OUR MISSION
Building Neighborhoods Together (BNT) is committed to ending housing insecurity, income inequality, and homelessness by creating safe, affordable housing and providing free housing and financial counseling services to low- and moderate-income families across Connecticut.
Click here to listen to Doris Latorre after being promoted as our new CEO in late 2021.
OUR IMPACT
Since 1986, BNT has transformed neighborhoods and empowered families:
- Real Estate Development: Over the past 15 years, BNT has invested $45 million in affordable housing, creating more than 230 units for seniors, veterans, young mothers, and foster youth, many earning less than 30% of the HUD Area Median Income. Recent efforts focus on landlord-owner-occupied multifamily units that offer affordable rentals and homeownership opportunities, supported by our free financial coaching programs for both landlords and renters.
- Housing Counseling Services (ERA): BNT’s Empowerment Resource Academy (ERA) is the most active HUD-approved housing counseling agency in Fairfield County and among the busiest in Connecticut. Since 2015, ERA has served over 18,000 households, helping 3,000 families achieve homeownership and 4,200 families avoid eviction or foreclosure.
WHAT WE OFFER
Free Classes and Counseling:
- Homeownership Counseling and Education
- Financial Literacy, Credit, and Budget Coaching
- Foreclosure and Eviction Prevention
- Rental and Mobility Counseling
- Down Payment Assistance Guidance
- Reverse Mortgage Counseling
- Fair Housing Education
LOOKING AHEAD
BNT’s 2024 3-Year Strategic Plan focuses on increasing affordable housing, expanding financial literacy, and addressing housing insecurity by engaging new funders in youth financial education and affordable housing. These partnerships will support critical subsidies, operating costs, and programs that strengthen families and communities. As a future CDFI, BNT will provide financing for first-time homebuyers and existing homeowners for housing rehab and other needs, focusing on those underserved by conventional lenders.
BNT continues to tackle Connecticut’s affordable housing shortage while empowering families to achieve financial stability and homeownership.