Housing Counseling

Foreclosure prevention focus of all-day fair

Bradenton—Catholic Charities of Manatee County hosted a Homeownership, Debt Management and Citizenship Fair recently at their offices in Bradenton.

A high demand in requests for foreclosure assistance to the housing counseling program spurred the organization of the all-day event. Staff and volunteers from the HUD-certified Catholic Charities program and Manatee Community Action Agency, along with representatives from local financial institutions assisted people requesting services.

“Currently our Housing Counseling Program is experiencing an overwhelming number of people who are asking for foreclosure prevention and assistance,” said Yraida Contreras Alonso, program director of Catholic Charities of Manatee County. “We have a waiting list of clients requiring one-on-one counseling resulting in the average number of requests to our office tripling in recent months.”

According to Alonso, 21 clients received one-on-one housing and/or foreclosure counseling at the fair. Also, of 10 clients who sought citizenship assistance, six qualified and applied for citizenship.

Catholic Charities, Center for Financial Independence, and Manatee Community Action Agency hosted a Housing Round Table to discuss the dilemma of foreclosures. In attendance were representatives from Congresswoman Kathy Castor’s office and Congressman Vern Buchanan’s office, Mayor Wayne Poston, City Planner Tim Polk, representatives from the Manatee County Neighborhood Services Department and the Downtown Development Authority, Gulf Coast Mortgage Bankers Association officers,  representatives from the Tampa office of HUD, and staff from several area banks and lending institutions.

“This housing fair is a result of the round table meeting,” Alonso said. “There is a crisis in our community.”

Those who came to the fair received help with foreclosure, short sale, debt management, budget counseling, reverse mortgage and information on the Catholic Charities HUD certified First Time Homebuyer Class that offers down payment assistance from Manatee County upon completion. Bilingual English/Spanish speaking counselors were available.

Counselors also helped with applications for naturalization, and the U.S. Citizenship test.

During the past three fiscal years (October 2004-September 2007) Catholic Charities has provided 857 people with housing counseling services. Approximately 75% of them were Hispanic.

“Due to lack of English skills, financial literacy and money management, and at times poor educational background, it makes this component of our community extremely vulnerable to financial and housing abuses,” said Alonso.   “In the case of foreclosure, most of the clients seen in this office, including those who speak English, are intimated by lenders and feel inadequate to make a phone call to their bank when first faced with a financial crisis.  They are in most instances unaware of workout plans that are available”, she said. 

“The clients who come to Catholic Charities are low-income individuals and families who have worked hard day and night for the little they own,” Alonso said. “They are good people who cannot wait because the threat is at their doors.”

For more information or to volunteer at Catholic Charities of Manatee County, please call 941-714-7829.