Neighborhood Housing Services of the Lehigh Valley

Neighborhood Housing Services of the Lehigh Valley (NHS) has been providing help to homeowners in Lehigh and Northampton Counties since 1981, and its offices are located right in the Allentown Historic District! NHS is one of more than 240 Congressional Chartered members of NeighborWorks America, a national organization committed to community development. Because every community is unique, each NeighborWorks America member provides services unique to its region, so NHS's programs are custom-tailored to the needs of the Lehigh Valley. This also means that NHS's programs have changed as the community has changed. Carol Ann Jurchenko, Executive Director of NHS, reports that, when NHS began twenty-seven years ago, rehabilitation of houses in the Historic District was NHS's top priority. In fact, NHS used to partner with OAPA in its facade program. Since 1992, however, NHS has focused mainly on assisting first-time home buyers through financial assistance and through financial fitness classes.


Financial assistance for first-time home buyers can come in the form of either loans or grants, depending on the income of the buyer and the location of house. Susan Gottwald, Program/Resource Development Manager of NHS, says that, in order to prepare for home ownership, NHS might recommend that a potential buyer take one of NHS's financial fitness classes, which cover such important issues as mortgage readiness, spending plans, going over credit reports, budgeting, and finding a lender/avoiding predatory lenders. According to Jurchenko, "We see a lot of people in this region purchasing homes before they are ready." Gottwald adds, "It's not just this region. It's a national issue."


Jurchenko notes that one fascinating feature of the Lehigh Valley is that home-ownership organizations try to avoid duplicating each other's services. Cooperation, not competition, is the name of the game when it comes to supporting homeowners in the Lehigh Valley. Although organizations like NHS and OAPA exist to help homeowners in the Historic District and surrounding areas, Jurchenko and Gottwald agree that more help is needed. Gottwald would like to see "more funding for [housing] rehab. With the current economy, many people have no money for major repair." Jurchenko adds that such assistance would ideally be in the form of grants, not loans. NHS funds rehabilitation projects for residents of Northampton County in the form of forgivable grants. For Allentown and other parts of Lehigh County, such funding is currently available only in the form of loans (maximum amount $15,000 with a 5% interest rate).


Individuals seriously considering home ownership in Lehigh or Northampton County will find the services offered by NHS to be of great assistance. Whether one needs funding, counseling, and/or financial fitness classes, NHS has just about everything a potential homeowner could want.


Neighborhood Housing Services of the Lehigh Valley: http://www.nhslv.org/

Carol Ann Jurchenko: carol@nhslv.org

Phone: (610) 437-3571

Union and West End Cemetery

Tom Schleicher's latest project is proof that great things are happening in the Allentown Historic District.

Schleicher, who has lived in the district for more than twenty-five years, is heading an initiative to fix up the perimeter around the Union and West End Cemetery. The upkeep of this area is dear to Schleicher's heart: Schleicher owns three houses that face the cemetery, and he used to live in a house that faces the cemetery.

Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. for the past four weeks, Schleicher and his crew have been pulling weeds and edging the sidewalk between the iron fence and the curbside around the cemetery. Schleicher says that, when he started, there was a lot of sod and ugly weeds near the sidewalk, but you would not know that from looking at it now; the grass along the sidewalk is neatly trimmed.

The Union and West End Cemetery covers most of the area bordered by Chew Street, 12th Street, Liberty Street, and 10th Street. Cleaning up the perimeter, therefore, is no mean feat. According to Schleicher, some skeptics doubted that he would be able to gather enough people for this project, but his group has grown quickly from two people in its first week to eight people in its fourth week. Schleicher's group contains a diverse array of people, including both renters and owners. In just its fourth week, the group has already fixed about half of the perimeter!

Schleicher's group is not the only one lending helpings hands to the Union and West End Cemetery. For instance, Elm Street is planting trees, and Properties of Merit is repainting the cemetery's fence. Check out those silver spires!

Special mention must also be made of Candida's, a local club that provided free refreshments and hospitality to Schleicher's group in its beautiful courtyard! The efforts to restore the Union and West End Cemetery represent the Historic District at its best: individuals, local businesses, and organizations working together to ensure a brighter future for the district.


Union and West End Cemetery: http://www.uandwecemetery.org/

Union and West End Blog: http://union-westend-cemetery.blogspot.com/

Tom Schleicher's E-mail: coolapt@msn.com

Meet the Interns!

Hi! My name is Patrick; I am an Economics and Business Major at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. In interning at Old Allentown Preservation Association, I have had the opportunity to meet local home owners and help local school children in the production of a community musical. I have found that my time at OAPA has been very rewarding and has opened my eyes to some of the issues that effect a urban community.





Hello! My name is Frank, and I am an English major and Spanish minor at Lafayette College. As an intern at Old Allentown Preservation Association, I have helped to establish this blog and have been out talking with home and business owners in the Historic District. The Old Allentown Preservation Association interests me because I enjoy working in the public sector. (For instance, I volunteered with the Easton Main Street Initiative this past academic year.) My favorite part about being an intern for OAPA is that I get to see how organizations like OAPA interact with both everyday people and local/state government.

First Tales of Tenacity Performance a Resounding Success!

In an earlier post we mentioned that local children are currently participating in a performing arts camp run by Circle of Stones Ritual Theater Ensemble. The first performance occured on June 28 and was a great success! Here are some photos from the performance.

Plaza Growers' Market

Are you looking to buy some delicious foodstuffs from local small farms? Every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., from now through October, the Plaza Growers' Market at PPL Plaza, features fresh produce, poultry, eggs, baked goods, culinary demonstrations, and much more! Paking is available in Hess Deck, Linden Street between 8th and 9th Streets.