Homeless & Crisis Assistance

Washington, DC - January 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senators Kent Conrad and John Hoeven and Congressman Rick Berg announced today that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is awarding $1,665,449 in federal grants to organizations and government agencies throughout North Dakota to combat homelessness in the state

STATE HOUSE - January 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Senate Committee on Housing & Municipal Government will hold the second in a series of hearings on the homelessness crisis in Rhode Island on Thursday, January 20, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Senate lounge

FRANKFORT, KY - January 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Steve Beshear today announced his authorization of the immediate distribution of $27 million in federal appropriations to be allocated to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Norfolk, VA - January 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The City of Norfolk will sponsor its tenth Project Homeless Connect, a one-day, mega service event where homeless adults, especially those staying on the streets, can connect to vital resources and services, on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 8:30 am at the Scope Exhibition Hall. Mayor Paul D. Fraim will address the volunteers and provider organizations at 8 am

STATE HOUSE, Providence, RI - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator John J. Tassoni, Jr. was reappointed Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing yesterday, and immediately called a meeting of the Committee for next Tuesday to address the issue of homelessness in Rhode Island

Vancouver, WA - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Washington Homelessness Housing and Assistance Act mandated in May 2005 the creation of 10-year homeless housing plans for each of the state’s counties. Clark County’s Homelessness Plan Task Force invites neighborhood leaders, elected officials, landlords, educators, low-income people and all other interested citizens to attend a planning session on Wednesday, January 12, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Center for Community Health, 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Bldg. 17, Vancouver

WASHINGTON, DC - January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced that Paterson will receive a $6.387 million federal investment to expand access to affordable housing for low-and moderate-income families through various housing development, community revitalization, and emergency homeless shelter programs. The grants, awarded and administered through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), are part of four HUD initiatives: The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the HOME Investment Partnership, the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program, and the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program

NORFOLK, VA - January 4, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Beginning Monday, January 3, families and individuals who are imminent danger of losing their primary source of heat or have no heat at all may be eligible for further assistance with their heating costs through the Crisis Assistance Program.

Kansas City, MO - January 4, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- On December 1, 2010, Heather Bradley-Geary of Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) participated in a national summit in Washington, D.C. organized by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). The collaborative meeting, “Searching for Balance: Civic Engagement in Communities Responding to Homelessness,” was organized with the goal of developing constructive alternatives to the criminalization of homelessness

Long Beach, CA - December 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) will conduct the fifth biannual homeless count in Long Beach on Thursday, January 27th, 2011.

LOS ANGELES, CA - December 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Villaraigosa joined a news conference call with fellow US Conference of Mayor (USCM) counterparts to discuss the issues of hunger and homelessness in the United States. These issues remain major challenges in U.S. cities according to a USCM report on the status of Hunger and Homelessness in 27 cities in America (listed below) that was released today by the U.S. Conference of Mayors

Washington, D.C. - December 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today NeighborWorks America, the Congressionally appointed administrator of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program, announced that, based on a new report that analyzed the NFMC program through December 2009, the odds of curing a foreclosure, and potentially avoiding losing a home, is 1.7 times larger for a homeowner who works with an NFMC counselor than for a homeowner who doesn’t receive such counseling

Washington, D.C. - December 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the midst of a struggling national economy, The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) will release results of its 2010 Hunger and Homelessness Report on Tuesday, December 21 at 11:00 a.m. during a CONFERENCE CALL featuring several mayors from around the country. In light of cash strapped local budgets and travel bans, the USCM is hosting a conference call instead of having mayors travel to Washington, D.C

WASHINGTON, DC - December 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today was elected by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to lead federal efforts to end homelessness. As chair of USICH, Secretary Solis joins the newly elected vice chair, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in implementing Opening Doors, the first federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Solis succeeds Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, who has been chair since 2009

Mineola, NY - December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano has announced that Warm Bed, Nassau’s homeless program providing shelter relief to families and individuals during cold winter months, has been activated. A one-stop Nassau County Winter Homeless Hotline, 1-866-WARM-BED, will operate 7 days a week and run through March 31. County Executive Mangano activated the program and hotline five days early, on December 10, in anticipation of the cold weather. Warm Bed was originally scheduled to open on December 15 this year. If winter conditions persist beyond March 31, the program will continue until warmer weather arrives

WASHINGTON, DC - December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A homeless-prevention program by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which seeks to help Veterans and families who are on the verge of becoming homeless, has moved closer to implementation. The program marks the first time that VA will fund services for the spouses and children of Veterans at risk of becoming homeless.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New Year will ring in better times in the U.S. real estate market, according to one out of three people surveyed. The opinion poll found that the majority of respondents, however, aren’t so enthused about real estate when it comes to the calendar advancing to 2011

LIMA, OH - December 10, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law section is seeking input from members of the public who have donated to a well-known Lima veterans' charity.Last week, as a result of a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Richard Cordray, Michael Muhammad was ordered to stop soliciting contributions for his nonprofit organizations, Help Homeless Veterans Inc and Veterans Hope Community House Inc. The Attorney General's Office also sought and obtained a court order to shut down Muhammad's "veterans' shelter" at 616 W. Elm St., Lima.

December 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) and Places for People broke ground today on Places at Page, Missouri’s first affordable housing development funded by the state’s housing commission specifically targeted to alleviate homelessness amongst individuals living with severe and persistent mental illness. Places for People Executive Director Francie Broderick, Treasurer Zweifel, construction workers and future Places at Page residents helped break down a wall in the new facility expected to be completed by late 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- More than 400 participants from across the country are expected to take part in a two-day national forum on ending homelessness among Veterans by strengthening preventative measures and collaboration among government and private-sector organizations.

MONROE, LA - December 6, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ouachita Independent Bank (OIB), Community Trust Bank, Progressive Bank, Richland State Bank, Cross Keys Bank, BancorpSouth Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) are pleased to announce they have awarded $24,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) awards to Family Promise of Ouachita (Family Promise). The checks were presented during a media event at OIB on Wednesday, December

LIMA, OH - December 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Many Lima residents are familiar with the sight of Michael Muhammad sitting in front of the local post office soliciting donations to assist veterans. Today, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray filed a lawsuit in Allen County seeking to shut down Muhammad's nonprofit organizations and the homeless shelter he claims to operate for the benefit of veterans."This is a bad situation on several levels," said Attorney General Cordray. "The conditions inside this home are appalling and hazardous to the residents. Standing water in the basement, exposed electrical wires, rotting carpet, unsafe bathroom facilities and roaches, mice and rats – the place is a mess and we need to shut it down.

Washington, DC - December 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) led a full committee hearing on "Foreclosed Justice: Causes and Effects of the Foreclosure Crisis," in which the Committee discussed with invited witnesses the government’s response to the country’s foreclosure crisis.One of the witnesses, a New York bankruptcy judge, testified that he had routinely encountered in his court foreclosure attorneys who: failed to know who they represented, lacked the underlying note evidencing their entitlement to seek foreclosure, failed to establish the legal chain of title establishing the standing of their client-mortgagees, and submitted to the court false affidavits attesting to the ownership of the note and mortgage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chairman Conyers, Ranking Member Smith, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding issues surrounding mortgage servicing. This testimony will cover two key areas: first, the steps we are taking to ensure that servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program are adhering to program guidelines in light of the recent foreclosure issues, and second, the accomplishments of MHA to date and its impact on mortgage servicing.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that homelessness for 750,000 Americans was prevented or ended, thanks to HUD’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP), funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The program provided $1.5 billion to local communities to keep families in their homes or help them find other affordable housing after a sudden financial crisis, which might have otherwise led to homelessness.

TOPEKA, KS - December 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Kansas Point-in-Time Count Partnership is seeking volunteers for the 2011 count of persons experiencing homelessness in Kansas. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awards grants to communities and local organizations that participate in homeless assistance planning programs, or what's referred to as a Continuum of Care (CoC) network. HUD requires Point-in-Time counts every two years for all networks wishing to maintain and use federal funding. In Kansas, five CoC networks will conduct the statewide coordinated count on Wednesday, January 26, 2011

CHICAGO, IL - November 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today joined local schoolchildren to light the state of Illinois’ annual holiday tree and launch the Illinois Heroes holiday card drive. Governor Quinn encouraged schoolchildren from across the state to take part in the annual drive by making holiday cards for servicemembers at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany. Governor Quinn will personally deliver the cards during a visit to troops at LRMC later this year.

Los Angeles, CA - November 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Los Angeles County NeighborWorks® Center for Foreclosure Solutions (CFS) coalition has been helping families facing foreclosure since the beginning of the mortgage crisis. As families head into the holidays, the significance of having a home in which to share holiday dinners with family is more important than other times in the year. As joblessness in Los Angeles remains historically high helping families to stay in their home is critical this holiday season

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With Thanksgiving approaching, and millions of homeless and poor Americans struggling with hunger and the cold, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty today announced it has received a $75,000 from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. This support comes at a critical time, as the Law Center works to help implement the first-ever Federal Plan to End Homelessness.

SAN DIMAS, CA - November 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman David Dreier (R-CA) will participate as a volunteer server at the Los Angeles Mission’s Annual Thanksgiving for the Homeless tomorrow, November 24, 2010. Dreier, a member of the Mission’s Board of Directors, has participated in the event for many years. He said the annual event is an opportunity to help those dealing with these challenging times