BUSH ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES $1.1 MILLION IN HOUSING COUNSELING GRANTS TO 13 AGENCIES IN VIRGINIA
Groups in Charlottesville, Richmond, Lynchburg, Newport News, Norfolk, Roanoke, Abingdon, Manassas, Alexandria, Charles City, Stanardsville and Gretna

WASHINGTON - Thirteen organizations in Virginia have been awarded a total of more than $1.1 million in 2006
Housing Counseling, part of an announcement today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso
Jackson $39 million in housing counseling grants to more than 400 organizations nationwide. These grants will assist families in becoming first-time homeowners or remaining homeowners after their purchase.

The Virginia organizations winning grants were Catholic Charities USA in Alexandria, Housing Opportunities Made
Equal, Inc., and the Virginia Housing Development Authority in Richmond, Lynchburg Community Action Group, Inc., the Office of Human Affairs in Newport News, People Inc. of Southwest Virginia in Abingdon, the Piedmont Housing Alliance in Charlottesville, the Prince William County Office of Housing in Manassas, Quin Rivers Community Action in Charles City, Skyline CAP in Stanardsville, Telamon Corporation in Gretna, Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity
Project in Norfolk and Total Action Against Poverty in Roanoke. (Grant Summaries at end of Release)

"Under the Bush Administration, more families are receiving housing counseling services than ever before, and more
are purchasing and keeping their homes," said Jackson. "The organizations providing these services are helping to meet the President's goal of increasing homeownership opportunities, particularly for minorities."

National and regional agencies distribute much of the HUD funding to community-based grassroots organizations
that provide advice and guidance to low- and moderate-income families seeking to improve their housing conditions. In addition, these larger organizations help improve the quality of housing counseling services and enhance coordination among other counseling providers.

Of the more than $39 million in grants, $3 million was awarded in supplemental funding for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counseling. These funds will provide counseling for the rapidly growing number of elderly homeowners who seek to convert equity in their homes into income that can be used to pay for home
improvements, medical costs, and other living expenses.

The organizations that provide housing counseling services help people become or remain homeowners or find
rental housing. Grant recipients help homebuyers and homeowners realistically evaluate their readiness for a home purchase, understand their financing and downpayment options, and navigate what can be an extremely confusing and difficult process. Grantees also help combat predatory lending by helping unwary borrowers avoid unreasonably high interest rates, inflated appraisals, unaffordable repayment terms, and other conditions that can result in a loss
of equity, increased debt, default, and even foreclosure. Moreover, HUD-funded housing counseling agencies assist homeless persons to find the transitional housing they need to move toward a permanent place to live.

HUD awards annual grants under the housing counseling program through a competitive process. Organizations
that apply for grants must be HUD-approved and are subject to biennial performance reviews to maintain their
HUD-approved status.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
and espanol.hud.gov.

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2006 HUD HOUSING COUNSELING GRANTS IN VIRGINIA

Catholic Charities USA

Alexandria, VA

$782,088 - Comprehensive Counseling

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) is a national housing counseling intermediary serving a network of agencies, institutions, and individuals that aim to reduce poverty, support families, and empower communities. The largest
social service organization in the United States and a HUD-approved national intermediary since 1995, CCUSA manages a network of 41 affiliates that provide housing counseling services in 22 states. Services include pre- and post-purchase, predatory lending, HECM, default and foreclosure, and rental counseling, with a focus on the
poorest and most vulnerable populations. A religiously affiliated organization, CCUSA provides quality counseling to
all people in need without regard to religious, racial, ethnic or cultural background. Last year, CCUSA provided
housing counseling services for more than 36,516 consumers.

Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. (HOME)

Richmond, VA

$30,412 - Comprehensive Counseling

Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. (HOME) is one of the nation's oldest and most well respected fair housing
and housing counseling organizations. HOME works to protect existing housing choices through fair housing
education and enforcement; expand housing choices so that everyone has access to neighborhoods with good schools and good jobs; and provide people with the skills and knowledge they need to take advantage of new
housing opportunities. The organization helps homeowners in default avoid foreclosure and challenge predatory
lending practices, provides pre- and post-purchase counseling and down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers, and helps renters improve their ability to find and keep the housing of their choice through focused tenant education.

Lynchburg Community Action Group, Inc. (Lyn-CAG)

Lynchburg, VA

$27,809 - Comprehensive Counseling

Lynchburg Community Action Group (Lyn-CAG) is a private, nonprofit organization that provides citizens of Central Virginia including the cities of Lynchburg and Bedford and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell, with comprehensive housing counseling services. The agency offers both one-on-one housing counseling and workshops to homebuyers, homeowners, low- to moderate-income renters and the homeless.

Newport News Office of Human Affairs

Newport News, VA

$25,206 - Comprehensive Counseling

Newport News Office of Human Affairs (OHA) was established in 1965 to address the social service and community development needs of low-income residents. As the official Community Action Agency for the Cities of Hampton and Newport News, Virginia, OHA plays a vital role as the agency aligns its programs to meet community needs. Housing counseling activities include housing selection assistance, generalized fair housing laws, predatory lending
strategies, budgeting for mortgage or rental payments, first home education ownership seminars, reverse mortgage counseling, and preventing mortgage delinquency and default.

People Incorporated of Southwest Virginia

Abingdon, VA

$30,412 - Comprehensive Counseling

People Incorporated of Southwest Virginia has been in existence for over 40 years. The agency operates 33
programs, including a housing counseling program to assist low-income households. These services include pre-purchase, mortgage default, predatory lending, budget, credit, post-purchase, loss mitigation and HECM counseling.

Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA)

Charlottesville, VA

$28,459 - Comprehensive Counseling

PHA is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1983 to address affordable housing and community
development needs on a regional basis for low- to moderate-income households. PHA's services include
comprehensive housing counseling, anti-predatory lending initiatives, financial literacy; low-interest loans for homeownership; home safety modifications; affordable single-family and rental housing projects; regional fair
housing education; outreach and advocacy; mainstream housing vouchers for persons with disabilities; and
housing and neighborhood revitalization project development, including housing for seniors and special needs populations.

Prince William County Virginia Cooperative Extension

Manassas, VA

$30,412 - Comprehensive Counseling

Virginia Cooperative Extension is located in Prince William County, Virginia. The Cooperative Extension's housing program provides one-on-one counseling for pre-purchase, pre-rental, mortgage default, rent delinquency, and homelessness. The agency is committed to serving a diverse clientele, and a large proportion of its counseling services assist minorities and low-income households.

Quin Rivers Agency for Community Action, Inc.

Charles City, VA

$21,952 - Comprehensive Counseling

Quin Rivers, organized in 1970, is a nonprofit organization serving 10 counties in east-central Virginia. The agency's mission is to create a financial and social environment that fosters self-sufficiency and improved living conditions where community and business interactions are encouraged. Quin Rivers uses housing as a base around which to organize services and supports to help clients become self-reliant. It has a long tradition of assisting low-income families and seniors in obtaining and maintaining housing.

Skyline Community Action Program, Inc. (Skyline CAP)

Stanardsville, VA

$31,713 - Comprehensive Counseling

Skyline Community Action Program, Inc. (Skyline CAP) is the designated Community Action Agency for Green,
Madison, and Orange Counties in Virginia. The agency has offered housing counseling services to residents since
1994. Skyline CAP's counseling program is designed to assist low-income residents with the information and
resources necessary to access safe and affordable housing. The program offers outreach and counseling to first-
time homebuyers, renters, the homeless, and homeowners. Housing counseling services provided include homeownership and rental assistance programs, HECM, fair housing assistance and information, money management and financial education, emergency assistance to reinstate utilities, rent delinquency or mortgage default, and homebuyer education workshops.

Telamon Corporation Housing Services

Gretna, VA

$20,000 - Comprehensive Counseling

Telamon Corporation is a private, nonprofit agency, organized in 1965. The agency operates a wide variety of self-sufficiency programs for low-income and migrant seasonal populations in 11 states. The administrative office is
housed in Richmond, Virginia with field offices located in Danville, Exmore, Gretna, Hopewell, South Hill, and Winchester. Telamon Corporation's Gretna office opened in 1994, and focuses on the provision of comprehensive housing counseling and homeownership opportunities for rural, low-income individuals and families residing in the
City of Danville and Pittsylvania County.

The Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project (STOP) Organization

Norfolk, VA

$23,254 - Comprehensive Counseling

The STOP Organization is committed to increasing homeownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income individuals living in the southeastern region of Virginia. It has forged partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies, and the faith-based community to provide an extensive network of housing services for its customers.
The organization focuses on providing housing counseling services to single females with children, and low-wage earning heads of households.

Total Action Against Poverty (TAP)

Roanoke, VA

$28,459 - Comprehensive Counseling

Total Action Against Poverty (TAP), a nonprofit corporation formed in 1965, serves low-income individuals in southwestern Virginia. TAP offers housing counseling services including pre-purchase, post-purchase, pre-rental, rental delinquency, mortgage default, fair housing and HECM counseling.

Virginia Housing Development Authority

Richmond, VA

$83,776 - Comprehensive Counseling

Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA), one of the nation's largest state housing finance agencies, has
been offering homeownership education classes since 1993. Recognizing that educating potential homeowners is
an important part of the home buying process, VHDA created a homebuyer education program, which provides free classes throughout the state. Local participation from housing counselors, mortgage lenders, real estate agents,
home inspectors, and attorneys is utilized, as the course strives to aid prospective homebuyers by educating them about the process of buying a home. The homebuyer education staff also designs specific curriculums about city or county programs such as HOPE VI, Head Start, and Habitat for Humanity.

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