HUD Deputy Secretary Maurice Jones Addresses Annual Piece by Piece Foreclosure Response Initiative Event at the Carter Center

HUD Deputy Secretary Maurice Jones Photo Credit: Michael Schwarz Piece by Piece

The Piece by Piece Foreclosure Response Initiative held its 2012 Annual Meeting on Thursday, August 30 with keynote speaker Maurice Jones, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) addressing over 200 attendees in the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Piece by Piece Foreclosure Response Initiative is the result of an ongoing effort by HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Ed Jennings, Jr. working with a leadership team that includes: Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (http://www.andpi.org/), the Atlanta Regional Commission (http://www.atlantaregional.com/), CredAbility (http://www.credability.org/en/homepage.aspx), Enterprise Community Partners (http://www.enterprisecommunity.com/), Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (http://www.frbatlanta.org/), the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (http://www.atlantahomebuilders.com/), The Home Depot Foundation (http://www.homedepotfoundation.org/), and the National Housing Conference (http://www.nhc.org/) and NeighborWorks (http://www.nw.org/network/index.asp) to innovatively address homeownership preservation in and around Atlanta.

HUD Deputy Secretary Jones provided an overview of the foreclosure situation throughout the nation, State of Georgia and the Atlanta region while including the ongoing Administration's efforts to address the issues of homeownership preservation. Deputy Secretary Jones also discussed the $25 Billion National Mortgage settlement (http://nationalmortgagesettlement.com/) and what that meant for Georgians.

The annual meeting brought together local community and business leaders in an ongoing effort to innovatively address the impediments and successes associated with homeownership preservation in the Atlanta regional area.  The program began with a moderated panel discussion on the foreclosure response at the local level which included elected officials from the Metro area which included Chairman Eldrin Bell, Clayton County Board of Commissioners, CEO Burrell Ellis, DeKalb County Government, Chairman Charlotte Nash, Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and Chairman Richard Oden, Rockdale County Board of Commissioners.

An update on the HomeSafe Georgia (http://www.homesafegeorgia.com/spv-65.aspx) program was also presented to build increased awareness of the state of Georgia's Hardest Hit Fund for qualified underemployed and unemployed homeowners.

Additionally there was a panel discussion concerning responsible private sector Investment in high-foreclosure neighborhoods helping to repopulate vacant neighborhoods in the region.

Piece by Piece (http://www.atlantaregionalhousing.org/pbp/index.htm) - Atlanta Regional Foreclosure Initiative is a bold, coordinated effort designed to spur strategic action from the many regional stakeholders who care passionately about protecting the long-term future of our neighborhoods and communities. Piece by Piece is being planned by a leadership team that includes: Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, the Atlanta Regional Commission, CredAbility, Enterprise Community Partners, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, The Home Depot Foundation, and the National Housing Conference and NeighborWorks America.

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