THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY is helping first-time buyers purchase foreclosed homes through a new program called the Neighborhood Stabilization Homeownership Program (NSHP).

The program provides down payment assistance and home repair to qualified buyers and addresses the problem of abandoned and foreclosed homes in targeted areas within Riverside County. “We’d like to help maybe 200 families buy their first home and return those impacted neighborhoods into owner occupancy,” said Emilio Ramirez, Director of Housing Development.

The program, launched March 17, will be available to anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years, has an annual income that is not greater than 120% of the area median income and is purchasing a foreclosed home in the targeted areas of the county. The program will provide downpayment assistance as a silent second loan in the amount of twenty percent (20%) of the purchase price of the home. EDA down payment assistance will be secured by a deed of trust recorded in second position.

The first loan must be a fully amortized, fixed rate, 30-year mortgage. Energy-efficient improvements, curb appeal and landscaping are part of the program’s home repair assistance. Home repair items will be identified prior to closing. For more information, please visit www.rchomelink.com or call 800.909.0079.

A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP is helping the county’s employees and residents answer pressing questions about homeownership in this stressful economy by offering the advice of myriad, trusted experts.

The Homeowner Education Learning Project. or H.E.L.P., offers free classes and was founded to ensure proper guidance in troubled times and to help owners avoid foreclosure. Questions H.E.L.P. experts can assist with include:

• Do I qualify for a note modification?
• Are there tax consequences if I participate in a short sale or foreclosure?
• If I foreclose, will I still owe taxes on the losses?
• Is there a program out there that I don't know about that can help me get out of my current situation? 

“The ultimate goal is to not only educate the consumer but to create a certification or gold standard for the professional so the public knows where to turn,” said H.E.L.P. founder Chris Sorensen. Providing the homeowner or home buyer a list of professionals who have set themselves apart by attending at their own expense aggressive ethics training, compliance training, product knowledge training as well as cross training lenders and realtors is crucial so members of the public know where to turn for help, he said.

“Just because you have a license and have a shingle on your door does not necessarily guarantee that you still are going to be adhering to your fiduciary responsibilities and that has been proven by the crisis we have today,” Sorensen said. For more information, please visit www.freehomeownershiphelp.org.

YOUNG PEOPLE AGES 14 to 24 will gain employment and learn valuable skills this summer during the Riverside County Summer Work Experience Program, funded by federal stimulus money. The program aims to help low-income individuals. Certain eligibility requirements apply and applicants will be required to provide copies of various documents, such as a birth certificate or a green card. Funding for the program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed by President Obama in February.

The two-year program is on track to help 2,500 young people during its first year, said Loren Sims, Operations Manager for the Workforce Development Division. About $9.4 million has been allocated for the program over two years, but Sims said the majority of funds are expected to be spent in the first year. More than $5.3 million will be devoted to the first year of the program. “It’s a great opportunity for young people to gain valuable work skills, “ Sims said. “All the young people who participate will receive a job for a minimum of 120 hours and a maximum of 240 hours over the summer.”

The young people also receive work readiness skills, he said. Employers benefit by receiving additional assistance, giving back to their community and helping supervise a young person while exposing him or her to various employment and career opportunities. The county’s workforce development centers are helping people of all ages with employment needs. Three full service workforce development centers, in Riverside, Indio and Hemet, and two satellite centers in Temecula and Corona are helping displaced workers find jobs while providing other services. About 11,000 people received services of some kind from the centers between July 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. Visit www.rivcojobs.com or call 888.968.8456 for more information.

FOR THE 8TH YEAR, the Woodcrest Library is offering its Summer Reading Program, which offers something for children almost every day. The program runs from the middle of June through August and is open to children ages 2 to 12. The library is also offering a teen reading program for young people ages 13 to 17. This is the second year the program will be held in the library’s new location at 16625 Krameria Ave.

Additional activities, geared mostly toward the younger crowd, will be held on Tuesdays at Woodcrest Elementary School, 16940 Krameria Ave. The summer program is extensive and includes live performances, crafts, prizes, movies and Wii games. Library staff and volunteers supervise the children, who earn tickets by reading, listening to and checking out books. Those tickets can be redeemed for toys, food and other prizes. Any child may participate by signing up for the Summer Reading Program and receiving a Passport to record visits to the library.

More than 1,000 children signed up last year to participate in the free program and, given the economy, organizers are expecting even more children this summer. “Joining our summer program helps the children retain their reading skills and I think that even the reluctant reader is anxious to participate because of all the rewards and the praise they receive from staff and people here at the library,” said Connie Rynning, branch manager of the Woodcrest Library.

The library partners with several businesses. The County also awarded the library a grant to help with the Summer Reading Program. The Woodcrest Library Friends Group funds everything over and above the grants. For more information, please go to www.rivlib.net or call 951.789.7324.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY Regional Medical Center (RCRMC) and the Riverside County Department of Public Health are offering a diabetes program to help prevent heart attacks and strokes in adult diabetic patients 45 years of age and older.

The program, which is being funded by a grant from Kaiser Permanente, includes the use of certain medications along with patient education and self-management goals to reduce the risk of health complications. Diabetes is a chronic disease with multiple health risks. Three of every five people with diabetes also have one or more serious health complications from the disease, including heart attacks, stroke, kidney damage, or blindness.

Helping patients with diabetes is crucial, given how many people are impacted by the disease. “It’s amazing how many patients we have with diabetes and even prediabetes,” said Ken Beckerle, Ambulatory Care Manager at RCRMC. “It’s really going to affect this county.” Beckerle said it’s important for patients to see their primary care doctors for regular checkups.

The diabetes program will be offered at RCRMC’s Family Care and Medicine clinics in Moreno Valley and at the Department of Public Health clinics in Riverside and Perris. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, please call: RCRMC Clinic Scheduling Department: 951.486.4000 Department of Public Health clinics: 800.720.9553.

HOMEOWNERS ARE REQUIRED to create and maintain 100 feet of defensible space clearance around their homes or land parcels to minimize the spread of wildland fires. CAL FIRE and Riverside County fire station personnel are conducting “defensible space” inspections on improved parcels to ensure residents are following Riverside County Ordinance 695.3, which requires residents to provide proper and safe clearance.

Homeowners must provide 30 feet of non-flammable clearance with an additional 70 feet of “fuel modification” zone. Defensible space gives properties the best chance of surviving a wildfire and prevents fire from continuing to move, said Riverside County Fire Capt. Julie Hutchinson. “It makes homeowners accept responsibility for protecting their largest dollar investment, which is their home,” she said. In California last year, about 5,812 wildland fires scorched 1,339,839 acres. For simple steps and safety tips when using equipment to clear brush or for more information, go to www.rvcfire.org.

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