Your Money Bus is coming to Jacksonville

It's never too late to secure
your financial future.

Get free professional advice, no strings attached.
Your Money Bus will be in town soon. Just bring your questions and concerns for a one-on-one consultation with a volunteer independent financial planner.

You can ask about budgeting, saving,reducing debt, investing and more. And, you'll receive a complimentary toolkit with articles,workbooks and interactive tools to help you plan for your future. The bus will be stopping at:


Free Advice Event
Gateway WorkSource Center
(in Gateway Town Center)
5000-2 Norwood Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32208
February 19th - 9:00-5:00 p.m.
February 20th - 9:00-1:00 p.m.


To make an appointment

visit

www.yourmoneybus.com

Jacksonville Community Empowerment Expo

The Community Empowerment Expo (CEE) will take place 8:30 a.m-1:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Downtown Main Library, 303 N. Laura St.

CEE will offer tangible resources and result-producing workshops to people who live below, at or just above the poverty line. This program has been carefully designed to bring businesses and non-profits together to provide real help to individuals seeking to improve their economic situation.

Workshops
Workshops will focus on key areas that can and will help improve individual economic status, including:

credit repair
career building
operating on a limited budget
building wealth
leading a healthy life
housing and foreclosure issues
advanced training and education
All workshops will result in a tangible resource for each attendee to take away from the Expo to help improve their quality of life. For example, a career building workshop will not only discuss the importance of a resume, but each person participating will leave with a professionally-designed resume.

Resource Expo
The Resource Expo will include more than 50 partnering agencies, businesses and organizations. In keeping with the CEE focus, each partner must offer a program or service for attendees. For example, a banking institution may offer a no-fee checking account to everyone who registers for and attends a banking workshop following the expo.

Please check back often as the Sept. 12 date for the Community Empowerment Expo nears. This site will be updated with information on specific workshops and resources committed to the event, as well as tips on how to prepare for the Expo in order to get the most out of it.

Community Empowerment Expo Partners

City of Jacksonville
National Disability Institute
Bank of America
ClearChannel Radio
JTA
Duval County Health Department
BluceCross BlueShield of Florida
Real$ense
Internal Revenue Service
Jacksonville University
Ready 4 Work
WorkSource

HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award Application

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the American Planning Association (APA) have announced the criteria for the 13th annual HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award.

The award is part of the APA's 2010 National Awards Program, for which winners will be announced at APA's National Planning Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 10-14, 2010.

The award honors excellence in community planning that has led to measurable benefits in terms of increased economic employment, education, or housing choice or mobility for low- and moderate-income residents. The emphasis of the award is on how creative housing, economic development, and private investments have been used in or with a comprehensive community development plan to produce tangible results.

Entries must be submitted online through the American Planning Association website at www.planning.org/awards/. The online application form will be available beginning June 30, 2009; the deadline for completed submissions is September 9, 2009.

The criteria, submission information, and requirements for this competition are currently available on HUD USER at www.huduser.org/research/APA10_AwardApp.pdf. APA Public Affairs Associate Roberta Rewers can be contacted by phone at 312-786-6395 or via email at rrewers@planning.org for additional information.

The nation’s mayors address growing need for affordable housing

Here is a great article about Affordable Housing, how this economy is impacting it and what are some mayors doing to maintain a positive flow of affordable housing.

Read This Article Here: http://www.housingfinance.com/ahf/articles/2009/june/0609-specialfocus-The-View-from-City-Hall.htm

Senator Martinez Announces First-Time Homebuyer Forum in Jacksonville

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWednesday, May 6, 2009

Martinez Announces First-Time Homebuyer Forum in JacksonvilleRepresentatives from Senator Martinez’s Office, HUD, housing counseling agencies and lenders will assist First-Time Homebuyers

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today announced a First-Time Homebuyer Forum Saturday, June 6th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to be held at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. The workshop will provide information about first-time homebuyer programs, applying for a FHA loan, first-time homebuyer tax credits, and credit counseling.

“Members of my staff, representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in addition to housing counseling agencies and lenders will be available to assist current or potential homebuyers with any questions they may have,” Martinez said. “Countless Floridians have been hit by the current housing crisis, we want ensure that homebuyers are educated about the programs and resources available to them so they can achieve the American dream of homeownership.”

The Office of Senator Mel Martinez as well as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be hosting this housing workshop to provide assistance to help first-time homebuyers. Participants will include: City of Jacksonville Housing and Neighborhoods Department, Mortgage Bankers Association of Jacksonville, Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, Catholic Charities Bureau, Family Foundations of Northeast Florida, Inc., Housing Partnership of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America and Second Chance Help Center. Lenders also participating include Bank of America, BB&T, Compass Bank, Everbank, Jacksonville Federal Credit Union, Mercantile Bank, Regions Bank, SunTrust, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo Bank. This forum is open to the public.

* An RSVP is required to attend the workshop due to limited space.

Please call 904-398-8586 or email rsvpevent@martinez.senate.gov.

WHAT: First-Time Homebuyer Forum

DATE: Saturday, June 6thTIME: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

LOCATION: University of North Florida
University Center
12000 Alumni Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32224