Studying Homebuying at the Somalian Development Center

by Cathy Anderson, Project Coordinator

A.L.R.I. New Americans Homeowners Project

The Somalian Development Center (SDC) took a different approach to studying the FannieMae Foundation's homebuying curriculum. SDC staff arranged on-site workshops with the Adult Literacy Resource Institute (A.L.R.I.) to learn more about the homebuying process so that they could instruct their students as need arose in the future. I had the opportunity to work closely with this energetic and creative staff who also attended our workshops on teaching homebuying presented at the A.L.R.I. The SDC's approach to learning homebuying is a useful model for similar immigrant-run organizations that offer a full range of services in addition to ESOL. Staff were able to use the features of the FannieMae curriculum and A.L.R.I. New Americans Homeowners project that best fit their needs as a growing organization.

Background of the Somalian Development Center

The Somalian Development Center (SDC) is a two year-old community-based organization that assists new Somalian refugees to adjust to their new life in the United States by providing ESOL classes and social services. The SDC is located in the heart of Jamaica Plain, a moderate-income residential section of Boston that until very recently offered low-cost rental units. The challenge the SDC currently faces is to find adequate housing for hundreds of new refugees who arrive in Boston with limited resources and very little experience speaking English. In addition to housing counseling, the SDC offers ESOL classes, job counseling, computer courses, and benefits counseling. The SDC is open seven days a week, from morning until late evening.

New Somalians in Boston

Today's incoming Somalians are victims of an intense civil war that has torn apart families and decimated a once thriving culture. Over three thousand Somalians are now living in Boston, mostly in Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Mission Hill. The Somalian Deveopment Center is committed to not only assisting its constituents in finding employment, housing, and services, but in building a united community and enhancing Somalian well-being and culture in the United States. Resettlement is difficult for any refugee fleeing war or economic repression, but for those who are unfamiliar with Western culture, the encounter is traumatic. New Somalians need to adjust to a radically different money system, educational and health care system, much less a totally new social system in which they are considered to be minorities.

Housing: Top Priority

One of the organization's top priorities is finding adequate housing for incoming refugees, keeping them in housing, and preparing them to consider alternatives such as moving out of Boston, and saving money toward a down-payment on a home. For most Somalians, the search for a home has been a rude introduction to western poverty and almost as hazardous as the civil war they escaped. At least thirteen refugee families were re-settled in poorly maintained low-income apartments north of Boston that contained toxic levels of lead paint. Consequently, many of the children were tested for lead paint poisoning and had to endure painful medical treatment. In Somalia, no one had ever used lead paint, or had heard of its poisonous potential.

Using the Curriculum in a Community Organization

The SDC director and staff were interested in using How to Buy a Home in the United States as a very preliminary introduction to the idea of homebuying. Students received the book and were encouraged to look it over and come to class with questions. The students attending English as a Second or Other Language classes represent a wide range of levels and a range of economic and social backgrounds. Some were able to read the book on their own, and did ask questions, while others kept it for the future. The SDC provides individualized teaching to students of various levels who all enjoy meeting together everyday for at least two hours.

Although the average age of the community using SDC's services in young, 18-24 years, many elderly members and young children come to the center. The majority are ambitious, goal-oriented students who need to find jobs as soon as possible to provide for their families. All of the students are very interested in understanding how they can afford to pay for housing and how the money system works in this country. Many are paying off huge debts to the International Rescue Committee for their airline tickets out of Mogadishu and are familiar with mandatory monthy payments.

The Question of Credit

SDC staff requested that I present a workshop for ESOL students on how to prepare for saving for a first downpayment. My intention was to instruct them in how to document the payments they make each month for rent, utilities, etc., as a way of demonstrating a non-traditional credit report. After a discussion about the problems they were having with affording the high rents in Boston, and in securing safe, lead paint-free apartments, I began with the Lesson 3 "Your Credit Report" on page 12 in How to Buy a Home in the UnitedStates.

Immediately into this lesson, I realized that their need to understand how money works in this country was tempered by an equally strong repugnance for the use of credit. The majority of students are practicing Muslims, and for some, especially the newest arrivals, the use of credit is forbidden, or "haram" according to Muslim law. Even a passing association with credit was forbidden. According to their Muslim belief, the extra charge of interest is a waste, and does not benefit the individual or community. As one student stated, "Where does this money go? It goes nowhere." The students told me that the loans they were paying back to the International Rescue Commitee were interest-free, and therefore, acceptable. Some students told me that they were using checking accounts to pay the loans, thus avoiding (or so they thought) any encounter with credit. Director Abdul Hussein had told me before that the issue might surface, but he was confident that within time the students would understand that spending in this country is based on credit, and owning a home would be a money-saver in the long-run, and to their benefit.

Continuing Studies in Homebuying

As the ESOL teacher at SDC continues to work through basic English grammar, vocabulary, speaking and listening exercises, he is touching on some of the areas described in the homebuying curriculum. The overview is general, with an emphasis on issues most related to the students' experience as tenants. SDC staff say that the advantage of the curriculum is that it explains the complex issue of homebuying so that students see the whole picture of life in the United States. In the future, they may decide to take a chance on the American dream.