Housing Help for Individuals
Updated: 7/26/2002
NAHRO does not offer direct housing assistance to individuals. NAHRO's
services are directed to housing and redevelopment officials and the
agencies that they run. Individuals are welcome to purchase NAHRO's
publications or attend trainings and conferences, if they wish, but
these are targeted to quasi-governmental agencies and consultants and
therefore may not be of much use to someone who is trying to find housing.
You will find a good source for local housing authority contact information
on the HUD web site, see PHA
Contact Information.
In general, national organizations help state and local groups, not
individuals. Local groups are best suited to helping individuals because
they understand the unique characteristics of their communities. National
groups may be able to provide you with referrals to local groups or
other national groups. They may have mailing lists, lists of groups
they work with, a membership list (not all national groups have members),
or some kind of directory.
Some national groups are very large and do help individuals; they
have branch offices or representatives to administer the programs. Christmas
in April and Habitat
for Humanity are two well-known organizations that operate in this
way. The national office of an organization like this would probably
give you information about their programs and a referral to their branch
nearest to you.
Besides asking national groups, you can also find out about local
groups by looking in the telephone book, libraries, and career information
centers. Personal contacts are often good sources of information--ask
family, friends, co-workers, anyone you know if they know of any housing
programs in the area. Churches and other religious organizations often
have connections with housing programs or even run their own.
Once you have a few names of local organizations, you can ask them
for referrals to other local groups. If you call a group and are told
that they have no program to help you, always ask if they know of any
other organization that might be able to help you.
It may turn out that there is no program in your area that can help
you in exactly the way you want. In this situation you could take advantage
of the programs that are available; for example, instead of getting
a rental subsidy, you might get into a self-help housing program or
a tenants' rights group or a job training program.
Below are links to websites that may be helpful to you.
National organizations which can refer you to local members or affiliates:
Other suggested contacts:
- your state housing agency(search by state):
- community action agencies(search by state):
- other resources by state:
