The Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) of Jefferson Parish Housing will be conducting an Open House on Friday, April 27th at 10:00 a.m., at the Community Center located at 1718 Betty Street, Marrero, La.

There will be representatives from Delgado Workshops, Delgado Youth Occupational Skills Training & Enrollment Services, Operation Reconstruct, Café Reconcile, Gretna Career College, Louisiana Workforce Commission, Green Corps, the Office of Family Support, Medicaid, and the University of Phoenix.

Information will be provided to attendees explaining the services and ages regarding each school. The Office of Family Support and Medicaid will furnish information on programs that their office provides.

We hope to see you there.

Kathy Barbier
FSS Coordinator
Jefferson Parish Housing

The Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) of Jefferson Parish Housing will be conducting an Open House on Friday, January 27th at 10:00 a.m., at the Community Center located at 1718 Betty Street, Marrero, La.

The topics of our open house will be training in homemaking, parenting skills & household management.

We hope to see you there.

Kathy Barbier
FSS Coordinator
Jefferson Parish Housing

Michael Arnolie
901 Family Services
Jefferson Parish Housing

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that it is launching a Section 3 Business Registry pilot program in Washington, D.C. that will expand job opportunities for low-income people and public housing residents by maintaining a registry of businesses that currently hire them. Additionally, HUD will implement the pilot program in New Orleans, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami, to give contracting agencies and low-income residents a single source of information to find eligible Section 3 businesses and job opportunities.

Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 promotes employment, training, and contracting opportunities to low-income residents who live in communities where HUD funds are spent. As a result, Section 3 promotes self-sufficiency for low-income persons, fosters the creation of small businesses, and helps build strong local economies. Based on the data received so far, 2010 HUD investments led to 38,000 new jobs- of which 47% were Section 3 hires. Almost 4,000 Section 3 business concerns received over $475 million in contracts. These numbers will increase as reporting continues.

Under the pilot, HUD’s Section 3 Business Registry will offer a searchable online database that housing authorities, local government agencies, and contractors can use to identify firms that have self-certified their status as Section 3 businesses and that hire low-income individuals.

“This business registry will maximize the impact of HUD investments on jobs and contracting opportunities,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “It’s a win-win situation for D.C. residents who arelooking for training and job opportunities as well as for businesses that hire them.”

Since 2009, HUD has increased Section 3 reporting from 20% to 80% of eligible HUD recipients. HUD has supported recipients by providing technical assistance and training in Section 3 compliance and conducted a listening session of stakeholders from various sectors to hear ideas for improvement. Recent HUD funding enabled 12 local recipients (public housing authorities, states, counties, and cities) to hire full-time Section 3 coordinators.

In 2010, 331 new jobs were created HUD-funding recipients in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, 275 (83%) of which were provided to local low-income residents (i.e., Section 3 residents). Additionally, more than $55 million in HUD funding was used for construction projects throughout the Capital Region, approximately $8 million of these funds were awarded to local businesses that hire low-income residents.

Recently, the District of Columbia passed a historic Jobs Bill that will require 51% of new employment opportunities created with local funding to be provided to DC residents. This bill is closely related to Section 3, and HUD plans to work closely with the District government to ensure that the maximum amount of jobs and contracting opportunities are provided to local residents with the greatest economic needs.

The Section 3 Business Registry’s online database is also intended to make compliance easier for recipients. It will increase the visibility of Section 3 firms and afford them better access to contracting opportunities. In addition, Section 3 residents will be encouraged to use the Section 3 Business Registry to identify businesses that may have employment opportunities they can apply for.

The Section 3 business registry pilot program will run until the fall of 2012. For more information about or to search HUD’s new Section 3 Business Registry, go to www.hud.gov/Sec3biz.

HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic said, “As we compare today’s data to market data from last year – and certainly from the economic conditions when we took office in 2009 – it’s clear that we’ve made important progress in recovering from this housing crisis. But with so many homeowners still struggling to pay their mortgages or move into more sustainable loans, we can not rest on our laurels. There is still a lot of work to do. That’s why the Obama Administration continues to push hard for effective implementation of our recovery programs to help more underwater borrowers and unemployed or underemployed homeowners stay in their homes whenever possible.”

"The Administration’s programs have set standards that have benefitted millions of families across the country and helped them avoid foreclosure," said Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad. “We remain committed to helping as many families as we can while the housing market continues to recover.”

The December Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:

• The Administration’s recovery efforts continue to help millions of families deal with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, even as new mortgage delinquencies continue to decline. More than 5.5 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of November 2011 – including more than 1.7 million HAMP trial modification starts and more than 1.1 million FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions. Nearly 910,000 homeowners have received a HAMP permanent modification to date, saving an estimated $9.9 billion in monthly mortgage payments. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals more than 2.6 million proprietary mortgage modifications through November.
• Eligible homeowners entering HAMP have a high likelihood of earning a permanent modification and realizing long-term success.Eighty-three percent of eligible homeowners entering HAMP since June 1, 2010 received a permanent modification, with an average trial period of 3.5 months. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)’s Mortgage Metrics Reportfor the Third Quarter of 2011 found that HAMP continues to prove more sustainable for homeowners than industry modifications, as a result of HAMP’s emphasis on affordability relative to a homeowner’s income and successful completion of a trial payment period. View the November MHA Servicer Performance Report.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it immediately suspended James H. Grier and Mantua Gardens East, Inc. (MGE) of Philadelphia from doing business with the U.S. Government. In addition to the immediate suspension announced today, HUD also proposed their debarments to prevent Grier and the company from participating in government-related business for a period of five years.

HUD’s actions are based upon Grier and MGE’s improper withdrawal of $325,000 from reserves without HUD approval and submission of false and misleading financial reports to HUD. MGE also failed to provide sufficient notice to tenants of its intention to opt out of the Section 8 project-based program, thereby denying the tenants adequate time to make housing arrangements, and threatening them with eviction.

“As president of this Company, Mr. Grier, through a number of acts and omissions, was responsible for MGE’s violations of important HUD requirements,” said Helen Kanovsky, HUD’s General Counsel. “By failing properly to notify their tenants, Mr. Grier and his company deprived them of an important legal right to make other housing arrangements and to spare them from the possibility of eviction.”

Background:

In December of 1970, MGE agreed to a $720,000 mortgage loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). As an FHA mortgagor, MGE is required to establish and maintain a reserve account to meet emergency needs at the multi-family housing development, which comprises ten buildings located in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood. In 2008, Grier and MGE improperly withdrew $325,000 in reserves without required HUD approval and then refused to restore those funds to the Company’s reserve account. Grier and MGE then pledged those funds, along with one of the development’s buildings and future rent payments, as collateral for a separate loan from a lending institution. This misappropriation of reserve funds and unauthorized encumbrance of property are serious violations of FHA requirements. Grier and MGE also filed a false and misleading annual financial report to HUD by failing to note this new liability.

For approximately 27 years, MGE received project-based Section 8 subsidies under a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contract with HUD. Under the terms of the Contract, MGE was entitled to opt out of the contract, but was first required to provide one year’s advance notice to the tenants. That notice would have allowed tenants sufficient time to make other housing arrangements. In October of 2011, MGE notified HUD that it was opting out of the program, failed to properly notify tenants, and instead threatened them with eviction.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it has launched the HUD Language Line, a telephone language service pilot that will offer live, one-on-one interpretation services in more than 175 languages. Accessible throughout the nation, the language line will help HUD staff to better communicate with Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals and families about HUD housing programs, services, and activities.

“Access to government should not be determined by how well a person speaks English,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “The HUD Language Line is another example of HUD’s efforts to ensure that persons with limited English proficiency have equal access to HUD programs and services.”

This pilot program will run through September 2012. HUD staff across the nation will be able to use the HUD Language Line to provide non English-speaking individuals and families with information about fair housing, homeownership, lead abatement, housing assistance, and other HUD programs and services. When a person with limited English proficiency contacts the Department, the HUD staff person taking the call will contact the Language Line and speak with a live operator, who will connect the caller and HUD staff person with an interpreter who speaks the caller’s language.

Congress appropriated funds to HUD under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 to help ensure that individuals have access to information in languages other than English regarding HUD programs, services and activities.

HUD also offers a Limited English Proficiency website to promote equal access to housing programs by providing important HUD documents in 18 different languages. HUD's expanded LEP website features factsheets, housing brochures and other HUD forms in Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Chinese, Creole, Farsi, French, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, in addition to English. The site offers brochures on fair housing, model lease agreements, information about HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), and Resident Rights and Responsibilities. The larger LEP initiative is in response to Executive Order 13166, which requires all federal, local and state agencies that receive federal funding to ensure that people with limited language skills have meaningful access to government programs and services.

The Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) of Jefferson Parish Housing will be hosting a MEDICAL OPEN HOUSE on Wednesday, December 28th from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., at the Community Center, which is located at 1718 Betty Street, Marrero, La.

There will be blood pressure screening, and a short talk on the signs of diabetes, stroke, heart attack and hepatitis. There will also be a registered dietician to speak on nutrition and its positive affects to remaining healthy and strong.

We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Kathy Barbier
FSS Coordinator
Jefferson Parish Housing Program

Sonya Stanley
FSS Program Clerk

The Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) of the Jefferson Parish Housing Program will be conducting an open house on Tuesday, November 29th at 10:00 a.m., at the Community Center located at 1718 Betty Street in Marrero for current Section 8 and Public Housing tenants.

There will be representatives from Delgado Workshops, Delgado Youth Occupational Skills Training & Enrollment Services, Louisiana Workforce Commission, Green Corps, The Office Of Family Support, Medicaid, Café’ Reconcile, Operation Reconstruct, Jefferson Parish Adult Learning Department, Jefferson Parish 901 Family Services, University Of Phoenix And Gretna Career College.

Information will be provided to attendees explaining the services and ages regarding each school.

Also, the Office of Family Support and Medicaid will furnish information on programs that their office provides.

We hope to see you there.

Kathy Barbier
FSS Coordinator
Jefferson Parish Housing

Sonya Stanley
FSS Program Clerk
Section 8

The settlement is the result of a complaint that was filed by a couple who claimed LMC discriminated against them when it denied the woman a mortgage loan because she was on maternity leave. The woman  alleges that even though her employer provided a letter stating that she was on paid maternity leave, LMC told her that the letter was not sufficient.  The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination in sales, rental, and lending based on a person’s sex, orfamily status.

“A woman’s access to a mortgage loan shouldn’t hinge on her maternity status,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  “Mortgage professionals have a right to protect their business interests, but lending practices that involve denying mortgages to expectant mothers, especially when they are on paid leave and plan to return to work, violate the law.”

In addition to compensating the woman who was denied the mortgage $12,000, LMC, while admitting no violation of the law, agrees to change its lending policy to approve mortgage loans to qualified women who are pregnant or on maternity/parental leave, including leave for adoptions.

If you turned in an application to be on the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List, you should have received a letter over the last few weeks confirming that your application was received.

You can provide any updates to your contact information through our "Contact Us" page.