Blog

In August, Bank of America agreed to a record-setting $16.65 billion settlement with the Department of Justice for selling toxic mortgage securities during the housing boom. The agreement includes $30 million for states to distribute to their legal aid programs. Legal aid attorneys play a key role in preventing unnecessary foreclosures. They help homeowners navigate complex mortgage systems and wordings, identify illegal or predatory mortgages, such as what Bank of America was found doing.

Bullying has had several negative effects on our youth today. It has been linked to several psychological disorders such as depression, suicidal thoughts, and has been the cause of several violent actions in our schools. Rates of bullying have decreased since 1998, but rates of physical fighting have remained the same since 2006. Victims of bullying have been shown to be more likely to carry weapons on them. The two most common weapons brought to schools were knives and guns.

Student debt in the United States has now passed the $1 trillion mark. Although, student loans provide people with the opportunity to get college education, there are still significant costs to borrowing this money. For example, borrowers often have to deal with high interest rates, threat of delinquency, and the possibility of wage garnishment which the federal government has the power to do if you fall delinquent on your loans. As a result, many students feel overwhelmed with their repayment options and unsure about their rights as lenders.

We're still feeling the effects of the 2007 economic crisis.  As many people, continue to deal with a lack of employment or underemployment, veterans are finding themselves increasingly in this situation.  Of the 2.9 million long term unemployed people who were denied benefits this year - 285,000 of them are veterans.

Families across the US are having an increasingly difficult time covering basic household costs such as groceries, child care, and medical costs.  As a result, families are reaching out to food banks for to help getting food on the table.  While we would like to get a list of all food banks in New York State to share with our readers, so far we have only been able to get a list of all the food banks in Ulster County.

Family of Woodstock, a non profit organization serving Ulster County and surrounding communities now has a family support services available in Spanish.  Their Adolescent Services program is happy to announce that a Spanish speaking case manager available to provide Family Support Services.  The Family Support Program offers care coordination to meet the needs of both a child age 4-17 who is at risk of hospitalization or other placement outside the home, and the family system that is supporting him or her.  Services are accessed through SPOA and Julie Jones, Family Support Program Care Coordin

The New York Attorney General’s office has created the Immigration Restitution Fund to assist immigrants who were falsely promised citizenship, residency or other immigration related services by two well known Immigration Assistance Service Programs.  Are you an immigrant who was a client of  the International Immigration Foundation, Inc (IIF) or the International Professional Association (IPA)?

Have a question about buying a home, rental assistance or foreclosure but English is not your first language?  HUD can help with its HUD Language Line, a live telephone interpretation service that will allow HUD staff to converse with the public in almost any language.To help HUD staff better communicate with Limited English Proficient (LEP) families about the information they need on housing programs and services, the HUD Language Line, a pilot telephone service will offer live, one-on-one interpretation services in more than 175 languages, 24 hours a day.The HUD Language line is curren

The unemployment and underemployment situation for New Yorkers is not getting any better.  This means that families across the state are still struggling with debt, potential foreclosure, and limited resources.  To find out what assistance may be available to help you deal with your debt, first make a list of the different types of debt that you have.  For example, the main types of debt are: Consumer (credit cards, loans, etc) Housing (mortgage) Medical Education (student loans, etc)Once you have identified the different types of debt you have, take some time to read abou

Do you you know you may qualify for a discount on your telephone service through the Lifeline and Link-up programs? The program provides qualified consumer with discounts for monthly residential phone bills for basic telephone service and some wireless and cellular providers.Link-up program: provides a discount on the cost of initiating service for a primary residential telephone, even a wireless phone.