In 2022, the city of Trenton started a pilot program to create pathways for residents to become homeowners. The New Beginnings Housing program lets residents redevelop properties and provides them with the financial tools to do so.
Vanessa Solivan, a resident who herself has faced homelessness, was at the forefront of the pilot program and has officially become a homeowner and designated redeveloper of 651 North Clinton Ave., her childhood home. “I didn’t want to spend a penny more renting,” Solivan said. “I wanted to own something, and I wanted to leave something behind to my children and my family, for them to build generational wealth.”
“She had to demonstrate that she had financial literacy, that she could pay taxes, that she could pay utilities,” said Mayor Reed Gusciora, who said the program is primed to succeed where others failed because it is not a handout, but a step up for potential homeowners who must put their own skin in the game.
The properties must be city-owned, residential and in a redevelopment area to qualify.
“We’re starting out small,” said Gusciora. With somewhere near 1,000 abandoned properties around Trenton, the mayor said the city is looking for ways to expand the program, using a combination of government funding as well as outside funding sources.
Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America is a multiplatform public media initiative that provides a deeper understanding of the impact of poverty on American society. Major funding for this initiative is provided by the JPB Foundation. Additional funding is provided by Ford Foundation.
