There is currently going around the internet one of those serial chain e-mails, this one making the following wry comment about the current presidential election:
“Those who would seek to disparage the role of ‘community organizer’ would do well to remember that among the first persons ever to reach out to organize his community was a carpenter’s son from Nazareth called Jesus. And by the way, the official job title of Pontius Pilate was Governor.”
Now that little vignette is perhaps not original, but it does call attention to the vocation that some now would call into disrepute: community organizers. Those who live in our neighborhoods are well familiar with the great good works that have been wrought by our local organizers. Dorchester and Mattapan thrive on the generous, volunteer efforts of their many civic associations; these not-for-profit entities really do form the backbone of city life, and they make enormous contributions to the quality of life for many of our neighbors.
This month, one of these important “community activists” organizations celebrates a move into its new headquarters building on Dot Ave. On this Friday night (Sept. 26), the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) dedicates its new homeownership center at an event at UMass Boston, and the group has chosen to name the building to honor the person most responsible for raising the funds to pay for MAHA’s new home; Bob Sheridan. the president and CEO of The Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts (SBLI) has spent the past three years heading a committee to raise the $3.5 million cost of the construction, and tomorrow night he and his wife will be the honorees.
“As chairman of our capital campaign, Bob Sheridan has helped MAHA raise the funds needed to realize our dream of a homeownership center where we can expand our classes, workshops and counseling services for first-time homebuyers and homeowners,” said MAHA Executive Director Thomas Callahan. “By naming our new building for Bob and his wife, Jean, we honor and thank him for his leadership and his longstanding support of MAHA not just at the community level, but also in the corporate board room as well.”
The not-for-profit MAHA is an outgrowth of the new sensitivity to urban neighborhoods that emerged in the 1970s. Then, many parts of the city were in a slow decline, as the great American dream of home ownership became focused on the city’s suburbs. As a result, the housing stock in the neighborhoods became under-valued and under-appreciated.
But those years saw the beginnings of a new view of city life, one that recognized the traditional values of neighborhood life. There emerged a group of “urban pioneers,” a generation of activists to advocate for homeownership opportunities for low and moderate income families. Formed in 1985, MAHA has been a champion for those people, and now claims its efforts have “resulted in over $5.1 billion in investment and the creation of the state’s most affordable mortgage, the “SoftSecond” program.”
Today, MAHA offers free classes to assist first-time buyers to qualify for a mortgage and buy their own home, as well as a range of one-on-one sessions on credit counseling and home maintenance issues. In its 23-year life span, its efforts have resulted in more than that $5.1 billion of private and public investment; almost 14,000 community residents have benefited from its free homeowner education programs; and the “SoftSecond” program it helped design with private lenders has enabled some 11,600 families to buy their first home in this state. Remarkably, the program’s delinquency rate is three times lower than the average rate of all home mortgages in the state.
The new building, designed by Studio G Architects and constructed by longtime Dorchester builder Lee Kennedy, offers classroom space for up to 150; the very first class in the new building this month drew 59 prospective first time buyers.
The new “Bob and Jean Sheridan Building” is a marvelous example of the value of “Community organizing,” and a welcome addition to Dorchester’s neighborhood life.
