Local Nonprofit, Neighborhood Home Solutions, Takes Stance to Help Families Who Suffered Financial Injury in the Foreclosure Process

More Help for Homeowners event will help foreclosed families to get a free Independent Foreclosure Review

St. Petersburg, FL (March 14, 2012) --  Help is on the way for thousands of families locally whose foreclosure process may have contained errors or other problems. Neighborhood Home Solutions, a HUD approved housing counseling organization, will be helping local victims of foreclosure to determine if they qualify for compensation or other remedy as a part of a nationwide day of help. 


The "More Help for Homeowners" event will be held on Saturday, March 24th, 2012 from 10am-2pm at 1600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South, St. Petersburg, FL.

The "More Help for Homeowners" event is part of an ongoing effort to reach the 4.3 million families that were mailed letters from the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) advising them of their possible eligibility for a free Independent Foreclosure Review. Borrowers of certain mortgage servicers, whose primary residence was in a foreclosure process between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010 may qualify for a review, but must request it by July 31, 2012.

"Neighborhood Home Solutions is pleased to help these families to get what they are entitled to," said Deborah Scanlan, President & CEO Neighborhood Home Solutions. "Many families have been devastated by foreclosure. We applaud the OCC's efforts to restore some of what has been lost."

The More Help for Homeowner event will have certified housing counselors to assist attendees in determining if they qualify for the Independent Foreclosure Review, obtaining the review form, completing and submitting it. Attendees will also be educated about their options in moving forward. In addition, Neighborhood Home Solutions will provide assistance for homeowners who are currently in default.

Neighborhood Home Solutions (NHS) is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit neighborhood revitalization and community development organization. Services are dedicated to helping people improve their financial well-being, qualify for home ownership, maintain their home after purchase, and learn how to avoid foreclosure. All services are FREE. To learn more, visit www.nhsfl.org.

Contact: Deborah Scanlan , 727-821-6897 or Deborah.Scanlan@nhsfl.org

Planning a cleanup

The neighborhood association is planning a cleanup of our pedestrian/bike path on a few Saturdays.
A celebration will follow.

The path connects 13th Avenue South at 7th Street and  11 Avenue South at 6th Street.

Please contact us if you can volunteer a few hours on a Saturday morning.

Bartlett Park Community Resource Center

642 22nd Avenue South, 33705

727-826-9774

Looking south from 12th Ave toward 13th.





Do you have any ideas for landscaping?



Home of the late Joseph Savage on the left. A heroic leader of our city and good friend and neighbor.


The Northern section has just been improved with hexblocks and planters.








Decorated for community event.




The Pinellas Trail should connect to our neighborhood. There will be many more people who want to walk and bike.

Brazilian Pepper tree

Focus on: Brazilian Pepper tree

Brazilian pepper was brought to Florida in the 1890's to be used as an ornamental shrub. The plant became popular and people called them Florida holly. Now they dominate 700,000 acres from North Central to South Florida and are on the state's prohibited plant list, so it is illegal to cultivate, sell or transport them. The plant can grow up to 10 feet per year, resprout if cut down & their roots are nearly impossible to dig up. Brazilian pepper-tree has taken over native tree hammocks, pine flatlands and mangrove forest communities.


Source: tbep.org

CeaseFire stops gun violence; see it on PBS

Watch on PBS Frontline 2/14! Order on DVD/Blu-Ray from www.kartemquin.com

Directed by Steve James. Produced by Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James.

Every City Needs Its Heroes.

An epic tale of courage and hope, The Interrupters is a new film from Chicago-based director/producer Steve James (Oscar-nominated for Hoop Dreams) and award-winning author-turned-producer Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here), whose original article inspired the film.

The Interrupters follows a year in the life of the city as it grapples with the plague of urban violence. At the heart of the story are Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra, each of whom has credibility on the street because of their own personal histories. With gumption, wisdom and wit, they work to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they themselves once employed. These "Violence Interrupters" (their job title) -- work for CeaseFire, a local organization whose guiding principle is that the spread of violence mimics the spread of infectious diseases, and so respond with similar treatment: go after the most infected, and stop the infection at its source. 


Chicago Tribune interview




Bartlett Park  Links:

News coverage of neighborhood revitalization.

Citizen's Patrol keeps neighborhood safe

Take illegal guns and assault rifles off the street.

Speak Up, Speak Now training for middle school students

Stop the Violence March and Rally

Church door to door outreach in formerly gang controlled area

The MLK Day of Service-Saturday and Monday Events

B-B-Q Fundraiser for Southside Children, and voter registration.
Outreach to help a new tutoring center for inner city elementary school students with high school student volunteers.


2 projects helping elementary and High School children and families have joined together for community outreach, fellowship and fundraising. Celebrate the King holiday by coming out for breakfast or lunch and help a worthy cause.

Families Invested in Successful Kids (FISK)
Gibbs High School PTA

Saturday January 14th 11am-4pm
Monday January 16th. breakfast- 4pm

2 Locations.

IMPACT MINISTRIES
1710 52 Street South
Gulfport, Fl. 33707I

Advance Auto Parts
4900 Gulfport Blvd (22nd Ave S)


More information coming soon.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities.

The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.

United Aerospace Workers (UAW) Local 298 Community Service Committee members are volunteering on this project.

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Speech to the UAW 25th Anniversary Dinner

Welcome to The Parent Support for Education Council

The council will be meeting next on December 15th.
 Please plan to attend the next Parent Council Meeting.

We meet every 3rd Thursday each month

@ 6:30 PM - Bartlett Park Community Resource Center

642 22nd Avenue South, 33705

Welcome to The Parent Support for Education Council, Inc. 

The mission is to assist children and families in attaining

the highest level of academic performance and positive social success.


We are so pleased that you share our vision of in increasing parental

engagement in all aspects of children lives. I encourage you to get

engaged, there is much work to be done.


Please note that the Council's main focuses are:

(1) encouraging parents and caring adults to become fully engaged

in children education and

(2) finding and implementing solutions to problems that inhibits

the success of children and families in education and other social problems.

CHURCH SUMMIT 3, Theme; The Church Increasing Parental Engagement.

Was held on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at IMPACT MINISTRIES, Non-Denominational Church Host Pastor, Apostle, Dr. Bobby Patterson

A report will be available soon. 

We will have a report on  outreach to parents of Lakewood Elementary School

in the Bartlett Park neighborhood.

 We work to connect parents to their school and to needed resources 

in a way that will help our children do much better in school and in life.                                                                                                                                                         .

Health Forum this Saturday

Click to enlarge.

"Changes in your body during pregnancy- 40 weeks of transition"

WHEN Thursday, October 27th, 2011, 2 – 3pm WHERE Neighborhood Home Solutions  1600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Sponsored by St Petersburg General Hospital

Come and learn about pregnancy from our Certified Nurse Midwife, Amy Johnson ARNP, in this one hour no cost presentation.  To register call 1-888-741-5122

Also meet and greet neighborhood association representatives, and information about home retention and weatherization to lower electric bills and make your home more comfortable.

Don't miss this opportunity for a healthier Mind and Body!

Sustainable Bartlett Park

                                                   Green Jobs Now! rally


Residents are working diligently to complete many projects that will give us a safer, healthier and more affordable place to live.
Several cleanups and a community celebration are being planned for April and May.
On Saturday March 3rd we willjoin Campbell Park residents in a cleanup of Booker Creek.
Updated on 2-9-12

• Community Garden with hands on learning of  how to grow organic food, harvest rainwater, use efficient irrigation, and compost yard waste into a rich soil amendment. We have worked with the city to craft a new ordinance. Lectures, classes and meetings held at garden.
• Green for All conference attended by Bartlett Park Neighborhood Association representatives.
• Home repair and energy efficiency improvements with Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay
• Green Jobs Now rally.
• Once a week trash pickup for residents who recycle most of their waste.
• Yard of the Month recognizes a neighbor who contributes a beautiful landscape .
• Paris Gardens gives residents native drought tolerant plants for front yards and edible food plants for back yards.
• Pepper and Punk tree removal. Invasive exotics choke out native plants and wildlife and create unsafe conditions. In some cases Progress Energy and/or volunteers trim and remove trees that could damage power lines or fall on homes during a storm.  Experimental research on low cost tree removal.
• Daily street litter cleanup and resident outreach.
• Please Don't litter signs for storm drains and Salt Creek, and Dog Waste signs.
• Resource Center open to public with information and how to guides. Many thanks to Edward White Hospital for helping rebuild our center. Visit at 642 22nd Avenue South or call 727-826-9774.
• Booker and Salt Creek kayak trails. A request is pending to include us on city Bluewater Trail map.
• Salt Creek wildlife education signs, fishing dock, litter cleanup, mangrove pruning plan.
• Address problems of  homeless camping in parks, vacant lots and abandoned homes and leaving debris on the ground that washes into our creeks.
• Neighborhood Energy Saver door to door outreach with Progress Energy for free and  low cost energy conservation improvements for every resident.
• Urban League Home Weatherization program.
• New bike paths on Martin Luther King Street South.
• New signal for pedestrian cross walk.
• Speed bumps for bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Converted street into pedestrian/bike path.  Landscape maintenance needed.
• Street tree planting and sidewalk repair.
• Green KaBoom! playground for young children. 
• Bus shelters and high rate of bus ridership.
• Connection to Pinellas Trail  following Booker Creek for recreation and commuting to work. This would add connections to the waterfront, downtown, Campbell Park and Tropicana Field.
• Home retention assistance to keep homes occupied.
• Newton Avenue Model Block planning, with much assistance from Bob Brown and Randy Wedding
• Community History Project 
• Neighborhood plan to encourage urban infilling instead of suburban sprawl development. Plan needs to be updated.
• Citizen's Patrol to report unsafe conditions, including graffiti and trash dumping. 
• 
  

Things to do on Labor Day

Tune in to Community Radio WMNF 88.5 FM at 10am for a special program with local and national labor union leaders and members. . Listen live, on line or podcast.
http://www.wmnf.org/program_strips/353
To call in or email: Air Studio: 813-239-9663 or dj@wmnf.org 


Buy American and look for the union label. http://www.unionlabel.org/

Buyers guide for American cars. http://www.uaw.org/cars

Learn the history of the labor movement.