Helping Families Make a House a Home

Sister of Charity Barbara Busch has been advocating for poor and working families nearly all her life, but she says her most significant accomplishment has been to provide homeownership opportunities for thousands of Greater Cincinnati families.

The founding director of Working in Neighborhoods (WIN) started her career in the 1970s by managing Services for the Poor at Catholic Charities. “That experience helped me understand the devastating effects that losing a home has on families,” she explains.

She became familiar with local resources in the community while providing counseling and outreach services to underserved areas in Greater Cincinnati. As she was helping more and more families deal with poverty and unstable housing, Sister Barbara also saw an increase in vacant homes in the neighborhoods she was helping. “That’s how WIN got started,” she says with a smile.

Her interest in housing was a natural fit. Her brother, father and grandfather were all carpenters.

Sister Barbara collaborated with neighborhood leaders to found WIN in 1978. At that time, unemployment was high, interest rates and inflation were spiraling out of control, and the country was in the midst of an energy crisis. Residents needed help finding affordable housing and revitalizing their neighborhoods.

Today WIN provides services that reshape communities one block at a time. The organization works with community leaders in specific, underserved areas to identify potential vacant homes for purchase, often targeting entire streets with a large number of empty homes.

After purchasing these typically vacant homes, WIN rehabs them and makes them as energy-efficient as possible. Homes are priced from $50,000 to $120,000, and every new house is LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). “We do it because it is right for the earth and helps families save money,” Sister Barbara explains. To date, WIN has sold 160 homes to first-time home owners.

WIN trains homebuyers to ensure they are ready for the responsibility of homeownership. Potential buyers participate in an educational series to learn how to build credit, save regularly, and look for a loan among other topics. “We teach them how to be good, efficient homeowners,” Sister Barbara explains.

In its 35 years, WIN has helped 9,154 families purchase their first home. WIN also trains 900 families annually to save money on their utility bills by conserving energy. “My philosophy has been to rebuild communities through leadership development, one neighborhood at a time,” she says. “We are rebuilding housing into homes one street at a time, one house at a time and one family at a time,” she says. “And all of this has been done with consistent care of the Earth.”