Your Intermittent News & Updates |
|
A Mulchy Block Blitz Thank You |
|
Our 15th Block Blitz is in the books! Thank you to everyone in the world who helped make this event possible! We especially appreciated The Home Depot team making multiple store visits for more mulch (it still wasn't enough), LeMoyne College for finding even more food, M&T Bank for getting things done, HMR Properties for the long-term porta-potty relationship they didn't ask for and the city of Syracuse Parks Department for putting up with us.
|
|
Katie Walpole Joins Home HeadQuarters as Director of Program Strategy, Impact & Evalution |
|
|
|
Kathleen "Katie" Walpole recently joined Home HeadQuarters as Director of Program Strategy, Impact and Evaluation. In this newly created role, Katie conducts strategic analyses of HHQ's programing, prepares for future efforts and oversees some of the nonprofit's Healthy Housing initiatives including the organization's efforts to eradicate lead poisoning hazards and administering New York State programs to promote climate resiliency in housing.
Katie joins HHQ most recently from Syracuse University where she was the program
|
|
manager for the Central New York Humanities Corridor, a research consortium linking 11 universities and colleges across the region cultivating innovative collaborative research, teaching and programming. Prior to SU, Katie worked as the lead American Rescue Plan Act analyst and coordinated special projects for Clark County, Nevada, the nation's 11th-largest county providing regional and municipal services to more than 2.4 million residents and 45 million visitors annually.
The Groton, New York native currently lives in Tompkins County with her yellow lab, Kensal, but makes it a point to travel out of the county when she can, visiting almost 30 different countries and 36 states. Katie holds a BA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and an MPA from the London School of Economics. She currently serves on the Syracuse University Alumni Association Board of Directors and on the Tompkins County Ethics Advisory Board.
|
|
Home HeadQuarters was recently awarded $1 million from the U.S. Department of HUD to help Onondaga County property owners address housing-related health and safety hazards. Grants of up to $10,000 are now available to eligible low-income property owners to make healthy homes-related repairs, such as:
Asthma triggers
Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors
Electrical hazards
Pest prevention and control
Plumbing and HVAC
Radon, mold and other environmental issues
For more information or to print out an application, visit HHQ's website here:
|
|
Syracuse FEC Welcomes New Financial Counselors |
|
|
|
Ms. Kurtz has spent most of her professional life in the insurance industry, most recently as a provider relations representative for Fedelis Care.
|
|
Ms. Kurtz is currently shadowing other counselors and prepping for the NACCC (National Association of Certified Credit Counseling) exam and expects to be a fully-certified FEC counselor before the end of the year. When she's not learning about credit scoring and how credit reports work, she enjoys mountain biking and reading. "I can't wait to offer this free service to help people improve their finances."
Mr. Jimenez, already a fully-certified financial counselor, comes to the Syracuse FEC from positions where he could best help others in his community. As a previous non-profit executive director and CRA mortgage loan officer he struggled with how best to reach people who couldn't even qualify for assistance. "Now, the reaction I get when someone walks out of their first FEC appointment, makes everything worthwhile." The youth basketball coach and Dad of two is proud of how he connects with people, "The last client I had wanted to give me a hug!"
If you think you want to take advantage of free, professional financial counseling with no hugs necessary, contact the Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center at (315) 474-1939 x5 or visit www.syracusefec.org.
|
|
When You Decide to Make a Change |
One morning, Elia Cooke woke up and decided that she was going to do whatever it took to move out of the apartment that she had rented on Syracuse's Westside for almost eight years.
She was tired of the mice and cleaning up after them morning and night; tired of things not getting fixed, and tired of the lone gas heater not keeping her and her dogs warm every winter.
|
|
|
"I just said to myself that I wasn't going to live this way anymore," said Elia. "I deserve better and my dogs deserve better."
Elia signed up for HHQ's Homebuyer Education and then met with certified-housing counselor Marhianna Reaves at the Homeownership Center. The two met every month this year to work on budgeting and credit and got Elia's credit score up by more than 100 points and reduced her monthly debt to just over $400.
Before the end of the year, Elia should be in her new home along with her two dogs and no mice. She's taking advantage of many of the first-time homebuyer programs including Closing Cost Assistance and looking into other incentives. Deciding that she would do anything to not split up her two pitbulls made the decision to become a homebuyer versus a renter easier, but it was still difficult.
"It was so hard paying off all my debt and not spending money on something new," admits Elia. "I paid off every single one of my credit cards, I worked two jobs and still felt like I was broke--but it was worth it."
|
|
Lead Training & FIRM Certification |
Home HeadQuarters is again offering scholarships to contractors and landlords for several lead related trainings including RRP Training, the RRP Training Refresher Course and the EPA Supervisor Initial Training. Contractors actively working in the City of Syracuse or landlords who owns rental property in the City of Syracuse are eligible for these scholarships. For more information, visit our Lead Training page on our website.
|
|
For every landlord, new to the business or established, join the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network and experts from City of Syracuse Code Enforcement, Syracuse Police Department, Onondaga County Health Department and others to learn best practices in owning investment property. Meet with attorneys, learn about property improvement financing and grants and utilizing Section 8. The full-day training is $60 and includes a boxed lunch and bagels and coffee in the morning.
Landlord Training
Monday, November 14, 2022 - 9 am to 4 pm.
|
|
You're Invited...Tenant Meeting |
|
Construction Meeting 101- Bring the Lift |
|
|
|
|
|
|
