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| Patrick and Lucy Giago |
For the only NeighborWorks America network member focused exclusively on improving housing opportunities for Native Americans, the name change to Native Partnership for Housing (NPH) from Navajo Partnership for Housing was strategic and meaningful.
The strategy behind the name change is to communicate the expansion of service delivery beyond the borders of the Navajo Nation and adjacent communities to members of other native nations in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. When asked to describe NPH’s new market, Rollin Wood, executive director, responded with “Native America!”
When Patrick Giago, who is an Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge (South Dakota), and his wife Lucy, who is Navajo, bought their first home after living in Washington, DC, and Arizona as renters, they found NPH to be a great resource. They were looking for a home, not just a house—where they could retire after a lifelong career working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They found that home with NPH’s help.
Giago describes his new neighborhood as the “Hollywood of the Navajo Nation.” The house is beautiful, in stark contrast to HUD housing, trailers and mobile homes in other parts of the reservation. Giago also credits NPH’s first-time homebuyer classes to his transformation into an astute and well-prepared homeowner. When his brother from Pine Ridge visited Giago in his new home, he asked how he managed to buy such a beautiful home. Giago’s response was “NPH!” Giago also is quick to add that his ability to save for a down payment also helped.
Belinda Hadley, home purchase adviser manager, explains that the name change clearly establishes NPH’s intent to provide financial education, homebuyer training and loans to a broader client base. As a HUD-certified counseling agency and native CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions Fund), NPH has significant opportunities for growth outside its initial Navajo base. Going forward, NPH not only will continue to provide services to Navajo families, but it will also provide services to many other tribes and tribal members throughout the Southwest.
Hadley adds she expects that once the marketing and online homeownership courses are fully implemented, the number of families who complete the homebuyer education course will quadruple to 65 per month.
Considering that most Native Americans live off the reservation, this market is equally important to access. The name change is a step in that direction.
