Consumer Action educates Stockton CBOs on housing issues

On Wednesday, May 13th, Consumer Action brought together community based organizations for a full day housing and foreclosure prevention training (CBOs) in Stockton, California, one of the hardest hit areas of foreclosure in California. Welcoming the CBOs, the CA Outreach team kicked off the training with a bang by gathering pertinent information from participants regarding their expectations and needs for their clients.

Consumer Action trainers Audrey Perrott and Mikael Wagner led participants on a tour of the Outreach and Advocacy web site. Participants were excited to learn ways to become better involved in CA’s Action Alert and legislative information. All participants requested to receive alerts regarding pending housing bills and other related legislation that may impact their clients.

Trainer Mikael Wagner introduced a panel of housing experts that provided local, state, and national information about foreclosure prevention, loan modification, landlord/tenant issues and valuable tips to help consumers and their clients to obtain the best information to guide them. Panel members educating workshop participants included: Paul Leonard, Director, Center for Responsible Lending, Peggy Green, Consumer Credit Counseling of the East Bay, Katrina Vizinau, Community Housing Development Corporation, and Marjorie Murray of Center for California Homeowner Association Law. Also in attendance were representatives from our community partner, Alliance for Justice, who shared literature and information on how organizations can advocate for change and influence policy and legislation with Consumer Action.

The panel discussion was the perfect segue into the Successful Homeownership presentation given by trainer Nelson Santiago. The Successful Homeownership module is part of the MoneyWi$e series and offers homeowners and anyone thinking of becoming a homeowner information on the responsibilities of homeownership and how to protect their biggest asset by maintaining the property and preserving equity. Santiago led the crowd through two activities to re-enforce the learning. The activities were great team building exercises. The activities enabled participants to test their knowledge of the material, as well as their problem-solving skills.

Following the housing event, Consumer Action staff was invited to return to Stockton to meet with other community partners, organizations and networks.