Putting a face on the foreclosure crisis
With the economic downturn that began in late 2008, thousands of families faced losing their homes to foreclosure. The north side of Minneapolis was particularly hard it, and residents began to ask, “Where the’s human element in all of this!”
“People want to see results,” said Dr. Shonda Craft, assistant professor in Family Social Science. “They are tired of being listened to over and over and having nothing done.”
Craft’s mental health background made her a good fit to get involved and develop a trial program. The Project on the Effects of the Foreclosure/Mortgage Crisis on Individual, Family and Community Health and Wellness is the first action research team through the Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center (UROC).
The project held a community forum in September 2010 to kick off its work. Community-based researchers surveyed 15 businesses and 120 community organizations which serve people who live in in north Minneapolis. They also reviewed over 1200 articles on the foreclosure/mortgage crisis, looking for content related to health and wellness issues.
“There wasn’t a lot going on in terms of media coverage about the health and wellness aspect that accompanied the foreclosures,” said Craft. “Human interest stories would crop up in the news, but even they were rare.”
Though the action research team is wrapping up in May, Craft is ensuring that the hard work continues to do good for the community. She was approached by Habitat for Humanity to develop a support group for people who are in the process of home foreclosure.
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program (MFPP) helps any Minneapolis homeowner at risk of losing their home to foreclosure. The program provides counseling, advocacy, and referrals free of charge to families who have fallen behind in their mortgage payments.
“Right now we are putting together a year-long trial – six-week long small group sessions with ten people each,” said Craft. “We’ll dive into topics like coping, stress, and resiliency. We also want to normalize the experience, and help group members understand and deal with feelings of guilt and shame they may be experiencing.”
Marriage and family therapy graduate students from FSOS will be assisting with the groups. The content of the group specifically will not be focusing on financial matters.
“Habitat for Humanity wants to see their clients experience higher self-esteem, so that (Habitat for Humanity) can help them with financial counseling.”
I don’t really know what kind of themes will come up,” Craft said of the peer-led groups. “We’re going to let residents drive the conversation. I do want to be able to make sure that this is helpful in meaningful ways, to residents, community organizations, and other researchers.”
(This article appeared in the 2011 winter issue of the Family Social Science newsletter, Interactions).