Patricia Brown and her family congratulated by Mayor Martin Walsh, DND chief of housing Shelia Dillon, and BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle. Photo: Catherine McGloin

Patricia Brown, a former resident of the Whittier Street Development, became a first-time homeowner in Mattapan last month, proving that city agencies can successfully help public housing residents purchase their own homes.

Brown hosted Mayor Martin Walsh for breakfast at her new home on Wednesday, along with Boston Housing Authority (BHA) Administrator Bill McGonagle and Shelia Dillon, the city’s chief of housing and director of the Department of Neighborhood Development(DND), as well officials from several organizations that supported her through the home buying process. The single mother of four was able to purchase the property in Olmsted Green thanks largely to financial support from a DND lottery, a $7,200 grant from the Whittier Choice Neighborhood Initiative, and guidance from Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath) and the Boston Home Center.

“I’m just grateful for all of the support that I was given and I continue to get from all the different agencies, the City of Boston, EMPath, Boston Housing and Boston Home Center,” said Brown. “I’m still a little shocked, but I’m very thankful, grateful, blessed — and we’re happy.”

See the full article as it appeared in the Bay State Banner here.