Neighborhood Partnerships

Today Neighborhood Partnerships is taking part in a nationally coordinated release of the Corporation for Enterprise Development’s Assets and Opportunity Scorecard. The Oregon Scorecard builds on a family financial resilience framework developed by CFED that looks at ways we as a state can act to support the five steps to financial security – Learn, Earn, Invest, Save, and Protect.

The Scorecard highlights the need for us to take action. Oregon received 1 B, 3 C’s and a D based on our data, and noted both long term and short term opportunities to make improvements.

The Oregon Legislature will re-convene in February for a short, one month session. While the budget will be the big topic of the session, we hope to be able to make improvements on one of the Scorecard recommendations and also make a difference for Oregon homeowners facing foreclosure.

Neighborhood Partnerships and the Housing Alliance will be working in parallel with other advocates in an effort to pass bills that will:

• Require mediation – stop preventable foreclosures: Mediation should be required before finalization of a foreclosure, to provide homeowners and lenders the opportunity to gather information and make timely decisions regarding alternatives to foreclosure.
• Provide “Dual-Track” protection: Homeowners should be protected from foreclosure during the time they are actively engaged in negotiations to modify their loans. We hope to increase transparency and accountability in loss mitigation negotiations.
• Set and enforce servicer standards and regulations: Servicers should adhere to basic minimum standards of good faith and fair dealing. The pending national settlement between the states’ Attorneys General and the 5 federally regulated banks may include these concepts, but state law would still be necessary to cover local banks and to provide an enforcement mechanism.

You can help! Call your legislator today and ask them to take action in February to stop preventable foreclosures and hold servicers to a high standard. And, join us in February as we visit legislators to share our stories. Contact jbyrd@neighborhoodpartnerships.org if you’re able to make a trip to Salem in February.

Not sure who your legislator is? Look here http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/.

Click here to listen to a news story on the scorecard release.

Oregonians facing the loss of their homes need clear and accurate information about their rights, obligations and the foreclosure process. Where possible, alternatives to foreclosure ought to be fairly considered. When there is no viable alternative, the foreclosure process ought to be conducted with adequate notice and transparent process. The Housing Alliance has adopted the following principles:

1. Mediation to stop preventable foreclosures – Mediation should be required before finalization of a foreclosure, to provide homeowners and lenders the opportunity to make timely decisions regarding alternatives to foreclosure.
2. Dual-track protection – Homeowners should be protected from foreclosure during the time they are actively engaged in loan modification or loss mitigation negotiations. Loss mitigation negotiations ought to be fair and transparent.
3. Servicer standards – Loan servicers should adhere to basic minimum standards of good faith and fair dealing, and should be held accountable for violations of those standards.

To lend your voice to this effort, please contact Janet Byrd at jbyrd@neighborhoodpartnerships.org. We’ll let you know of hearings and other advocacy opportunities as they arise in February. In the meantime, contact your legislator to let them know these issues matter to you, and that you want to see action in February.

On January 11th, Neighborhood Partnerships continued our work with Patrick Bresette of the Public Works Project (link: http://sites.google.com/site/demospublicworks/). He spoke about the role of the Occupy movement, and how it’s changed the national debate around inequality. He also shared research and insights from working across the country in support of efforts to build and maintain strong communities that meet the needs of all residents. While in Oregon, Patrick also spent another day with us during the second session of the Advocate’s College.

You can download the presentation from that evening here. You can also visit the Public Works website where you can download other presentations, research, or view webinars, including the most recent “From Occupation to Reclamation”.

Thanks are also due to NW Natural for their generous donation of the space and their assistance in hosting a small reception following the event. Stay tuned to our blog or newsletter for more opportunities as we move this work forward.

Take a look at some photos from the event on our Facebook page.

The role of government, public spending, and taxes will be at the heart of policy and budget debates both nationally and at the state level in the coming year.

Join us as Patrick Bresette of Public Works shares research and insights from working across the country in support of efforts to build and maintain strong communities that meet the needs of all residents. Learn how this work is being carried forward in Oregon, and how you can add your voice to those calling for adequate revenues and public systems that address the deep needs in our communities.

NW Natural
220 NW Second Avenue
Fourth Floor Hospitality Suite
Portland, Oregon 97209

Wednesday, January 11th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

To get to the meeting, you can take the MAX to the Old Town / Chinatown stop, or you can find parking options here.

Please RSVP to Haley, at 503-226-3001 ext 100, or hcloyd@neighborhoodpartnerships.org.

Patrick Bresette
Associate Program Director, Public Works
Patrick is responsible for taking the work of the program out to the states and partner organizations and seeking ways to imbed the lessons learned and strategies developed into the everyday work of the many stakeholders for an effective public sector. Patrick comes to the project after thirteen years as Associate Director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities and before that as a legislative aide in the Texas House of Representatives. He brings with him a broad understanding of how to work with and within the public sector for positive social change. His years of work leading the policy team at CPPP, spearheading the organization’s legislative initiatives, and leading diverse coalitions of partner organizations situate him well for his outreach and partnership development efforts with this initiative. Patrick has an MPA from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a BFA in Sculpture from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University