Easy As PIE: June 2018

Musician Greta Parks was facing a difficult situation: she was being priced out of the Boulder rental market and struggling to find a stable housing situation that would allow her to stay in the city she had grown to love over the years. "Like so many other people here, I moved to Boulder for school," Greta says, "and just like so many other people who originally come for a limited amount of time, I didn't want to leave once I had finished my program." Greta


	Greta with her apartment building in the background.

graduated with a Master of Music from CU Boulder, and while music is her passion, she struggled to find a job that would be consistent and paid enough money to allow her to stay in Boulder.

In her research to find affordable housing options, she came across Foothills United Way's P.I.E. (Personal Investment Enterprise) program. "I honestly never believed I would be able to afford to stay, let alone end up owning a home," said Greta. "I thought there was a .01% chance of me finding a permanent living situation in Boulder."

She attended an introductory session, where Greta learned about the process and the four-to-one match to those who graduate from the program. "I met Nino at that first session; he helped me so much in this whole process, you can tell he really cares about his students and believes in the program and its success."

The classes Greta attended ranged from tackling credit card debt, credit scores, student loans and how to navigate the mortgage process, allowing her to be better-rounded in financial matters, even those she hasn't experienced yet. "Most of the classes were very complimentary to my specific program of home-ownership, some of them not so much, but they were still helpful. Thankfully, I don't have any credit card debt, but taking the class was very interesting and has prepared me with knowledge not a lot of people look for until it's too late. I'm giving all my friends financial advice, and encouraging them to join the P.I.E. program if they qualify."

Greta found the program because she was looking for independence, she loves Boulder and wanted to stay; something that could only happen if she had a set price to pay. As luck would have it, the first time she put her name in the Affordable Housing Program lottery her name got picked, she is now the proud owner of a condo on Broadway close to downtown Boulder.

"I couldn't believe a program like this existed, it enabled me to have a home," Greta said. "Having that lump sum upon graduation made all the difference."

Greta ends with these words of knowledge for those looking for housing in Boulder, "Do your research, join P.I.E., it is a community service that is available to you. It is easy to get discouraged when you look at the housing market in this area, but when you are proactive you can find programs like P.I.E. that want to help you succeed."

The PIE program currently has openings for savers in homeownership, business and education! To learn more contact Nino Gallo at Boulder County Community Action Programs, 303-441-3998 or at [email protected]. For more information click here or here!

Resources for Homeownership:

Link to homeownership workshop: https://www.bouldercounty.org/departments/community-services/workforce-boulder-county/workshops/#1487883550628-7f7cbd84-b6f6

Meet with a housing counselor: https://www.bouldercounty.org/families/housing/education-and-skill-building/financial-counseling-appointments/#1487883793104-aff78e0e-c464