Nonprofit helps families become homeowners in Des Moines

Dola Osaga and Veronica Ouya watched with joy as their two young children played in their new backyard Saturday.

The couple's dream of becoming homeowners had just become a reality, and the kids were excited to check out the new place. Their journey to achieving that dream was aided by Home Inc., a local nonprofit organization that builds and rehabs homes and helps families purchase and keep them through counseling, coaching and other education services.

"It's every renter's dream," Ouya said.

The house, at 1427 Pennsylvania Ave., in Des Moines, is a 7-minute walk from Holy Family School, which the children attend. Ouya is an adjunct professor at DMACC and Osaga is a customer service representative and part-time student. They have lived in Des Moines for nearly four years. Osaga was in Boston prior to that, while Ouya and the children lived in Kenya.

Eric Idehen, a community development officer at one of the organization's sponsors, Wells Fargo, said he was proud to work in a place that understands the importance of owning a home and helps fund programs that make that happen. He said had a special connection to the family because he moved from Nigeria to Iowa 17 years ago and had to sacrifice things to eventually buy a home.

"In Africa, owning a home is prestigious," he said. "Your house is like your child — you take care of it. I hope the kids grow up here and make the community a better place."

Since it began in 1967, Home Inc. has rehabbed, acquired and built 260 homes in Des Moines, Executive Director Pamela Carmichael said. Neighbors, sponsors, city officials and nonprofit members celebrated and welcomed the family to the neighborhood during an open house ceremony Saturday with Home Inc. sponsors, which include: Bankers Trust, United Way of Central Iowa, the Polk County Housing Trust Fund, Iowa Finance Authority, the city of Des Moines, Wells Fargo, Capitol Park Neighborhood Association and Viva East Bank.

The family had dreamed of owning for about two years, but admit they weren't ready right away, so they were thankful for the organization's help in getting their credit score and savings in order. Home Inc. offers education programs to prepare people to be long-term homeowners in efforts to bring down last year's rate of 4,000 evictions in Polk County, Carmichael said.

The organization also selects designs that match existing historic neighborhoods in an effort to blend in and raise the overall appraisal value of other homes in the area, she said. The new home is surrounded by ones that were constructed as early as 1880, Capitol Park Neighborhood Association board member Todd McBride said.

Home Inc. plans to work with 40 more housing units in the area in the coming years. With that initiative, the organization intends to pave the way to attracting for-profit developers to the area.