NEDAP News | Vol. 1 Issue 4 | April 2006

Welcome to the fourth issue of NEDAP News, the monthly

e-newsletter of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project.

• Get the Low Down on the High Cost of Credit
• Hotline Answers the Call for Community Financial Justice
• NEDAP Keeps PACE with Predatory Lending in Bushwick
• Community Financial Literacy & Justice Hits the Road

Get the Low Down on the High Cost of Credit

NEDAP resumes its 9th Annual Community Reinvestment Workshop Series with a session on Tuesday, April 11th that examines the separate and unequal nature of the financial services industry. Presenters will address practices like bank redlining, payday lending, tax refund anticipation loans, credit repair and debt consolidation scams.

Register online for this workshop or for the two remaining sessions. The Workshop Series is open to community groups and advocates only and registration is required.

Hotline Answers the Call for Community Financial Justice

Since its inception last September, the NYC Financial Justice Hotline has been addressing discriminatory and abusive banking and credit practices and providing information and referrals to hundreds of low income New Yorkers in Spanish and English. This past month, NEDAP recorded its 700th caller.

"We've been overwhelmed with the response to the Hotline. Typically, people who call are struggling with problems like identity theft, credit report abuse and aggressive debt collection," said NEDAP's Claudia Wilner, an attorney who manages the hotline. "The high volume of calls unfortunately underscores how difficult it is for people in low income areas to get free, quality legal advice on consumer issues like these."

NEDAP Keeps PACE with predatory lending in Bushwick

In response to high rates of foreclosure sweeping through Bushwick, Brooklyn, NEDAP joined with other organizations on March 23rd to lead a presentation on how to detect and fight discriminatory and abusive mortgage lending practices. The meeting took place at the Hope Gardens Senior Citizen Center in Bushwick.

NEDAP brought information on the resources available to community-based groups, first-time homebuyers, and homeowners through the Preserving Assets and Community Equity (PACE) program, a coordinated effort to increase the awareness of predatory lending in Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Southeast Queens.

Community Financial Literacy and Justice Hits the Road

Over the last few weeks, NEDAP staff members have been criss-crossing the nation, preparing hundreds of trainers from across the country to facilitate NEDAP's course in Community Financial Literacy and Justice. Training sites have included Juneau, Alaska; San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; and our own backyard, New York City. NEDAP's trainings ultimately reach thousands of parents and families who participate in the Casey Family Foundation's Powerful Families Initiative, an effort to promote personal and community development as essential building blocks for social change and vibrant communities.