About Us

Westside Ministries (WSM) is a non-profit organization whose members seek to follow Jesus by serving the people of Buffalo's under-resourced West Side.

Our geographic Target Area on Buffalo’s West Side is bound on the North by Bird Ave; on the West by Niagara St; on the South by Arkansas St; and on the East by Baynes St. (See Map below)

We currently minister in our target in the following ways:

1)Home Ownership - Home ownership provides families with the opportunity to build equity, to establish roots, to invest in a home, and to break the cycle of renting properties that are often overpriced and poorly maintained. With an investment in their property, homeowners are more likely to take pride in their blocks and ownership of their neighborhoods, which is key to stabilizing the West Side.

WSM buys houses in our target area and renovates them using volunteer labor. This allows us to offer an affordable, quality housing product to families for $30-$40k. In almost every case, our families can own homes for far less than they could rent the same home.

2)Rental Properties - Many families are not ready to own homes today, but given 1-2 years, many will become ready. We also work with families who have demonstrated an ability to own a home, but need some time to get their credit/finances in order. We offer transitional, well maintained apartments in our target area during this transition time. WSM uses the income from these properties to fund the operational expenses of the ministry.

Home Buyer's Club - When you are living paycheck to paycheck, it is difficult to save towards the future. Our tenants will soon have the opportunity to be part of our Home Buyer's Club to help them save towards a down payment. A portion of their rent each month will be deposited into a personal savings account. Their savings will then be matched with federal grant money to be used towards their down payment and closing costs.

3)Economic Development - This is the newest area of focus for WSM. We believe that good jobs and productive work are an important part of healthy communities. We desire to develop job opportunities for the residents of the West Side.

On the Job Ministries - WSM was expanded in the summer of 2007 to include On the Job Ministries, which was founded to provide job training and employment opportunities to youth on the West Side. In August 2007, On the Job Ministries opened the “New-To-You” thrift store on Grant St. New-To-You is staffed primarily with West Side teens.

History

Ronnie C. returned to Buffalo in 2000 ready to follow Jesus. While serving a 6-year prison sentence, Ronnie had experienced the transforming power of God in his life. When he was released, he did not want to return to the streets where he had grown up.

With the help of his friends, Ronnie purchased a house on French St. for $15,000 and was able renovate the home where his family continues to live today.

The mission of Westside Ministries (WSM) is to provide home ownership opportunities to people like Ronnie who have demonstrated an ability to own a home, but have lacked the opportunity. Westside Ministries was originally founded in the early '90s as a ministry of the Westside Church of the Living Word, which later became Westside Mennonite Church. Westside Ministries was reinvented in 2002 when Ronnie taught us about the conditions unique to the city of Buffalo that made his model for home-ownership possible.

Buffalo experienced tremendous population growth from 1900-1950. Its subsequent decline from 1950-2000 was equally dramatic:

Year ---Population
1900---382,000
1950--- 580,000
2000--- 292,000

Buffalo's population today is roughly half of the 1950 peak. The exodus over the past 50 years has left behind excess housing stock city-wide. These vacant houses are left to decay, bringing down property values in the surrounding areas.

But it is not just the empty houses that are neglected. Many houses in these neighborhoods are owned by absentee landlords with very little stake in the community. With a high return based on rental value, landlords can reap good returns with very little reinvestment in their properties.

Despite often substandard rental conditions, many West Side residents have little alternative but to rent. With imperfect or no credit and little experience in ownership, many residents are unable to qualify for a mortgage.

Over time, these factors contribute to the decay of entire neighborhoods.

We recognized an opportunity to replicate Ronnie's model for home ownership and renovation on the West Side. By taking advantage of better-than-average housing stock in at-risk neighborhoods in our target area and by tapping into ministries and agencies already operating on the West Side, maybe we could help more people make Ronnie's story their own and take ownership of their communities.

Five years later, WSM has been involved in the resale of 5 homes, has 4 homes in the process of renovation, has another home under contract to purchase, and retains two homes as a rental property.