Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation continues funding of Home
Defense Project in North Carolina
January 24, 2011 Media Release
(Raleigh,
NC) – Legal Aid of North Carolina
(LANC) announced today that the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation will
continue its support of foreclosure prevention efforts in North Carolina by renewing a grant of
$450,000 for the
Home Defense Project (HDP).
The HDP is a collaboration of seven nonprofit organizations:
Legal
Aid of North Carolina (LANC), the NC Justice
Center,
Legal Services of
Southern Piedmont,
Pisgah Legal
Services, the
Land Loss Prevention Project, the
Financial
Protection
Law
Center and the
NC Housing
Coalition.
"At a time of tremendous financial stress and declining revenue for
foundations, a renewed award in such a substantial amount is both a
solid statement of support for the work and an indication of the
profound impact the still-expanding foreclosure epidemic is having
on communities," said Hazel Mack, HDP project director and
senior managing attorney for LANC.
The Home Defense Project (HDP) fights to save homes and reduce
foreclosures in North Carolina.
In North Carolina,
home foreclosures are expected to exceed 50,000 in 2011.
Through a combination of skillful negotiation, aggressive
litigation, and community education, the HDP has saved thousands of
homes from foreclosure over the last four years and preserved
millions of dollars in equity for low-wealth working families.
The project also has trained hundreds of housing counselors
who engage in much of the frontline work.
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation provided initial support for the
nascent HDP when the fight was against predatory and abusive
lending.
"The Foundation has never waivered in its support for foreclosure
defense work," noted Mack. "As the crisis has
death-spiraled into the financial markets and then into the economy
as a whole -- even as its own revenue declined--the Foundation has
never reduced support for the project."
LANC and its legal services partners on the HDF use their legal
skills and resources to seek reasonable loan modifications when they
can, and they aggressively litigate when they must.
The loan modification process is a morass--creditor
incentives are too often non-existent--and the process in each case
is unique and requires a skillful, patient lawyer.
Collaboration among the HDF partners allows the HDP to serve
every county in the state with high-quality foreclosure defense
work.
In addition, the NC Justice Center (NCJC) and the Financial Protection Law
Center provide litigation
support and analysis on impact cases. The NCJC
also assists with training and the implementation of best practices,
tactics and strategies for individual cases. The
NC Housing Coalition designs and coordinates outreach and education
in support of the project by holding community forums to educate
consumers, link them with legal advocates and engage community
members in articulating policy solutions.
“Without the vision and leadership of the Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation, the foreclosure and economic crisis in our state would
be much worse,” said George Hausen, LANC’s executive director.
“Foreclosures in North Carolina are up nearly 200% over the past few
years, and the Foundation’s enlightened understanding of the problem
and its scope has enabled us to help thousands of families who
otherwise faced financial ruin and homelessness."
The Z. Smith
Reynolds Foundation was established in 1936 and has given more
than $366 million in grants to projects in all 100 North Carolina
counties. The Foundation now gives special
attention to the following focus areas: community
economic development; democracy and civic engagement; environment;
pre-collegiate education; and social justice and equity.
For additional information about the Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation, visit its website, www.zsr.org.
Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC)
is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services
in civil matters to eligible, low-income people in all 100 counties
in North Carolina through its 24
geographically located offices in North Carolina. For
additional information about LANC, visit LANC's website,
www.legalaidnc.org.
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CONTACTS:
Hazel M. Mack (Project Director, Home Defense Project; Senior
Managing Attorney, LANC), Winston-Salem, NC, 336-725-9162
George Hausen (Executive Director, LANC), Raleigh, NC, 919-856-2564
Dock Kornegay (Director, Public Relations & Development, LANC),
Raleigh, NC, 919-856-2564
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Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm
that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income
people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove
legal barriers to economic opportunity.