Foreclosure Scam Prevention/Homebuying in Toledo @ Your Library (Includes Neighborhood Stabilization Program)

Blog and other internet postings are all good and well, but don't you wish you could meet experts, face to face, to untangle problems?  The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is having two programs next month to help with two big issues: keeping the home you have, and buying a new one.

On September 13th, we host Foreclosure Scams: Don't Get Taken! at the Main Library on 325 N. Michigan from 6:15 till 8:15.  People from the Ohio Attorney-General's office, Northwest Ohio Development Agency, ABLE (Advocates of Basic Legal Equality), and the Fair Housing Center will talk about how to smell a scam, and legitimate sources of help in northwest Ohio.

On September 20th, we host Getting Financially Ready for Home Buying, also from 6:15 till 8:15 at Main Library.  Local experts from the Neighborhood Housing Center, Northwest Ohio Development Agency, and Consumer Counseling Credit Service will tell you how to get your financial house in order so that you can get a home of your own.  Best of all, a representative from the Toledo Housing Department will talk about--and have material on--the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.  Learn how you can get financial help to buy beautiful houses in several different neighborhoods.  All for free!

If you live in other places, there is still a way to find legitimate foreclosure help.  Call one of the nonprofit agencies approved for home counseling by HUD.  And to find out more about steering away from foreclosure scams, see this informative website by the Federal Trade Commission.

Financial Help When You Care For Others

Taking care of someone else--either a disabled child or adult, or an elderly relative--can be tough.  You may need respite care to spend some time doing things you want or need to do, but may not have family in a position to help.  Many states provide some financial help for low or moderate income people in this difficult position.

The National Respite Network gives an overview of the types of financial aid available, and how they work.  A good place to start your research is the state Department of Health and Department on Aging where you live.  You can find both of them for your state at the Healthy Aging Program website.  They are usually the departments in charge of programs created to help caregivers.  Besides offering in-home respite, they may offer adult day care on a sliding scale of payments.

An elderly or disabled person may also need help in their own homes, and need financial help in providing it.  Most states offer help in providing personal help in the form of medicaid waiver programs, where the state helps pay for the cost of in-home personal care.  These can be offered through state agencies that deal with different population groups.  For instance, in Ohio, they are offered through the Department of Aging and the Department of Developmental Disability.  The financial requirements and regulations vary from state to state.  Find your state's department, and contact them for more information.  A simple way to search via the internet for your state's program is to google the words "medicaid waiver" and the name of your state.