U of M interns help improve city
By: Mitch Holmes
Issue date: 1/28/09 Section: News
In times of crisis, like the recent economic turmoil, people often come together to help each other out. The University of Memphis has created a program to do just that.
The U of M Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action conducts an annual lending study and offers an internship program in Shelby County. CBANA is part of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policies.
"This study shows the different zip codes around the county that had disproportionate predatory lending and foreclosures." said T.K. Buchanan, administrator of the CBANA internship program.
Buchanan said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has instituted the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. NSP will provide grants to cities and communities to buy, rehabilitate and resell foreclosed homes. This is in an attempt to stabilize the declining housing market and help strengthen poorer neighborhoods, according to the HUD Web site. The CBANA report was used by the city and county when applying for the grant, Buchanan said.
"The city came together to figure out where the money would go, and it used the CBANA program to see where the biggest problems were," she said.
The city came up with several zip codes that had the most problem properties, which are properties that are vacant, damaged or foreclosed, Buchanan said. These areas include Hickory Hill, Frayser and the area around The U of M campus. The area with the highest number of problem properties in the county is Frayser, said Steve Lockwood , executive director of the Frayser Community Development Corporation.
But HUD and the City of Memphis have yet to allocate the funds, Lockwood said.
"As of right now, we have no concrete plans on when we will get the money or how it will be distributed," he said. "We are waiting to find out the exact amount we are getting before making those plans."
While Frayser and other community development corporations around the city have not received NSP grant money, they have already started on projects using contributions from the city and county, Lockwood said. Some CBANA interns, like Sam Powers, have helped with the community improvement projects. Powers, a graduate assistant at The U of M, is working for the Frayser Community Development Corporation.
The U of M Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action conducts an annual lending study and offers an internship program in Shelby County. CBANA is part of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policies.
"This study shows the different zip codes around the county that had disproportionate predatory lending and foreclosures." said T.K. Buchanan, administrator of the CBANA internship program.
Buchanan said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has instituted the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. NSP will provide grants to cities and communities to buy, rehabilitate and resell foreclosed homes. This is in an attempt to stabilize the declining housing market and help strengthen poorer neighborhoods, according to the HUD Web site. The CBANA report was used by the city and county when applying for the grant, Buchanan said.
"The city came together to figure out where the money would go, and it used the CBANA program to see where the biggest problems were," she said.
The city came up with several zip codes that had the most problem properties, which are properties that are vacant, damaged or foreclosed, Buchanan said. These areas include Hickory Hill, Frayser and the area around The U of M campus. The area with the highest number of problem properties in the county is Frayser, said Steve Lockwood , executive director of the Frayser Community Development Corporation.
But HUD and the City of Memphis have yet to allocate the funds, Lockwood said.
"As of right now, we have no concrete plans on when we will get the money or how it will be distributed," he said. "We are waiting to find out the exact amount we are getting before making those plans."
While Frayser and other community development corporations around the city have not received NSP grant money, they have already started on projects using contributions from the city and county, Lockwood said. Some CBANA interns, like Sam Powers, have helped with the community improvement projects. Powers, a graduate assistant at The U of M, is working for the Frayser Community Development Corporation.