The Neighborhood Initiative Program (NIP) was established in 2014 to stabilize property values by removing and greening vacant and blighted residential properties in targeted areas in an effort to prevent future foreclosures for existing homeowners. The funds were allocated through the Hardest Hit Funds, approved under President Barack Obama, to assist communities and states most affected by the foreclosure crisis.
The guidelines for NIP were strategically targeted in neighborhoods that had high concentrations of blight and vacancy and the Land Bank had to own the properties to perform the demolition.
NIP was designed to not displace residents from their homes, but to increase homeowners market values and to improve the quality of life for the residents that live in these neighborhoods.
The Trumbull County Land Bank and Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership took lessons learned from past government programs focused on blight remediation and created a plan to have the most impact for the residents of Trumbull County; focusing first on abandoned, blighted residential homes surrounding local schools and community institutions, then moving into neighborhoods where blight was having a significant impact on the surrounding housing values.