Chris Hamilton

GroWest is a neighborhood-based community development agency that has been a member of the NPC network since January of 2000. The agency was founded in 1997 and has as its mission the promotion of home ownership, business opportunities, economic development, and neighborhood pride in the West Utica area of the City of Utica. The agency is truly rooted in the community of West Utica and has had strong involvement from the area's business community, residents of all incomes and backgrounds, and the governmental and educational organizations and agencies that serve or are located in West Utica. GroWest has, since its inception, provided a variety of services to support home ownership in the West Utica community by low and moderate-income persons who might otherwise not have been able to own or maintain a home in the community. Services include counseling and education services for owners and potential owners, underwriting and other services to local lending institutions that participate in a revolving loan fund to assist first time homeowners in this community, funding and counseling in essential home repairs for owner occupants in the community, and a variety of neighborhood organizing activities in partnership and cooperation with other community-based agencies in Utica. GroWest operates 11 different grant programs for property rehab and business assistance.