BHA Newsletter

Family Self-Sufficiency & Homeownership Programs

FSS & HOP Participant Brag Wall:
This space is designated for FSS Coordinators to highlight achievements of Family Self -Sufficiency and Homeownership participants. Keep up all the hard work!

2014 Q1: WINTER

One FSS participant recently graduated and used her escrow funds to obtain reliable transportation. This has allowed the client to expand her business. She is now able to serve more clients and has increased her familys income. Another FSS participant was re-hired after being permanently laid off. She was unemployed for several months, but during that time she stayed in touch with her previous supervisor. She continually told her supervisor that she was still interested in working if any positions became available. A new position opened up and the FSS participant was hired! Persistence pays off! One FSS participant recently purchased a home through Habitat for Humanity. He loves his new home and enjoyed being able to decorate his front porch with lights for the recent holiday season. This participant also successfully negotiated for more hours at his place of employment.

Inside this issue:

Brag Wall & FSS Note Upcoming Events Homeownership Hub Focus on Finance: Free Community Tax Service Education & Workshops Health Hotspot Contact Info 1 1 2 3

Note From a Recent FSS Graduate:

To anyone on the FSS program who is hoping for a bright future I want to encourage you to maintain focus no matter how hard life may seem. I am happy to say that in 2008 I was a single divorced woman hoping for a better future. While on FSS, I stuck with my employers and finished my AS degree and also earned my certificate as a dental assistant. I plan to finish my BS and use the funds from my escrow account to either pay on student loans or as a down payment to buy a home. I would never be where I am today if I wasnt on the FSS program and also the support I was given from the BHA.

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Upcoming Events:
-HAND Home Buyers Club Class: February 1 & 8, 2014 from 9:00 AM 4:00 PM at City Hall -Free Community Tax Service: February 7, 2014 from 1:00 PM5:00 PM at the BHA -College Goal Sunday: February 23, 2014 at 2:00 PM at Ivy Tech Community College

BHA Office will be Closed:

- January 20 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) - February 17 (Presidents Day) - April 18 (Good Friday)

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Are you interested in Homeownership?

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BHA Service Coordination Staff Contact Information

FSS Coordinators: Elizabeth Hacker Phone: 812-339-3491 x 120 ehacker@blha.net Kate Schnabel Phone: 812-339-3491 x 116 kschnabel@blha.net ROSS Program Coordinator: Terri Korus Phone: 812-339-3491 x 115 tkorus@blha.net ROSS Resident Assistant: Debbie Weaver Phone: 812-339-3491 dweaver@blha.net

Spellbound
by Emily Bront The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees are bending Their bare boughs weighed with snow. And the storm is fast descending, And yet I cannot go. Clouds beyond clouds above me, Wastes beyond wastes below; But nothing drear can move me; I will not, cannot go.

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