Austin foreclosures hit an all time high last month with the number of foreclosure postings in Travis County exceeding 750, a 117% increase from June 2008.  To address this trend, the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Office, through the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, is contracting with local non-profits to provide foreclosure counseling, credit and budget counseling and other financial services in both English and Spanish.  Services are available to residents whose total household income does not exceed 80% of the Median Family Income (currently $58,650 for a household of four)and who are at risk of losing their home. 

 

More information can be found at these websites: 

The Applied Materials Foundation has made a one-time philanthropic grant of $500,000 to create a "Basic Needs Emergency Assistance Fund," which will distribute funds immediately to four local nonprofits - Caritas, Best Single Source, Greenlights and the 2-1-1 Texas/United Way Helpline.  Dell, 3M, IBM and the RGK Foundation have also made commitments to contribute to the Basic Needs Emergency Assistance Fund, which will be administered through the Austin Community Foundation. 

The Austin Community Foundation website includes a streamlined grant application for nonprofits as well as a listing of all grant requests for funders to view.  At a press conference yesterday, Mayor Lee Leffingwell thanked Applied Materials for stepping up at a time when non-profit organizations are faced with decreasing donations and increasing demand for services.  "By donating this charitable sum, Applied Materials will help maintain services that were in jeopardy," Leffingwell said, "Austin Community Foundation is providing valuable assistance by bridging the gap between donors and non-profits in need of donations." 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released its Annual Homeless Assessment. The report found that about 1.6 million people in the U.S. sought emergency shelter or transitional housing from October 2007 through September 2008.  HUD estimates that one in every 66 persons living in principal U.S. cities was homeless, compared to one in every 450 persons living in suburban or rural areas.  Among the five most populous states - California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois - Texas had the lowest number of beds in proportion to its population.

 

Organizations are asked to enter their program and service data by August 10th, when training for school personnel in the use of the system will begin.  To get started, go to www.ysm-austin.org, and select "Help" to find instructions for using YSM or to sign up for a training webinar.   For more information, contact Suzanne Hershey at suzanne@communitysync.com.

The Basic Needs Coalition is continuing a series of workshops to train social workers and volunteers on how to assist their clients in enrolling for CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP food assistance and other programs.  Helping those who qualify receive these benefits brings more resources to our community and strengthens families during these difficult economic times. 

The following workshops will be held at Catholic Charities, 1817 East 6th Street:

• July 21st from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Covering the Integrated 1010 Application that includes SNAP Food Benefits, Medicaid and other programs
• August 6th from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Covering the H1014 Application that includes Medicaid and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program)

Community Action Network is a collaboration of organizations and individuals in Central Texas who are working together to build a community of equity and opportunity.

CAN's role in the community is to ...

• Enhance awareness of community issues;
• Strengthen partnerships and connect planning efforts;
• Support collaborative strategies that maximize community resources and impact; and
• Mobilize action by reporting on progress made to improve the community's well-being.

CAN Partners:  Austin Area Human Services Association, Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, Austin Chamber, Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District,
Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center, Capital Metro, City of Austin, Community Justice Council, Integrated Care Collaboration, Seton Family of Hospitals, St. David's Community Health Foundation, St. Edward's University, Travis County, Travis County Healthcare District, United Way Capital Area, University of Texas at Austin, and Workforce Solutions - Capital Area.