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Oregon Stories of Recovery
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Article Content
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| Lewis and Clark College grad fights homelessness in Lane County |
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AmeriCorps members,
Sonia Lauer and Amy Crevola
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As one of 22 AmeriCorps members serving through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Sonia Lauer is fighting poverty and homelessness in Lane County. After graduating from Lewis and Clark College in May 2009, she was unemployed for several months before landing the competitive AmeriCorps position at the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO) office located in Springfield.
The AmeriCorps program emphasizes professional development in order to develop skills and experience. “It allows you to work with agencies or in places that wouldn’t normally hire you,” says Lauer. “When you are fresh out of college, you do not necessarily have the skills required to fill your resume.” In addition to the experience, AmeriCorps members receive a small monthly living allowance and deferment on their student loans during their 11 month term of service. They also receive an Education Award for $4,725 to help pay educational expenses at the end of their term of service.
As part of Sonia’s service to Lane County, she provides foreclosure prevention and housing-related assistance. She takes a lead role in program development to create a sustainable foreclosure prevention program and assists in delivery of informational workshops. “In my day-to-day tasks, I do intake and outreach, so I am the first person they contact for help with foreclosure,” she explains. “Everyone comes to a workshop first to get all the general information and the options to empower them to find a solution.”
Majoring in International Affairs and Economics in college provided Sonia with a unique perspective. “I always thought I liked the big picture and surprisingly, foreclosure requires seeing the big picture,” says Lauer. “There is no way to tackle a problem this big with just one person. It requires a systematic approach.”
Sonia provides a vital service to vulnerable communities in Lane County. “More than 34,000 people in Lane County received a notice of default in 2009, which means they were at least 30 days in default on their mortgage,” explains Lauer. “There were 2,200 people who lost their home this year in Lane County. The fear with so many foreclosures is that there is a direct rise in homelessness, because there is not an adequate amount of transitional low-income housing available.”
“The foreclosure process is long and by the end your credit is shot. Often, your savings and retirement fund are also shot,” says Lauer. She provides financial literacy training to her clients and helps them work with their budget. “I realize that sometimes people can be so capable, but once you are in crisis mode you can just shut down,” she says. “Sometimes you really just need someone to sit down with you and figure out the forms.” And in some cases Sonia provides language translation services to her clients.
Sonia works with homeowners to see if they qualify for a loan modification if they are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is a new program through HUD that may reduce a monthly mortgage. Some of the options available to those facing foreclosure include mortgage forbearance, loan modification, partial claim, or short sale.
When asked about the most common causes for foreclosure, Sonia says, “Many times it’s due to underemployment or unemployment. A modification is considered a success, because it will allow the person to overcome a temporary hardship so they don’t lose their home. Unfortunately, there haven’t been as many modifications as we had hoped to allow the clients to stay in their homes.”
Sonia warns homeowners to be wary of foreclosure scams. “If you are frustrated and need help making your mortgage payments, you should contact a HUD-certified counselor,” she says. “Be cautious about anyone who offers to help refinance your home. When you are fearful and someone offers help, it can be easy to accept help from someone who is not qualified.” Sonia recently became a HUD-certified counselor as part of her professional development through AmeriCorps and she can help point out the scams.
“There are surprises and success stories that make this an awesome experience. Whenever there is a client that cries, I cry,” says Lauer. “We just worked with a woman who was able to receive a modification and she’s seven months pregnant. She was working and lost her job, then found a new job at a reduced income. After the modification, her payments dropped about $700 per month and she’ll be able to save her house.” These are the types of success stories Sonia enjoys in her job.
For more information about avoiding foreclosure and receiving counseling help in Oregon, call 1-800-SAFENET. Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) also has information about how to avoid foreclosure on its website at www.oregon.gov/OHCS/.
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