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Life is fragile. No matter how carefully you prepare and plan, one life-changing event, one mistake, can be devastating. No where is this more evident right now than with the foreclosure epidemic. "Our city neighborhoods are in a fragile state," said Susan Haigh, president of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH). "Neighborhoods that have previously blossomed with new homeowner families, are now instead filled with vacant, boarded up properties that endanger the safety of all who still live there. The need for homeownership preservation in the core cities has never been greater." The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) reports that in 2002, Hennepin County had 907 foreclosures. In 2006, the number of foreclosures in Hennepin County jumped to 3,000, marking a 235 percent increase. Similarly in Ramsey County, 2002 saw 353 foreclosures, and by 2006, the number grew to 1,407. While the subprime mortgage market has been touted as the leading reason for this alarming trend, it's important to note that no homeowner is completely immune. Quite often, a dramatic life event can rapidly change a family's housing security. Leading causes of foreclosures include job/income loss, divorce, disease, disability and major home repair costs. Joyce Johnson knows this all too well. A series of events including a complicated pregnancy, job layoff and prolonged surgery recovery sent Johnson's finances into a tail spin, putting her home in jeopordy. "It all happened in the blink of an eye," said Johnson. (See page 6 to read her full story). Twin Cities Habitat is not only committed to providing new affordable homeownership opportunities, but also preserving existing homeownership. For the past decade, TCHFH has operated two additional programs that help families keep their homes. The Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program offers assistance to residents of South and Southeast Minneapolis, and any TCHFH homeowner regardless of where they live in the metro. The program provides counseling, referrals, negotiations with lenders, and financial assistance. The second program, A Brush With Kindness, is a neighborhood outreach service offering painting, landscaping and minor repairs for qualifying low-income homeowners. Selection priority is given to homeowners that are elderly, disabled or single parents. Low-income homeowners struggling to maintain their homes are at a higher risk of receiving citations for repairs from city inspectors. For some homeowners, a costly repair may be the tipping point that could lead to foreclosure. Whenever possible, city inspectors in Minneapolis and St. Paul try to refer low-income homeowners to ABWK for assistance. "A Brush With Kindness is a wonderful resource for us. We're on the enforcement end and we're telling people ‘you've got to maintain your property,' but not all people have the resources or the means to do that," said Janine Atchison, District Manager, Housing Inspection Services, City of Minneapolis. When Janie Eilers received a citation from the City of Minneapolis to repaint her garage, she turned to ABWK for help. The 68-year-old North Minneapolis homeowner is deaf, suffers painful arthritis and is living on a fixed income. "They certainly did more than I ever expected. They painted and re-roofed the garage, replaced the gutters and fixed the service door. It's an absolutely super program for us old folks that don't get around so easy anymore." Atchison said that repair deadlines are automatically extended for homes selected for work by ABWK. "When A Brush With Kindness is there, we can feel confident that the job will be done. They literally go over and above what we've required. The program has positively impacted the lives of those homeowners, as well as impacted their neighborhoods." Much of the work completed through ABWK is volunteer-led. See page 7 for a volunteer group's perspective on the program. For more information about MFPP or ABWK, visit www.tchabitat.org. Contributed by Sharon Rolenc Artwork by Lynn Fellman |
