Karina Urbina bought a house in February.
Before that, she lived in 12 different places, sometimes with strangers, with her eight-year-old son.
“Some of those moves were for survival and safety; some were for sacrifice,” she said.
With help from Media Fellowship House, which is partnered with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, she and her son now have a place they can truly call home.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $10 million in grants under its Homeowner Initiative. This money will go to 23 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies.
Pennsylvania will receive around $479,000 through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
Housing counselors help prospective buyers through the process, before and after purchase, to ensure people remain in their homes.
“I’ve been around long enough to have worked through the financial crisis,” said Matt Heckles, regional administrator for HUD. “And housing counseling agencies were that buffer between families losing their homes and all of the wealth that has been accumulated and their assets.”
Julia Gordon, assistant secretary for housing and the federal housing commissioner at HUD, said the focus of the grant is on reaching people the system isn’t reaching now.
“That means providing counseling that’s culturally sensitive, and that’s linguistically appropriate,” she said. “If English is not your first language … it’s really important that somebody’s helping you navigate the system.”
Funds will be available for pre- and post-purchase counseling.
“Not only can we increase homeownership rates among historically underserved communities, but we can make sure that those homeowners are successful and can sustain and maintain their homes, which is so important,” she said.
Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams, who campaigned on providing affordable housing, praised the funding.
“It’s a new day for the residents of Harrisburg, especially for our homeless population in providing supportive housing and other services,” she said.
Republican Chair for the House Housing and Community Development Committee Rep. Rich Irvin, R-Huntington, was not immediately available for comment.