Marty Walsh: “This is a good idea. This is an idea that is very successful. It is an idea that gives individuals the opportunity to…”

“This is a good idea. This is an idea that is very successful. It is an idea that gives individuals the opportunity to volunteer to help their neighbors to build a home. Earlier this week, I had the privilege of joining a handful of my neighbors at the home of Nyoka Williams, a participant in the Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative. The Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative is a city-wide effort to expand homeownership opportunities and improve quality of life in Syracuse, my hometown. We gathered to celebrate the success of the Mini-Grant program, which provides city families with grants and loans to improve their owner-occupied homes. At the ceremony, Ms. Williams reflected on her own hard-fought struggle to purchase a home. This program creates homeowners. Now, not everybody in this country can afford to own a home, but we ought to be doing everything we can to make that possible, and this program goes a long way.”