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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.

A law called The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) can help families facing eviction in a foreclosed building. The law requires the new owner (even if it is the bank) to give you at least 90 days notice before you have to leave.If you are a tenant with a lease, the new owner must let you stay until at least the end of the lease term. The only way a lease can be terminated before the end of its term is if the unit is sold to someone that will actually be living in the unit.

For many victims of domestic violence, the daily pain and harassment becomes a shameful secret; making it hard to speak up about it.  Trapped in a vicious cycle of physical and/or verbal abuse, it is unfortunate that many of these victims of domestic violence are never able to escape and instead lose their lives at the hands of their friend, family member, lover, or spouse.The first step in leaving a domestic abuse situation is recognizing that there is a problem that is compromising you and your family’s safety; and you don’t want to take it any more!

At 8.5%, New York has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.  One of the effects of unemployment is that homeowners throughout NY may also be struggling to pay their home mortgages and may even be facing foreclosure.  Unfortunately, there are many fraudulent companies out there that are keeping a close look at those possibly facing foreclosure.  These foreclosure scams: advertise over the Internet and in local publications distribute flyers contact people whose homes appear in the foreclosure notices (they can easily find these notices online or in a local newspaper)

Last week, the New York Civil Liberties Union released a report focused on five New York counties.  The report highlighted how New York state is failing to provide legal aid to the poor.  The unfortunate conclusion of the report was: that in New York state, justice is "only available to those who can afford it."This is the same reality for the thousands of low-income New Yorkers who find themselves in a civil legal issue such as discrimination, eviction, consumer fraud, homelessness, child custody, etc.  Many most go to court and navigate the legal process with no assistance.

Its not a surprise that New York City housing complaints have been on the rise.  This is especially true for low-income tenants who receive a government subsidy to use for rent. Even though the City Council voted to prohibit discrimination in housing based on the tenant’s source of income, complaints to the New York City Human Right Commission increased by 45%.To learn more on what you can do if you are experiencing housing discrimination, visit www.LawHelpNY.org.  Click on the Housing topic on the Home Page and select  the Housing Discrimination subtopic.

A recent study found that 15% of seniors in the US are living in poverty.  Women and people of color who are seniors have an even higher percentage of living in poverty.  As an increasing number of Baby Boomers face retirement in the next 20 years, today is a good time to start thinking about the ways that we can all help those people that will face their older years having to struggle with poverty and in many cases homelessness and hunger.Social security is one of the few programs available which help seniors avoid extreme poverty.  However, seniors may be surprised to find that there are

Every adult around the world probably has some sort of bullying story to tell. Some may even say this is a right of passage, but it doesn't have to be that way.