Service Enriched Housing clients Jerrod and Iesha James posing at their Habitat for Humanity home construction site.
Service Enriched Housing (SEH) is a residential program designed to help families navigate financial barriers to become homeowners.
The 31 families served by SEH are dedicated to the pursuit of financial stability and homeownership, and work closely with the program manager to address credit obstacles, debt, and the necessary steps to becoming a homeowner. SEH residents are referred to a number of first-time home buyer workshops as well as nontraditional homeownership programs such as Habitat for Humanity and the Palm Beach County Community Land Trust.
The program’s innovative rent model sets families up for financial success:
- Residents are charged 30% of their gross income for rent.
- Any amount over $600 is placed directly into an individual escrow account.
- Residents build savings while remaining stably and safely housed.
Between May, 2022 – April 2023, SEH served 34 families (51 adults and 50 children). 97% of households reduced their debt/increased their savings during the grant year. The residents saved a combined total of $53,709 in their escrow accounts. Despite the challenges of the housing market, one family qualified for a mortgage and one family was accepted into Habitat for Humanity.
Click to read a homeownership success story, Karla Thompson, and her family.