MCHR to Award Homebuyer Course Scholarship to Bootheel Residents

www.labor.mo.gov

August 2010

MCHR to Award Homebuyer Course Scholarship to Bootheel Residents One hundred and fifty Bootheel residents will be awarded scholarships to a one-day advanced homebuyer education class designed to unravel the complicated home-purchase process and advance consumer education about fair housing. Sponsored by the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) and made possible through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the in-depth class is the latest offering in MCHR’s Bootheel-targeted outreach campaign, the Show-Me Fair Housing Awareness Project. Valued at $100, the course will teach attendees how to improve their credit score to better qualify for a mortgage loan, determine their financial readiness for such a major purchase, and develop a homebuyer’s wish list. Audrey Franklin, a housing counselor with HUD-approved 4-Sight Counseling, Inc.in Cape Girardeau, acts as instructor for the classes and shares insider tips on ways to avoid high-cost or unfair mortgages that could ultimately lead to foreclosure. The course kicked off July 24 in Sikeston, Mo, and will continue to be held in various locations in the Bootheel through the end of the year, or until 150 scholarships are awarded. The current course schedule is as follows (additional dates and locations will be added): August 21, 2010 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 4-Sight Counseling, Inc. 937 Broadway, Suite 305, Cape Girardeau, Mo August 28, 2010 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. BAILS (Bootheel Area Independent Living Services) 719 Teaco Road, Kennett, Mo August 31, 2010 & September 2, 2010 8:00 a.m. to Noon each day Lincoln University Extension Office 201 N. Stoddard, Sikeston, Mo September 11, 2010 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Lincoln University Extension Office 1809 Compress Street, Caruthersville, Mo September 18, 2010 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Malden Community Center 607 N. Douglas, Malden, Mo September 25, 2010 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Location to be announced Portageville, Mo The $100 course fee is paid by the scholarship for the first 150 participants. Class is from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a break for lunch. For information about class dates and locations or to sign up for a scholarship, call 4-Sight Counseling, Inc. 573-334-7995. The MCHR is an independent commission housed in the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. It is responsible for enforcing the Missouri Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation because of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), disability, and age (in employment only), and familial status (in housing only). For more information about your rights, the MCHR complaint process, or the Show-Me Fair Housing Awareness Project, visit www.labor.mo.gov/MOHumanRights or call 573-751-3325.