A Maryland-based organization is providing some invaluable support to Black women looking to reach their homeownership goals.
Black Women Build Baltimore, which was founded by carpenter Shelley Halstead, offers resources and support to Black women as they navigate the process of becoming home owners.
The organization primarily focuses on helping Black women learn how to rehabilitate vacant homes in west Baltimore. But the organization’s mission has become an inspiration for Black women around the nation looking to become home owners.
Speaking to WBAL-TV, Halstead said her vision for the organization was sparked a few years ago when she had the idea to rehab a group of vacant homes in west Baltimore.
Halstead was able to convince leaders in the city to halt demolition on the properties and sell her four of the homes for $5000 so she could rehab them.
“I can see why people would think that they should just be torn down, but honestly, they are doable. They are absolutely doable, and people want to live here,” said Halstead, who is also the executive director for Black Women Build Baltimore.
That purchase kicked off the first phase of Black Women Build Baltimore, with Halstead eventually bringing a group of Black women into the fold to help them also learn how to restore vacant homes.
“This is really an investment in their future. Being a homeowner can change the trajectory of what they can do for the rest of their lives,” Halstead said about her program participants.
The BWBB program includes courses through partner organizations that equip participants with tools and resources. They focus on topics like homecare, financial literacy, community building, and how to safely use the tools needed to complete their rehab work.
BWBB also holds info sessions and other programming for potential applicants.
The organization has finished 13 homes and is in the process of completing another 25. There have been a total of nine women who have completed the BWBB program, with the participants purchasing a home that they helped work to restore.