The Power of Homeownership

“For a person who’s never owned a home and doesn’t have generational wealth, homeownership can be life changing. … We needed a partner that understood a different population.”

Homeownership is key to shared prosperity in our communities. It’s one of the first steps to building the kind of wealth that can affect generations.

The Works, Inc. works to rebuild, restore and renew Memphis families through housing, economic development and social services. CEO Roshun Austin says, “For a person who’s never owned a home and doesn’t have generational wealth, homeownership can be life changing. We know that housing is probably the No. 1 social determinant of health, both physical and mental health, but also the health of the larger community.”

Her team at The Works help connect aspiring homeowners with loans they may not be able to get at traditional institutions. Because they’re a local nonprofit, they rely on partners like Pinnacle to help fund the programs they administer.

It was a perfect fit for Pinnacle’s mission to make a significant positive impact on the communities we serve. We seek to improve quality of life in our hometowns, largely through economic equity. It means addressing a continuum of needs in underserved communities, particularly around affordable housing, which is a powerful force for moving the needle for entire neighborhoods and cities.

“When you can put people in a position to own assets,” says Pinnacle President and CEO Terry Turner, “now there’s some wealth that gets built that’s able to transfer from generation to generation and build as it goes. It’s one of the most powerful things that I know to work on to make sure we’re taking everybody with us.”

Our work together has spanned many years and millions of dollars in home loans, which are funded by Pinnacle but made and serviced by The Works.

“Pinnacle sought us out for the banking relationship, not just to be a depositor but to make loans to us at very low interest rates,” Austin says. “They wanted customers who others just thought weren’t valuable. They’re finally getting a piece of this American pie that they hear about.”