466 Works is a community development corporation located in the Southeast Neighborhood of South Bend with a mission to improve the quality of life of Southeast neighborhood residents through providing quality affordable housing. 466 Works first got involved with the Center for Civic Innovation in the summer of 2017 when partnered with an intern team to survey the neighborhood. Sy Barker, Vice-President of 466 Works and mentor for the CCI Internship Program, described that first summer as instrumental because it helped 466 Works build a relationship with the community and gave them an opportunity to hear from the community. Since 2017 466 Works has built and sold 6 houses, have two houses currently under construction and contract and have received funding for 5 additional houses in 2021.
Last summer an intern team was tasked with conducting research to determine the type of housing needed in the Southeast Neighborhood. This research is necessary to determine if 466 Works was meeting the needs of the neighborhood with the housing they were building.
Sy said that the work of the interns did in fact validate that the type of housing that is being built by 466 Works is what the neighborhood needs.
Historically, 466 Works have focused solely on constructing new homes. Looking forward Sy shared that 466 Works will be looking into options for rehabilitating homes in the area, whether it be owner occupied rehabilitation or acquiring and rehabilitating a home. This new endeavor could expand the effectiveness of 466 Works in the Southeast Neighborhood.