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Piece by Piece Update
November 29, 2011
Greetings!
Please note the following news and items of interest. You will want to mark your calendars for a series of upcoming webinars (beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, November 30) focused on foreclosure and on federal housing policy impacting foreclosure. Links to register are included below.
Resilient Communities in the Face of Foreclosures - Wednesday, November 30; 2:00 - 3:00 pm EST
 Teams from Foreclosure-Response.org and HousingPolicy.org will present the first in a two-part Live at the Forum webinar series to highlight the latest in research and practice regarding foreclosures. Learn from speakers who will highlight local and regional efforts to build resilience in hard hit areas. The presentation will include the findings of two National League of Cities reports on Resilience in the Face of Foreclosures, highlighting Lessons from Local and Regional Practice and Six Case Studies. Speakers will discuss how leadership, outreach efforts, partnerships, and leveraging financial resources play a role in addressing foreclosures and helping communities to become more resilient. REGISTER NOW.
Foreclosures in Communities of Color - Monday, December 5; 2:00 - 3:00 pm EST.
Foreclosure-Response.org and HousingPolicy.org will present the second part of the Live at the Forum series with presentations on how the ongoing foreclosure crisis has had a disparate impact on communities of color. During the past year the Annie E. Casey Foundation has convened a series of dialogues to discuss the problem and potential solutions for it. Join speakers from the foundation and participating organizations to learn more about what they discovered in their discussions, and the steps we can take to remedy the crisis. REGISTER NOW
 Can Lease Purchase Save Us? - Tuesday, December 6; 3:00 - 4:30 pm EST.
The US Congress and Housing in 2011/2012--- Thursday, December 15; 3:30 to 5:00 p.m EST
Public policy staff at Enterprise Community Partners will present an overview of Congressional action on housing legislation and its impact in communities. Washington has certainly been active this year, but what does it all mean for housing and community development? In this session, Enterprise presenters will give an overview of HUD 2012 appropriations, a discussion of potential tax reform as it relates to debt reduction, an update on housing finance reform, and updates on other housing and community development-related activity in Washington. The policy team will also discuss top housing and community development agenda items for 2012/2013. REGISTER NOW
 The Center for Responsible Lending releases Lost Ground, 2011
This report continues the Center's tracking of the foreclosure crisis, updates previous findings, and expands datasets while looking at who has lost their home and is at risk, what types of mortgages they received, and where the foreclosure crisis had the greatest impact. View the Report
Georgia Ranks Among Highest in Consumer Distress Georgia is the fourth-most-distressed state in the nation according to CredAbility's quarterly index report that measures employment, housing, credit, household budgets and net worth. Read the AJC article. To see a detailed explanation of how the Index works and a national map, go to www.CredAbility.org/ConsumerDistressIndex .
PBP Partners Host Holiday Open House Tour to Encourage Neighborhood Stabilization
 Atlanta REALTORS®, led by The BeltLine Team and EpiCity, are collaborating again with a Holiday Open House Tour on Saturday, December 10, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the Capitol View, WestView, and Adair Park communities in Southwest Atlanta. In addition to the home tour, everyone is invited to bring a toy for the Salvation Army holiday toy drive. Following the home tour will be a cook-out for all those attending the event, as well as friends and neighbors. Each open house event is aimed at encouraging residents to strengthen and stabilize their neighborhoods through homeownership and their "Sphere of Influence." The open house tour will include over a dozen homes for sale in the Capitol View and WestView areas, including homes on Graham Street, Hartford Avenue, Beechwood Avenue, Everhart Street, Westmeath Drive, and Stokes Avenue. The residence at 1382 Graham Street will be the home base for the event. Each home boasts quality renovations and a steadfast commitment to true affordability, with prices ranging from $79,000 to $134,900. MORE INFO Project Rebuild In a recent survey by PBP partner the National Community Stabilization Trust, more than a third of Stabilization Trust community buyers cited inadequate public subsidy funds and lack of access to private capital for acquisition and renovation of property among the top challenges to getting to scale with local neighborhood stabilization efforts. Many respondents indicated that apart from program income, it is unclear where significant resources will be available to address the growing inventory of foreclosed and abandoned properties that will continue to affect communities. Project Rebuild is a newly proposed federal legislative initiative that provides the right recipe for saving our communities. By building on the early momentum created by Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), Project Rebuild would provide $15 Billion for hard hit communities to: create jobs in the struggling housing sector; transform vacant housing into new ownership and rental opportunities, to stabilize and grow property values; address commercial properties and other vital infrastructure projects; and leverage the private sector by engaging private developers and financial institution capital that have been on the sidelines of this fight. To get to know more about Project Rebuild and how it has the potential to impact our communities, please view the following resources available through the HUD NSP Resource Exchange: Sincerely Susan Adams Piece by Piece Coordinator 
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