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Atlanta Regional Housing Forum, 3/2

 

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>Risk of foreclosure dips, but remains elevated - AJC

 

>Georgia financial distress worse than nation - AJC

 

>Can lease purchase save us? - Shelterforce


>Metro Atlanta Foreclosures up in February - AJC

 

Greetings!  


Thank you for your ongoing engagement in the Piece by Piece initiative.  We look forward to receiving your public commitment forms (deadline Friday, April 8), and we are ready to be of assistance if you have questions or comments along the way. We hope you find our weekly
regular emails informative and helpful.  Please alert us to any important activities or events that could be included in future communications.   


Spotlight on Clayton County:


Clayton County continues to be innovative in its effort to combat the foreclosure crisis.  Clayton has been hit particularly hard --- ranking 5th in the 20-County MSA for the number of foreclosure filings in 2010 (Equity Depot).  The County was well-represented at the November 30 Piece by Piece (PBP) launch event.  The Clayton County Neighborhood Stabilization Program is a PBP partner; Clayton middle school student Darrielle McCray was presented with a Piece by Piece recognition award for her compelling website KidsofForeclosure.com; and Clayton County Commission Chair Eldrin Bell attended the event along with many other County representatives, stakeholders and residents. 


Spotlight on ClaytonIn December, PBP partners Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity and Wells Fargo announced a first-of-its-kind partnership to revitalize 70 homes in Jonesboro's Iron Gate community, a neighborhood where values have dropped more than 20 percent and crime has increased due to heavy foreclosures.  With a $175,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation and Wells Fargo employee volunteers supplying the labor (an estimated 2,500 hours), Southern Crescent is identifying eligible, income-qualified homeowners to receive home repairs, exterior paint, and landscape beautification along with interior energy-efficient and weatherization improvements.  


Participating homeowners are also required to participate in preventive maintenance and financial education training sessions.  The goal of the partnership is to boost home values and neighborhood marketability by beautifying and improving Iron Gate properties helping residents who have been plagued by job losses and other economic set-backs.  


"We're close to the top [of metro Atlanta foreclosure cases], we realize where we are, but we're rolling up our sleeves to do something about it," Chairman Eldrin Bell said.  (Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 12/15/10).  For more on this unique effort, read the AJC article or coverage in the Clayton News Daily.


Plans are currently underway for a Clayton County Housing Summit to be held in April.  The planning committee is coordinating an agenda that will address foreclosures, senior housing, workforce housing, veterans housing, faith-based housing initiatives and special needs housing.  We will keep PBP partners informed as dates are finalized.  


Public Commitments Update:


We continue to receive public commitments from PBP partners in advance of the April 8 deadline including contributions from the Livable Communities Coalition and Rebuilding Together Atlanta.


Register for the Atlanta Regional Housing Forum:


The first Atlanta Regional Housing Forum of 2011 is scheduled for Wednesday, March 2 at 9:30 a.m. at the Loudermilk Center downtown.  The landscape of Atlanta is in the midst of a historic shift. The region faces numerous challenges to sustaining economic and social health in the long-term. Join us for a discussion of the current housing and economic landscape and where we are headed.  Speakers include:  David Stockert (Post Properties), Rick Porter (Richport Properties), Odetta MacLeish-White (Enterprise Community Partners), and AJ Robinson (Central Atlanta Progress).  For more details and to register, click here.

 

Sincerely
Susan Adams
Piece by Piece Coordinator  

 

 

 

 

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