Two important relief drives we call to your attention:

American Jewish World Service and Joint Distribution Committee:
AJWS has been working in Pakistan since the 2005 earthquake. With five trusted grantee partners on the ground they are well-positioned to respond to this latest crisis.

AJWS grantee partners in Pakistan are saving lives by mobilizing emergency support for victims of the flooding and helping to prevent the spread of disease. They are erecting temporary shelters for those whose homes have been destroyed, facilitating access to clean drinking water in government relief camps and working with local and national government authorities to expedite the relief process. As a result of the 2005 earthquake, these organizations already have extensive experience in responding to disasters.

With your support today, AJWS will be able to fund the immediate distribution of Aid-Bags to affected families in the worst hit areas. These Aid-Bags contain essentials: food, water, pots, pans, clothing and other necessities that will sustain these families for a week to ten days. In the longer term they anticipate working with these groups to enable them to play a part in rebuilding their country.

To ensure their safety and wellbeing, AJWS does not list its Pakistan grantees on their website or publicize them by name.

AJWS  website to read more and donate

Joint Distribution Committee:
The American section of the Joint Distribution Committee has been an arm of the Jewish community responding to international disasters for many years.   The JDC has been on the ground in Pakistan since the hurricane of 2005.

Joint Distribution Committee history in Pakistan

To donate via the American Joint Distribution Committee

VOTER BALLOTS reflect voters’ positive attitudes toward paid sick days policy according to a recent study by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.  The NORCstudy shows that 75% of the public supports guaranteeing workers a minimum number of paid sick days.  The study also shows that over 3 times as many voters are likely to support a candidate who is in favor of paid sick days legislation than not.

Held on Thursday, State House – Coalition members lead by moms and kids from MomsRising will meet at the Grand Staircase to deliver stories from moms across the Commonwealth who desperately need paid sick days before the school year begins.

Congratulations to all who worked hard on this bill.  Great strides for tenants; new education on reverse mortgages; increased time for workouts.

Foreclosures are devastating our communities in Massachusetts – The Federal Reserve reports that more than 33,300 Massachusetts homeowners are delinquent on their home loans due to a combination of high unemployment, negative property equity, (where the homeowner owes more than the value of the home) and risky lending.  As of February, 2010, an additional 30,700 Massachusetts homes were already bank-owned or in the foreclosure process.
The Warren Group, an independent publisher of real estate data, said there were 1,283 foreclosure deeds filed in Massachusetts last month, up nearly 120 percent from the previous year. Through the first five months of 2010, the number of completed foreclosures was nearly double last year’s pace.
A Foreclosure Bill (H. 4595) is in the House Ways and Means Committeethat will help tenants and homeowners. It has already passed the Senate unanimously. This no-cost proposal will help save resources by preventing the public safety hazards that surround foreclosed properties, stabilizing property values, and preventing the housing instability that unnecessary evictions cause. The Bill does the following: 1)      Provides eviction protections to tenants in foreclosed properties who are in good standing and continue to pay rent. 2) Establishes a framework for negotiations between lenders and homeowners to work together to create a mutually-acceptable loan modification. Participating in loan modification negotiations would be voluntary but lenders that do not participate will have to wait 150 days to foreclose on the property (up from current 90 day right to cure).  This provision sunsets in 2016. 3)  Creates an abandoned and foreclosed property registry to track distressed properties. 4) Encourages redevelopment of foreclosed properties by providing a local option to exclude nonprofits from property taxes during the term that the nonprofit rehabilitates the home and converts it into affordable housing. 5)  Criminalizes mortgage fraud. 6)  Requires counseling in order to receive a reverse mortgage.  A reverse mortgage is where a senior homeowner receives a loan on their home equity and the loan is paid back when the homeowner sell the home or passes away.

JALSA thanks CHAPA andd MAAPL for their continuing leadership on this legislation.

For more information on the bill, click on Fact Sheet