About the Project
Income inequality is at its highest point in nearly 75 years, and our economy is failing to spread prosperity, particularly among people of color and disadvantaged communities. Home equity is one of the biggest contributors to household wealth. According to a Census Bureau report, two assets—home equity and retirement accounts—account for 63 percent of American households’ net worth. Yet, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 65 percent of households nationwide owned their homes; among minority households, this share was much lower—just 47 percent.
The homeownership rate for Black households in Boston is 35.3 percent, which is 33.5 percentage points lower than the homeownership rates for white households.
Furthermore, as Boston’s housing prices continue to soar, Black home buyers are being pushed out of the city and into the suburbs. New research shows that as a result, a concerning wave of racial segregation is taking place in Massachusetts.
While statewide Black and Hispanic homeownership increased 4.9% to 6.2%
between 2018 and 2021, this growth often took place in concentrated towns
and cities outside Boston, despite residents’ desires to stay. Due to rising costs — the average price of a single-family home grew 23% in Boston and 32% in Dorchester alone between 2018 and 2022 — and apprehension in competitive housing markets to accept government-insured loans, Black residents are moving out of Boston and into a select few areas. Data also shows that Black residents are being priced out of Boston and other cities such as Springfield, and moving to more suburban areas.
Our Mission
Many families in the black and brown communities of Mattapan and nearby neighborhoods lack education around homeownership, whether they own their home or not. They don't do much estate planning, and often don't even have a Will to secure their assets for their family's next generation. We all know that one day we will die, but yet having life insurance seems to be anything but a basic purchase for these communities.
The lack of handling these matters is primarily due to an overwhelming lack of education and exposure around these issues. It is our intent to correct this by offering educational events to provide knowledge and resources that support these individuals and families in building generational wealth and protecting their assets now and into the future.
The Mattapan Generational Wealth program is designed to inform, educate, and provide resources to help members of the Mattapan community and beyond achieve knowledge and skills to build generational wealth and prosperity.
