Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky helps low-income Northern Kentuckians get access to homeownership

With the COVID-19 pandemic worsening the housing crisis, Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky (HONK) has been busier than ever. To find more out about how HONK is helping those affected by the crisis, NKY Magazine sat down with David Hastings, executive director of HONK, and Phil Dischar, development and community outreach coordinator.

NKY Magazine: What does HONK do?

David Hastings: We’re a faith-based nonprofit that creates homeownership opportunities for lower income folks. We have a lease-to-own homeownership program here; that’s the primary method of helping people get to homeownership. We rehab houses and build homes to create this opportunity and then, [those in need] participate in our lease-to-own program, which is an 18-month program where they live in the house. We do everything to mirror homeownership while they’re living there. We set their monthly payment to what we’re estimating their mortgage payment will look like and then they’re living in the house that they’re working to buy. They’re getting used to the utilities, they’re getting used to taking care of the house and then, while they’re living there, we have a housing counselor on staff that’s working with them. We also work with partnering organizations to get them financially prepared for homeownership. They’re improving their credit, reducing their debt, developing savings and doing all the things they need to do so that by the time they are done with the 18 months, they’re ready to get a loan to become a homeowner.

NM: How big is HONK?

Phil Dischar: We’re still a relatively small organization. We have 10 on staff and about half are full time. We have two carpenters, a plumber, a construction manager who oversees everything and a construction assistant. Our staff is working in homes every day, usually six days a week. We also have contractors that we work with. If we have a furnace to put in, we want licensed folks to do that.

NM: Since the pandemic began, have you seen a change in the number of people who need assistance?

Hastings: We go through spurts where there are folks who are in emergency situations and we’ve certainly seen that in the pandemic, but we’ve seen that at other times, too. We’ve had the eviction moratorium get lifted, so we’re expecting an influx of calls from folks who are in more emergency situations. More than anything, what we’ve seen lately that is tied to the pandemic is that the affordability of housing has been more of a challenge.

NM: Does HONK have enough resources to support everyone who needs assistance?

Dischar: Not even close.

Hastings: The cost of construction has gone up in the last year. I think a lot of people are attuned to what lumber prices have been doing and how hard it is to get contractors these days. Other things like furnaces, air conditioning units, copper, PVC and a lot of material costs have gone up. Supply chain shortages hit construction pretty hard, so the cost to do what we would normally do has gone up considerably.

NM: If someone wants to help HONK, what can they do?

Hastings: We’ve got multiple ways folks can help. First and foremost, the funds to be able to rehab and build homes is the primary need, but also we have opportunities to volunteer here. [Volunteers] don’t necessarily have to be skilled. It helps if folks are handy but they don’t have to necessarily be a carpenter by trade; we can integrate volunteers fairly well.