North Riverside resident in Jacksonville is able to keep his home within the family

“Community is much more than belonging to something; it’s about doing something together that makes belonging matter.” -Brian Solis

Henry Scott, a long-time resident of the North Riverside neighborhood, knows firsthand the power of a community coming together for a greater cause. By helping his community succeed, he was, in turn, helped through his time of need.

Henry’s love of his community started when he was young. He reminisces about one afternoon during his childhood when his uncle found him and some of his friends sitting around the porch of his family home. When asked why they were sitting around, the children said they were bored. Henry’s uncle responded, “Bored? I’ll tell you what. If you go out to the park in front of your house and pick up the trash, I’ll give each one of you a quarter.” The children did so, and Henry and his friends have been cleaning up trash around his neighborhood ever since.

This and many other moments in his life sparked a love of community preservation and advancement.

“As time went on, I wanted to get involved with my community,” said Henry. “I always had a love for our community and tried to keep it clean.”

As an adult, Henry joined the North Riverside Community Development Corporation (CDC), an organization that seeks to improve the North Riverside neighborhood through education, rehabilitation, beautification and economic development. He has since become the vice president of the organization. Together with their fellow community members, the North Riverside CDC shepherds many programs that uplift both the people and places of their neighborhood.

Just as Henry helped uplift his community all these years, his community in turn extended a hand to him when he needed assistance.

When Henry’s mother passed away a few years ago, he and his family discovered she hadn’t left a will. This left the family home, purchased by Henry’s grandparents in the 1960s, without a clear titleholder and property owner.

Without a will clearly determining a titleholder, a property is split between all potential inheritors — in this case Henry and his two brothers. This can cause family issues when the inheritors cannot agree on what to do with the property.

A missing title can cause many legal issues besides family ones. It can prevent the inherited property from being used as collateral for a loan or being approved for a home improvement permit from the city government. When it comes to disaster relief funds, properties without titles are often ineligible for any government assistance that could help homeowners fix their homes. Properties without a clear title are also more at risk of being lost to developers or local governments when they fall into disrepair or when families become overwhelmed with unpaid property taxes.

Thankfully, Henry was connected to various community resources that could help his family through the very organization he supported: the North Riverside CDC.

His work with the North Riverside CDC put him in contact with the Jacksonville chapter of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC Jacksonville). As part of our $10 million Affordable Housing investment, United Way of Northeast Florida provides funding to LISC Jacksonville, which then works together with organizations like the North Riverside CDC to identify individuals who are experiencing heirs’ property dilemmas. These cases are then referred to Three Rivers Legal Services, who have attorneys who help these families resolve these heirs’ property issues and obtain a proper title for their inherited properties.

In the case of Henry, his two brothers willingly gave up their shares in the home so Henry could become the sole titleholder. He is now able to keep the home that has been in his family for the last six decades firmly within his family. Someday, he hopes to leave it to the fourth generation of his family and continue the home’s legacy.

Henry now shares his story whenever he can so he can help families avoid the same issues his family went through. LISC Jacksonville, the North Riverside CDC and Three Rivers Legal Services also hold workshops and community outreach to teach residents about the importance of getting wills done as a preventative measure against heirs’ property issues. Together, we are building the North Riverside community stronger.