Annual Luncheon a Success

The 29th anniversary luncheon of the St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services was held on September 30, 2009. The luncheon, which took place at the Mahaffey Theater Grand Ballroom, focused on upcoming efforts from SPNHS as well as honored past accomplishments, and featured speakers from the local community.

Testimonials were given by Deborah Williams and by Jeremy and Yvonne Cornelius, two cases in which the services offered by SPNHS were able to change lives. After the death of her husband, Williams began to fall behind with her bills and was facing foreclosure until her neighbor referred her to SPNHS’s foreclosure prevention workshops. Jeremy Cornelius and his wife Yvonne, a stay-at-home-mom, were first-time homebuyers who were able to realize the pride of home ownership through the Realizing the American Dream homebuyer education program.

The keynote speaker at the luncheon was Karen Jackson Sims, Tampa Field Office Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Jackson Sims, who has received numerous awards throughout her career including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the United States Congress in 2006, spoke on the need for sustainable, affordable housing in the Tampa Bay area. In her speech, Jackson Sims discussed the struggles Tampa Bay has dealt with as the population has grown and the economy has declined, namely Florida’s rankings as second in the nation in predatory lending and third in the number of foreclosures.

Jackson Sims explained the need for sustainable communities and the deficiencies currently found in many of the hardest hit neighborhoods, specifically a lack of access to businesses, transportation systems and support systems. “A home is more than just a roof that you put over your head,” Jackson Sims said. “It is the community in which you reside and in which you live.” She went on to outline the plans currently in place by HUD such as the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, a $250 million initiative designed to integrate housing with employment, transportation and education.

Jackson Sims closed by asking luncheon guests to lend their support in the continuation of programs such as the Making Home Affordable program, to join HUD in their efforts to build green and increase sustainability, and to ensure that those in need of the services of HUD or SPNHS are aware that they exist.

“We can’t expect to do things the way we used to if we expect to see a change,” Jackson Sims said. “We’ve got to think differently in how to get this word out. Let’s keep the roof over somebody’s head who might lose it simply because they didn’t know where to go.”