Chester Community Improvement Project (CCIP) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit community housing organization based in the city of Chester, PA. We are a certified home buyer education, pre-purchase counseling, and credit/budget counseling agency by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA). CCIP is a member of the National Association of Housing Counselors and Agencies, Inc. (NAHCA), the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), the National Federation of Credit Counselors (NFCC), the Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania, the Tri-County Don’t Borrow Trouble Network, the Chester Housing Authority Sustainability Committee, the Housing Alliance of PA, and the Low-Income Housing Coalition.
We are an adopter of the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling. By adopting the National Industry Standards, home ownership counseling organizations demonstrate their belief in the importance of maintaining a high level of expertise on the part of their counselors and educators as well as ensuring that all clients receive consistent, quality service.
MISSION
The mission of the Chester Community Improvement Project (CCIP) is to assist with the revitalization of the City of Chester by building the base of home ownership.
Our mission is accomplished through public-private partnerships that focus on targeted housing rehabilitation and new construction, supported by comprehensive pre- and post- purchase home ownership counseling programs. CCIP works with providers of construction skills training to address workforce development and underlying economic problems in our target neighborhoods. We initiated the East Gateway Triangle Project to address the imminent decline of a neighborhood that was historically one of the city’s most stable.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
CCIP has counseled over 4,498 families, assisted 762 first-time home buyers in securing mortgage financing, down payment, and closing cost assistance, made home ownership possible for 59 low-income families through an innovative lease-purchase program, and provided 108 first-time home buyers with affordable homes through the rehabilitation of 92 vacant units and the construction of 16 new townhouses. Less than 2% of the home buyers who complete our programs have experienced foreclosure.
CCIP’s Housing Program Manager, Larry Douglas was one of eleven housing counselors with HUD-approved organizations nationwide recognized by The White House as “2012 Champions of Change” for outstanding commitment and achievement.