Home Rescue Fair Reaches Out to Pilsen Families
J.D. VanSlyke
Published: May 10, 2010
This past Saturday two hundred and seventy four families visited Benito Juarez High School to meet with community partners and lenders at the Home Rescue Fair. The event was organized by the Alliance for Stabilizing our Communities in partnership with local community-based organizations such as the Resurrection Project, the Latino Policy Forum, and the Chicago Urban League. Homeowners impacted the most by the foreclosure crisis were connected with lenders, legal advisors, and counselors. This is the third Home Rescue Fair in Chicago, and the second fair located in the Pilsen neighborhood since March 2009.
Recent analysis by the Latino Policy Forum of data from the Woodstock Institute shows that “from 2007 to 2009 there were a total of 9,596 new foreclosure filings in the Chicago wards with the highest populations of Latinos.” Perhaps even more shocking, the study finds there was a 148.4% increase in the number of foreclosures from 2007 to 2009 in these wards. This is particularly troublesome to Latino communities who have relied on homeownership as a primary tool for wealth accumulation. Many families don’t know their rights as homeowners so they can adequately protect their investment. There are many factors contributing to the disproportionate effect the foreclosure crisis has had within Latino communities. For one, predatory lending was specifically targeted at moderate-to-low income, primarily minority communities. In a Woodstock Institute study of seven metropolitan areas, 40% of loans from high-risk lenders were made in communities whose population was over 80% minority. Language barriers can also prevent many from getting the information they need to save their homes. Other families simply do not know where to go to find the resources they need.
At the Home Rescue Fair 80 dedicated volunteers came together with banks, government agencies, community organizations, and advocates to connect families to the resources they needed the most. Families entering the Fair were led to a registration table where they were asked specific questions so that volunteers could assess their individual needs. While families waited to speak with either a lender, legal advisor, or counselor they had the opportunity to participate in variety of workshops ranging from “Budgeting in Difficult Times” to “How Foreclosure Impacts Your Income Taxes”. Six lenders in addition to Freddie Mac, six not for profit counseling organizations, and a variety of other agencies such as the IRS, Instituto del Progreso Latino, HUD, and the Illinois Attorney General participated in the fair. Bilingual assistance was also provided so that each family could have access to information that they previously did not have.
Jacqueline O’Garrow, National Director of Alliances and Initiatives for Bank of America, has traveled to 20 different neighborhoods across the United States organizing similar Home Rescue Fairs as part of the Alliance for Stabilizing our Communities. The Alliance consists of the National Urban League, National Counsel of la Raza, and Bank of America. According to O’Garrow, “ for 56% of families that come to these foreclosure prevention events this is their first time talking to a lender or a counselor.” The value of events such as the Home Rescue Fair is getting the information to those who need it the most. In the end, the success of the Home Rescue Fair was very bittersweet. On one hand, it is great that so many families can get connected with the resources they need to find the best sustainable solution. Yet the high turn out is indicative of the overwhelming number of individuals and families that still desperately need support to save such an important investment: their homes.
The Home Rescue Fair is part of The Resurrection Project’s Foreclosure Prevention Program, which additionally provides one on one foreclosure counseling. For additional assistance if you are facing foreclosure please feel to visit The Resurrection Project’s website at www.resurrectionproject.org or contact them directly (312) 666-1323.
Posted in Community Events
