christina Lively
Christina has been a board member for 4 years. She’s a homeowner of a cozy Morningside Condo through the WWHT shared equity program which she bought 6 years ago this coming December. Being on the board means a lot to Christina- one, she shares, she gets to know all the great people on the board and two, “I have a part in helping people find a home who might not have one or fix up the home they have.”
Christina has served on the Green Mountain Home Repair loan committee for almost the entire time she’s been on the board and she recalls some really impressive projects the program has funded: “Very old, crumbling brick foundations, falling in ceilings, water and roof leaks- fixing all these really big problems. I love that program.”
Christina has been working at the Brattleboro Retreat as the Switchboard Operator for 30 years and, in her free time, enjoys cheering on her grandson who’s a driver in stock car races, going to craft fairs, and taking walks around Brattleboro.
What’s Coming up in the Homeownership Center? BIPOC Homeownership Affinity Group
The Homeowneship Center and Root Social Justice Center have received funding from Key Bank to form a Black, Indigenous, People of Color Homeownership Affinity Group. The affinity group will be a coordinated effort to assist BIPOC families successfully navigate the path to homeownership. In addition to the affinity group, participants will be participating in WWHT’s HUD certified homebuyer education and counseling program with WWHT HUD certified counselors. This will support BIPOC families successfully navigate the difficult process of preparing for and obtaining a mortgage loan, as well as, shopping for and negotiating a purchase & sale contract for a sound and suitable home; which is difficult without facing racism and made very difficult for BIPPOC families who face systemic racism throughout the process. The affinity group will provide a safe place for the participants to process and understand their experiences and provide mutual support to share and learn together.
“The Root Social Justice Center focuses on centering the needs of our Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities. We know that historically and in present day that our communities continue to be impacted by racist policies which keep us out of the housing market,” said Shela Linton, Executive Director of Root Social Justice Center. “If there is opportunity for people of color in the market it is faced with navigating white supremacy culture within white or predominately white groups. The Root is pleased that Windham & Windsor Housing Trust agrees with the need and is willing to partner with The Root to provide BIPOC affinity spaces for home ownership and to be working on initiatives that create safer and more relevant spaces for communities of color in the housing sector.”
