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About NHS

Community lending, neighborhood revitalization, and full-circle financial support for families and small businesses in Los Angeles County

Neighborhood Housing Services of LA County exists to make affordable housing and intergenerational wealth building accessible to everyone. We do this by offering low-cost loans for mortgages and property rehab work, along with financial support provided by HUD-certified counselors and in-house loan officers. The result is a big-picture approach to community development through a personal finance lens.

What that means for you:

Mission

Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County (NHS) serves as a catalyst for local residents, business and government representatives to work together to build stronger neighborhoods, improve the quality of life for low to moderate income families and revitalize communities into neighborhoods of choice.

NHS strengthens communities by developing and maintaining quality affordable housing, creating and preserving affordable homeownership opportunities, supporting local leaders, providing financial education and increasing the financial independence of families and people in need.

NHS clients Joon Song and Seoyeon Kim celebrate closing on their new home after working with NHS counselor Cesar Villavicencio.

Our history

Since 1984, NHS has developed, loaned or rehabilitated more than $28,500 housing and commercial units, placed 4.8 million families on the road to homeownership, created 260 block clubs, employed over 270 neighborhood youth, and invested more than $10 million into historically marginalized neighborhoods of Los Angeles County.

We use a full-cycle lending model to transform lives and revitalize neighborhoods. By creating a partnership between residents, businesses, and local government leaders, we ensure a continuous investment in the community that renews itself over time.

See our impact

Timeline

Take a look at our key milestones throughout over 40 years of community development.

2024 and beyond

  • Our response to the 2025 wildfires includes full-circle support for survivors. We recruit over 100+ partner organizations to form the Restore the Legacy LA (RLA) Coalition and cover everything from free HUD-certified financial counseling to interim housing grants and low-cost loans at our Rebuilding & Repair Workshops.
  • Affordable lending and financial counseling continues…
  • Community building & engagement with our neighbors continues…
  • Health & wellness programming continues with the USDA and other partners…
  • The Legacy Project continues to facilitate estate planning and intergenerational wealth building, community preservation and protection. We provide estate planning to wildfire survivors free of charge.
  • We do ADU! – NHS continues to expand upon its home repair and ADU business with our partners and build out the financing and supply chains necessary to help our families participate in the largest affordable housing opportunity in the region for keeping families together.
  • NHS Centers for Sustainable Communities coming to Wilmington/San Pedro and Inglewood
  • LA Olympics 2028! NHS is here to help all families and businesses participate, expand and showcase the LA region.
  • NHS expands its agribusiness ventures and partners with USDA, Alma Backyard Farms, Metro CSC and others to facilitate healthy living and monthly farmers market events.
  • NHS receives Neighborhood LIFT funding of more than $8.5 million for the second time and is able to assist more than 300 families to become homebuyers.
  • NHS creates The Legacy Project to help preserve long term legacy, cultural neighborhoods and help prevent gentrification in the community. Adding family estate planning with local attorneys helps stabilize families and ensure their intergenerational wealth building for the future.
  • NHS increases its housing portfolio into the single-family and multi-family development space with over 350 units between Alondra Villas, HOPE Villas, Sylmar Villas, Compton Villas and Manchester Urban Homes.
  • In response to the escalating foreclosure crisis, NHS creates the LA County NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions with 53 local organizations to provide housing counseling, consumer advocacy, enforcement, legal services, and loss mitigation support.
  • NHS receives federal funding through a new emergency foreclosure relief program. The $5.8 million award is the largest counseling award granted in the NeighborWorks Network.
  • NHS partners with Wells Fargo and NeighborWorks America to administer the LIFT Program, which provided over $13.8 million in down payment assistance for hundreds of low-income families.
  • NHS is awarded a $60 million grant, along with 23 consortium partners, from HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2); the second largest national award allocated and the single largest grant NHS has ever managed. After five successful years of placing thousands of families in homes, NHS reaches its program goals and refocuses from foreclosure response towards broader community reinvestment strategies.
  • NHS grows, creating two new non-profit affiliates: NHS Neighborhood Lending Services (NHSNLS) and NHS Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation (NHSNRC).
  • NHSNLS is approved as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S. Treasury.
  • We launch a five-year, $6 million initiative with Allstate Insurance called the Allstate Neighborhood Partnership Program in Crenshaw. Partnering with the Crenshaw Neighborhood Leadership Council, NHS provides home rehab loans and home safety repairs for more than 500 families.
  • NHS hosts a massive Homebuyer Orientation with over 600 families.
  • NHS partners with The Red Cross to coordinate neighborhood wide disaster preparedness work alongside community BLOC clubs in Reseda. We also begin working with HUD to promote a regional Anti-Predatory Lending Campaign.
  • NHS and the City of Los Angeles mobilize to provide home repair and rehab services for homeowners with damage from the Watts rain and hail storm. NHS collected and managed over $130,000 in donations to provide home repairs.
  • Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NeighborWorks America today) begins organizing in four neighborhoods of Los Angeles: Vernon Central, Crenshaw, Boyle Heights, and San Pedro. One year later, they start Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services by recruiting local residents to help serve families, and our legacy begins.
  • Lori Gay is hired as President and CEO.
  • The Rodney King Verdict and civil unrest dramatically impacts low-income neighborhoods. We create the Rebuild-a-Block program as part of our stabilization effort, empowering residents and families to Rebuild, Restore and Revitalize! $9 million is directly invested back into communities.

Board of Directors

NHS of Los Angeles County & Affiliates

Steve Herman

Board Chair,
California Bank and Trust

Zeeda M. Daniele

Rebuilding Together,
City of Angels

Lori R. Gay

NHS of LA County

Rigoberto Reyes

Office of Immigrant Affairs
LA County Department
of Consumer & Business Affairs

Gloria Tang

Gateway Federal Savings Bank

Ron Turner

KJLH Radio

Executive Staff

Lori R. Gay

President & CEO

Rhonda J. McMillan

Executive Vice President
Chief of Staff & Homeownership Counseling Programs

Howard Chan

SVP & Chief Financial Officer

We thank the founding members of Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County: Darnell Watson, Greg Franks, Audrey Quarrels, John Smith, Louis Martinez, Mary Trotter, Rosie Jackson, Rachel Knight, Icon Allen, Walter Clements, Marian Hager, and Jonathan Washington.

Our History

1983

Early founding members and organizers of NHS were: Darnell Watson, Greg Franks, Audrey Quarrels, John Smith, Louis Martinez, Mary Trotter, Rosie Jackson, Rachel Knight, lvon Allen, Walter Clements, Marian Hager and Jonathan Washington. Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (later known as NeighborWorks America), a public non-profit, begins organizing in four specific neighborhoods of Los Angeles. NHS was the only affiliate in the country to start in multiple neighborhoods at once. These four original neighborhoods included: Vernon Central, Crenshaw, Boyle Heights and San Pedro.

1984

After a year, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation works with local residents to start Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services and begins serving families.

1992

The Rodney King Verdict and civil unrest dramatically impacted low income neighborhoods in L.A. As a part of its stabilization effort, NHS creates the Rebuild-a-Block program, empowering residents and families to Rebuild, Restore and Revitalize! $9 million was directly invested back into communities.

1994

After the Northridge earthquake, NHS took a lead role in helping communities qualify for disaster assistance. The quake was the most expensive disaster to date. Over 100,000 structures were damaged and 600,000 individuals applied for disaster assistance. NHS was on the front lines.

1996

NHS grows, creating two new non-profit affiliates - NHS Neighborhood Lending Services (NHSNLS) and NHS Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation (NHSNRC).

1997

NHSNLS is approved as a Community Development Financial Institution, by the U.S. Treasury.

2004

NHS partners with The Red Cross to coordinate neighborhood wide disaster preparedness work alongside community BLOC clubs in Reseda. Also begins working with HUD to promote a regional Anti-Predatory Lending Campaign.

2007

In response to the escalating foreclosure crisis, NHS creates the LA County NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions with 53 local organizations to provide housing counseling, consumer advocacy, enforcement, legal services, and loss mitigation support.

2012

NHS partners with Wells Fargo and NeighborWorks America to administer the LIFT Program, which provided over $13.8 million in down payment assistance for hundreds of low-income families.

2013

NHS is awarded a $60 million grant, along with 23 consortium partners, from HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2); the second largest national award allocated and the single largest grant NHS has ever managed.

2016

NHS expands its agribusiness ventures and partners with the USDA, Alma Backyard Farms, Metro CDC and others to facilitate healthy living and monthly Farmers Marketplace events.

2017

NHS builds the NHS Center for Sustainable Communities in Compton. The Center helps build community, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and improve upon the places that families live, work and play. NHS plans to host/build three more Centers throughout the region in 2025 and beyond.

2018

NHS creates The Legacy Project to help preserve long term legacy, cultural neighborhoods and help prevent gentrification in the community. Adding family estate planning with local attorneys helps stabilize families and ensure their intergenerational wealth building for the future.

2024

As we celebrate our 40th Anniversary, NHS is excited to be continuing its work with local neighbors, government and private sector partners. Our work with the State of California and the County of Los Angeles to respond to COVID 19, while creating programming for mortgage relief, affordable homeownership and ADU development remains a highlight. The work with many friends at our NHS Center for Sustainable Communities in Compton remains infinite and exciting with and for our neighbors. The work ahead will focus on expanding our normal business, adding more Centers and preparing for the Olympics in 2028!

Our Impact

Clients Served
500000

Families Placed on the
Road to Homeownership

M

Housing & Commercial
Production Units touched

500000

Dollars Reinvested

$ 5 B

Low to Moderate
Income Families

40 %

Loan Modifications

6000

Jobs Created

6000 +
Download the 40 Year Impact Report

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