Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc.
HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, INC. (HANDS) TO RECEIVE GOVERNOR’S EXCELLENCE IN HOUSING AWARD
Results of HANDS’ High Impact Strategy are Recognized as Preserving and Revitalizing Neighborhoods.
Orange, NJ – 9.22.04: Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc. (Hands) is to be honored with the Governor’s Excellence in Housing Award for its groundbreaking work in returning abandoned and deteriorated housing to productive reuse and revitalizing neighborhoods in the East Ward and Valley Neighborhoods of Orange, NJ.
The award will be presented under the auspices of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency in the category of Community Revitalization.
The centerpiece of HANDS’ successful revitalization program is its community-centered “Seven Point High-Impact Development Strategy” for long-term, sustainable
neighborhood change, which focuses on picking the very worst building(s) in a targeted area and turning them around.
The seven interrelated core elements of the HANDS strategy are:
Redevelopment of pivotal properties in target neighborhoods.
Increasing homeownership: Investing in first time homebuyers.
Strengthening neighborhood organizations.
Developing leadership.
Increasing effective citizen engagement.
Forging strategic partnerships.
Shaping public policy and private sector initiatives.
The 2004 awards presented at the Governor’s Conference on Housing and Community Development are for projects, organizations or programs which best demonstrate the advancement of the State's comprehensive housing policies and Smart Growth philosophy through the promotion, preservations or creation of affordable housing.
The Governor’s Conference on Housing and Community Development will be held September 28 and 29, Atlantic City
Convention Center Atlantic City, NJ.
Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc. (HANDS) is a nonprofit organization committed to the revitalization of neighborhoods in Orange and East Orange, New Jersey.
HANDS builds and rehabilitates homes for first-time buyers and prepares those buyers for successful homeownership.
HANDS was founded in 1986 by a group of clergy and community leaders to ensure that the neighborhoods of Orange and East Orange remain good places to live and raise a family.
HANDS is a founding member of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, and a NeighborWorks® affiliate of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.
