Janis Bowdler
Blog Post List
July 11, 2012
After years marked by stalemate and indecision, 2012 has delivered a glimmer of hope for families and the housing market. The Department of Justice kicked off the year with a historic settlement with Bank of America regarding predatory loans made by Countrywide before the Bank acquired the company in 2008. Not to be outdone, 49 state Attorneys General delivered the largest settlement made thus far on behalf of families who experienced wrongful foreclosure. And on July 2, California’s state legislature approved a bill to end the practice known as dual track —where a homeowner’s loan...
MomsRising
Together
January 30, 2012
On Friday, January 27, President Obama followed up on a promise made in his State of the Union Address by creating a new working group to aggressively investigate the abuses that triggered the housing crisis. We know that President Obama means business because he chose New York Attorney General (AG) Eric Schneiderman—a champion for taxpayers and homeowners—to lead this unit focused specifically on lending fraud and mortgage abuses. True accountability is necessary to restore the public’s faith in our national housing system. With Schneiderman and his team in place, the time has come for state...
MomsRising
Together
August 25, 2011
Hispanic families are faring the worst during the current economic meltdown. According to a recent study released by the Pew Research Center , Latinos experienced the single largest decline in wealth of any other group. This development could severely alter the economic future of our nation as Hispanics will constitute more than a quarter of the U.S. population by 2050. The destruction of the housing market has set the upward mobility of the Latino community back by a generation or more. A home is the largest and most significant asset for most Americans, and homeownership was supposed to...
MomsRising
Together
August 19, 2011
Are you concerned about debt bunnies ? Does your vampire retirement keep you up at night? It might sound like a long shot, but financial entertainment could be the key to enticing individuals to tackle complex money concepts. We’ve all been there―lost in an addicting puzzle or game. Now gamers will be able to sharpen their personal knowledge while learning how to maximize their long-term earnings and avoid the pitfalls of high-interest debt. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund have partnered to improve financial knowledge and confidence among American...
MomsRising
Together
July 20, 2011
The Obama administration is taking a fresh look at the housing crisis. This is welcome news to NCLR. We have been working for some time with our partners to deliver calls and petitions that challenge the White House and the Department of the Treasury to extend its relief beyond just investors to include families and their neighborhoods. Finally, it seems they may have gotten the message. President Obama has conceded that the wait-and-see approach is not working, and he has introduced new policies to stabilize the market. Not a moment too soon, the recent change in tide will bring relief to...
MomsRising
Together
May 2, 2011
Below is the fourth installment in a five-part series, Too Little to Save , in which the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) highlights a family and describes their struggles with foreclosure. Ms. Suarez is a single mom who has a toddler and two ten-year-old twins, one boy and one girl. They live in southeastern Texas and have lost their home because of a medical emergency. Bureaucracy at the bank was a major point of frustration for Ms. Suarez: [The bank] didn't check the paperwork I submitted when I requested people to help me keep the home, because they were supposed to send me some papers―...
MomsRising
Together
March 16, 2011
Below is the third installment of a five-part series, Too Little to Save , in which the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) highlights a family and describes their struggle with foreclosure. Mr. and Mrs. Navarro live with their 34-year-old daughter, a 16-year-old grandson, and an eight-year-old granddaughter. Family members worked together at a small business for ten years before it became a casualty of the market crisis. The Navarros took work where they could find it in an effort to try to keep the home, but when their interest rate adjusted they could no longer keep up with the payments. Mr...
MomsRising
Together
January 24, 2011
Below is the second installment of a five-part series titled Too Little to Save , in which the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) highlights a family and describes their struggles with foreclosure. A husband, a pregnant wife, and a five-year-old son: this is the Nunez family of northwestern Georgia. The parents watched their employment hours dwindle and after losing their main source of income, they ultimately confronted the prospect of losing their home. While searching for jobs, Mr. and Mrs. Nunez petitioned their bank to help them until they found employment. Mr. Nunez said the bank was...
MomsRising
Together
January 4, 2011
Are you tired of hearing the terms “foreclosure,” “the crisis,” and “Wall Street”? Many of us are. Unfortunately, we are likely to be weathering this storm for years to come. We cannot afford to grow numb to families losing their homes en masse. The hazards of the housing market run deep, but many decision-makers are only hearing the corporate lobbyists’ side of the story. We have to make sure that the housing market is improved with vulnerable families in mind, not just the banks. This is the first of five stories of families caught in the David versus Goliath struggle to save their home. By...
MomsRising
Together