Way Finders

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL RENTER (workshop alert!) Are you looking for an apartment? It’s competitive out there. With lots of people looking for quality rentals, landlords can be pickier than ever. Learn how to increase your chances of getting the apartment you desire: Come to our free one-day workshop tomorrow (1/28) from 9 am to noon. In this workshop—How to be a Successful Renter—we will cover: - Understanding your credit score and addressing any credit issues. - How to figure out what you can afford - Understanding a rental agreement or lease - How to communicate effectively with a landlord After the workshop, you can schedule a one-on-one meeting with our HUD-certified housing counselors to review your free credit report (valued at $39.99) and talk about your individual goals. Held at our Springfield Housing Center (1780 Main Street). Register here: https://lnkd.in/e6su-gnB

HOLYOKE LEADS HOLYOKE WORKS Hey, Holyoke residents: Exciting opportunity here! Way Finders is offering a new FREE 8-week program designed to help you grow and evolve in all kinds of ways. All of them good! It’s called Holyoke Leads, Holyoke Works. Participants will gain support and confidence to: -manage money -land a job -launch a business -And. So. Much. More. (Like a free Chrome book, to help you stay connected after graduation) Meets two Wednesdays a month in Holyoke starting February 12, from 5 to 7:30 pm. Dinner included. Registration is limited—sign up deadline is January 29! To learn more and register: - Call Anna Cruz at 413-523-3826 - communityengagement@wayfinders.org

What are some common accessibility and safety issues that you or a loved one may face at home? - Difficulty navigating stairs - Unsafe bathrooms - Doorways too narrow for mobility devices Way Finders’ Home Modification Loan Program—a state-funded program that provides 0% interest loans up to $50,000 to homeowners—may help you solve these issues with affordable accessibility modifications. Start your accessibility journey today! Read more here: https://zurl.co/WqUiV

Calling all landlords, current and future! Sign up now for our Landlord Workshop, which offers an overview of basic residential rental property management in Massachusetts, including an intro to the state laws that govern the rental relationship. - Landlord Workshop (virtual Zoom webinar) - Saturday, January 25, from 9 am to 2 pm. - Covers rights + responsibilities of landlords in Massachusetts (tenant screening and relations, lead paint, fair housing, and more) plus available programs and resources. Learn more and register ($119.95—includes a comprehensive property management manual) at https://lnkd.in/eH_4WQYT Note: Satisfies the course requirement for first-time buyers of multi-family homes.

Way Finders’ Housing Centers and offices are closed Monday, January 20, as we honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. The issues he championed—racial justice, economic and employment equality, fair access to safe and affordable housing—still call us to action today. King is well known for his civil rights leadership, but less so for his role in creating the fair housing movement. As a leader of the Chicago Freedom Movement (1965-1967)—which challenged discrimination in employment, education, and housing—King saw how housing discrimination fueled racial injustice. To uncover and document the ways landlords keep neighborhoods segregated, the movement created modern fair housing testing techniques, which are still in use today.

Way Finders is dedicated to helping people overcome barriers to financial stability and prosperity. We are especially skilled at helping people with low to moderate incomes take steps forward in their personal finance journeys. Whether that be toward improved credit or a major purchase (car, home) or away from debt. Join our Credit Success Workshop on Saturday, 1/18, at our Springfield Housing Center from 9 am to 12:30 pm. It’s a mix of financial information + tools + inspiration. Free and open to the public. Reserve your spot today: https://zurl.co/qiiwm

New YEAR. No FEAR! Make 2025 the year you refine your financial routines and reach your goals. At our January Credit Success Workshop, we’ll break down financial stability into actionable tips and steps. For example, learn how to build or establish credit—and avoid illegal practices out there, such as bait-and-switch credit card reward tactics. Understand how to pay down debt the best way possible. Take charge of your budgeting, spending, and savings. Get into a position to make an important investment in your future (car, home, education). Free and open to the public. Held at our Springfield Housing Center on Saturday, January 18, from 9 am to 12:30 pm. Participants can then meet one-on-one with a HUD-certified counselor for more personal guidance and support. You may also receive a free “tri-merge soft-pull” credit report (valued at $39.99). Reserve your spot today: https://zurl.co/LxO7Y

A few days before Christmas, Program Manager II Josean Roldan’s team at a Way Finders’ family shelter program was busy preparing to deliver some extra holiday cheer to the shelter’s 28 families. All in addition to their everyday work—of supporting families and assisting them with their rehousing plans. “We thought it would be nice to do something on the actual holiday. Staff told me that they could be available on Christmas Day, and we started planning.” Read the full story. https://zurl.co/e5Omy

When the Honorable Dina Fein retired in 2021 from the Housing Court, Western Division, she got to work pursuing an idea she’d hatched while presiding over receiverships. What if, she hypothesized, the statute could be changed to allow for easier transfer of blighted properties to a nonprofit that is committed to rehabilitating and selling it affordably to a first-time homebuyer? And it has. The new process that Fein envisioned and made operational—coined “special attorney receivership”—was included in the 2024 Affordable Homes Act and is at the heart of Way Finders’ City of Homes. This pilot turned multi-million-dollar program seeks to repurpose vacant, distressed properties into fully rehabilitated and affordable homes for first-time homebuyers. City of Homes broke ground in October 2024 and expects to offer six homes for sale to qualified buyers selected via a lottery process in early summer 2025. From pilot to program, idea to statute. Read about the making of City of Homes through a conversation with the Honorable Dina Fein (retired). https://zurl.co/MtQmx

Drag those feet, lose that seat! There’s still time to register for Way Finders’ First-time Homebuyer Workshop, held online as a three-part Wednesday evening series: -> January 8, 15, and 22 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm -> $50 per household To register: https://lnkd.in/eH_4WQYT