OUR MISSION Founded in 1986, Building Neighborhoods Together’s (BNT) mission is to end housing insecurity, income inequality and homelessness by creating safe, affordable housing, and providing comprehensive housing and financial counseling services to low- and moderate-income families across Connecticut. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT BNT is the most active nonprofit developer of affordable housing in Fairfield County and Southern Connecticut. Over the past 15 years, BNT has invested some $50 million in housing where vacant properties often existed. It owns and manages over 230 units of safe, clean, and affordable housing. We house 450 tenants in 26 buildings, 90% of whom are people of color and over 1/3rd of whom were previously homeless, or at risk of homelessness. Our tenants include young mothers, seniors, veterans, and foster youth. Our average tenant family income is under $20,000 and less than 40% of them receive subsidies. HOUSING COUNSELING SERVICES – Empowerment Resource Academy (ERA) ~ Currently conducted mostly virtually. BNT’s Empowerment Resource Academy (ERA) is the most active US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved and Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) certified housing counseling agency in Fairfield County and among the most active serving Connecticut statewide. Since 2015, ERA has served over 11,400 clients, resulting in over 2,500 families achieving homeownership for the first time. In 2020, we served over 2,700 clients, and assisted 875 avoid eviction or foreclosure and helped 315 families obtain a mortgage and purchase their first home.