Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, image from www.hudsonriverhousing.org
Earlier today, I received an uplifting message from Dave Snyder of Jewish Community Action about the foreclosure prevention outreach being done by NCRC. That's the Northside Community Reinvestment Coalition. Not only has NCRC been doing groundbreaking work on foreclosure prevention outreach, but the group (of which Hawthorne is a founding member) has also been lobbying Senators Klobuchar and Franken on the Consumer Financial Protection Agency bills going through Congress. We need to reach out to those at risk of losing their homes but also work with our elected officials to ensure that such a crisis never happens again.
Dave Snyder and Marcus Harcus have been doing a top-notch job of coordinating the outreach and lobbying, and today Dave told this story...
..."WE ARE STOPPING FORECLOSURES!
"Several months ago, when our volunteers knocked on Ms. Dorette B.’s door to talk with her about foreclosure prevention counseling, she told them that she had the situation firmly in hand, and didn’t need help. At the time, Dorette had negotiated a loan modification with GMAC to allow her and her daughter, who lives with autism, to stay in her home of 13 years. She called us back, however, when GMAC refused to make her modification permanent, citing a single missing signature on her application. With only a few days before her sheriff’s sale date, we connected Dorette to a counselor at Habitat for Humanity, and they were able to get her sale postponed until August 2, buying her some time to plan and negotiate further. Her case is still unresolved and JCA and other partners may still need to push for help for Dorette.
"But the point of this story is not that Dorette is getting help because of volunteer doorknockers like YOU. The point is that shortly after receiving assistance, Dorette was out with our team in north Minneapolis, wading through knee-deep snowbanks to knock on doors herself, to reach fellow residents who could use some help. The point is that the core leaders of our campaign—who have knocked on doors, traveled to Washington DC to represent us, and lobbied elected officials for fair lending reforms, are residents who have struggled against foreclosure themselves, and have decided to stand up for their neighbors.
"Since 2006, there have been more than 2,600 foreclosure sales in near North Minneapolis, out of 9,291 total households--a financial tsunami that wiped out millions of dollars of community wealth and uprooted thousands of families.
"In 2006-07, 49% of all home loans made to northside residents were subprime, higher-cost loans, compared to just 13.5% of Twin Cities loans overall. Subprime loans can easily cost you $50,000-$100,000 more for your home over the course of a 30 year mortgage than you would with a conventional, prime rate loan. That’s long-term, generational wealth that could have sent a kid to college or secured a small business on solid footing. Multiply that by 100, or 500, or 2,600, and then try to think of what impact that community wealth could have had for the Northside."
NCRC has two important dates coming up: On Tuesday, May 25, we will meet at the Urban League, 2100 Plymouth Ave N, at 6 p.m. to plan next steps and do foreclosure prevention outreach. And on Wednesday, June 9th at 5 p.m. we will hold an NCRC Community press event with John Taylor, President of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and local elected officials. If you can't make it to either event but still want to help, there are always opportunities. Contact Dave Snyder at david@jewishcommunityaction.org.
