Premio HOME Finalist Q&A: Chicanos Por La Causa (Phoenix, AZ)

In June 2024, the UnidosUS HOME initiative awarded over $1.1 million to the winners of its national competition, Premio HOME, which aims to elevate and invest in organizations finding innovative solutions to America’s housing supply crisis. One of the finalists recognized for their work was Phoenix-based Chicanos Por La Caucus (CPLC). Below you can learn more about CPLC’s range of services and how the organization has grown to support Latinos in every step of the homeownership journey.

Q: What inspired your organization’s founding?

Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) began with a group of student and community activists who pushed back against racial discrimination and today has become one of the largest Latino nonprofits in the country, providing programs in six southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. While CPLC provides services to people from all backgrounds, we have a special competence in serving the Latino community, where our movement began. In the last year, CPLC impacted more than 1,000,000 lives through our programs in health and human services, housing, education, economic development, and advocacy.

Q: What are the biggest barriers to homeownership in your community? How does that compare to national trends?

Arizona, like many Sun Belt states, were known as affordable areas to buy a home – not anymore. The cost of housing increased due to a housing shortage. The median sale price of a home increased by 57% from April 2019 to April 2023. In 2021, Arizona exceeded the national average in housing costs – a trend that continued into 2022 and was 6% above the national housing price average.

Q: What is your organization’s mission and how do you tailor your approach to the specific needs of the communities you serve?

CPLC drives economic and political empowerment. From infants to seniors, our integrated programs and services evolve to meet and treat the community’s needs. For the last 40 years, our housing counseling program has helped potential homebuyers understand their housing options and resources that are available. CPLC Home Lending is a mortgage lending program that recently emerged out of the growing need for accessible resources that help future homeowners navigate industry terms, pre-qualification, and loan applications.

Q: How has your organization evolved since its founding alongside America’s housing landscape?

Education is critical to evolve alongside America’s housing landscape. Our programs have home buying education courses to protect homeowners against fraud and learn their rights. CPLC also identifies multiple homeownership assistance programs that can be layered upon each other for homeowners to make housing more affordable.

Q: What need did you identify in your community that prompted you to apply for Premio HOME?

There is a need for affordable housing inventory and a community lender focused on helping Hispanic, African American, Asian, and Indigenous communities with the mortgage lending process, especially one that is ethnically and culturally diverse. CPLC has been supporting these groups by creating additional housing options and opportunities.

Q: What opportunities has the Premio HOME grant created to enable your organization to serve your community?

Premio HOME enables CPLC Home Lending to build up capacity and reach historically underserved groups with mortgage lending options. CPLC has been able to enhance our services through the homeownership journey from start to finish. We now offer services to support homeowners after the keys are in their hand with homeowners’ orientations, post-purchase counseling, and financial education classes to ensure new homeowners are prepared for future home maintenance.

Q: What is the most exciting housing innovation on the table today?

It takes a village to drive positive change. CPLC is excited to see the partnerships and programs arising that assist with down payment and closing costs assistance. Our recent partnership with Raza Development Fund, a UnidosUS related entity, allows CPLC to distribute FHLBank San Francisco’s Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership (WISH) funds. This is one of many examples of partnerships and programs that are working together to help first time homeowners get closer to their dreams.

Q: What’s next for your organization?

CPLC will continue to support community needs with wraparound services and programs. Many of our housing clients touch additional programs such as Workforce Solutions, Prestamos (Loans), Scholarships, and Early Childhood Development. We also have a dedicated focus to building affordable housing in our communities and Nevada.

Q: Is there a family or individual story you could share that illustrates your organization’s impact and the power of homeownership?

One of CPLC’s clients, Silvia, was excited when she received her eligibility letter for the WISH down payment to purchase her very first home. But towards the end of the process, her lender would not accept the down-payment assistance program and declined the loan, but CPLC Home Lending stepped in and funded the loan. Silvia and her newborn baby were able to move into their very own home, laying down a foundation to build generational wealth.