ACORN Starts To Feel Funding Freeze
ACORN Housing's North Philadelphia office - Housing counselors at ACORN Housing's North Philadelphia office have to refer clients to new attorneys for legal help, because the group isn't providing that service as long as its funding is frozen. (Pam Fessler/NPR)
Federal funding has been temporarily stopped for the community group ACORN and its affiliates, and some people worry that worthwhile programs could be affected if the cuts become permanent.
The move comes after a scandal involving videotapes that showed ACORN workers telling a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute how to evade the law.
In the undercover videos, ACORN workers at four offices around the country dished out some very sketchy advice. But in ACORN Housing's North Philadelphia office, the scene is far from the one seen in the videos, which were made by a conservative activist.
What you see here instead are several young women, with yellow case files piled high on their desks, trying to help poor people save their homes. ACORN Housing Corp., an ACORN spinoff, offers free housing counseling to low- and moderate-income homebuyers.
On a recent day, housing counselor Lianna Crosby talks with client Shawn Drayton about an upcoming mediation session at the city court. Drayton is trying to avoid losing his grandfather's house to a bad mortgage deal. But Crosby says there's been a last-minute change: She has to refer him to a different attorney for legal help, because ACORN Housing won't be able to provide that service as long as its funding is frozen. Congress has blocked, at least until the end of this month, most of the money ACORN Housing relies upon to do its work.
Some lawmakers say they want to make the cutoff permanent because of the videos and other problems with ACORN operations over the past several years.
The housing group is a major recipient of grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It also received almost $24 million over the past two years for a foreclosure-mitigation counseling program created by Congress.
'I Just Couldn't Afford It'
Bruce Dorpalen oversees counseling at ACORN Housing offices around the country.
"We have a little bit of resources to keep going, but if this can't get resolved in a decent way, we would have to lay off staff, not be able to serve clients," Dorpalen says.
Clients such as Fred Butler, a retiree who came here for help, could be affected.
Butler admits he made a big mistake when he got a mortgage with a big balloon payment on his Philadelphia home.
"I just couldn't afford it. And it was just too much," Butler says.
But when he tried to pull out of the deal during a three-day grace period, his mortgage broker was nowhere to be found. ACORN Housing has worked with the lender to negotiate a more palatable deal that will keep Butler in his home.
ACORN's critics say the organization has misused federal funds, and they have called for multiple investigations. But neither HUD nor NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit that administers the foreclosure counseling grants, have reported any problems with ACORN Housing. And HUD continues to list ACORN Housing as one of about two dozen national, HUD-approved counseling agencies.
"They've been one of the highest-performing organizations, so in that regard we have not had any concerns about their performance under this program," says Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America. "But like everyone else, we were concerned with the videos we saw on television."
He says NeighborWorks is reviewing its contract with ACORN Housing to make sure none of the terms has been violated. Wade adds that if the funding cuts become permanent, it will be a challenge finding other groups to take over the thousands of foreclosure cases now being handled by ACORN Housing. Both HUD and NeighborWorks are waiting to see what Congress does next.
Approached By Videographers
National ACORN officials admit their group has made mistakes in the past, including concealing — until recently — an embezzlement scheme by the founder's brother. And they say they're fixing the problems.
But it could be too little, too late — which is especially troubling for those who work in the Philadelphia office. They're the ones who actually got suspicious when a couple showed up at their office last July asking strange questions.
"They said something about bringing girls from El Salvador into the country to live in the house with them and if I knew anything about getting them papers," says office manager Katherine Conway-Russell.
Conway-Russell says she had no idea she was being videotaped. She told the couple that ACORN couldn't help them and, after the couple left, workers called police.
But when videos — which were taken at other ACORN offices — became public last month, Conway-Russell says her office started getting crank calls. People asked if they could get help opening a brothel — and even threatened to kill one of the counselors.
"It's saddening to know that our staff works so hard to help people, and they feel like this is just an attack," Conway-Russell says through tears, "and it has nothing to do with what we do for the communities that we serve."
So for now, she says, she and the other workers here will just keep doing their jobs. And try not to worry too much about what comes next.
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ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Earlier this week in Louisiana, the head of the state chapter of ACORN was fired. That's after local ACORN leaders criticized President Obama, saying that he was not making a long enough visit to New Orleans.
This is just one of many troubles for the community group across the country. Federal funding for ACORN was stopped, at least temporarily, after videotapes showed ACORN workers telling a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute how to evade the law. Lawmakers say they want to make that cutoff permanent.
But as NPR's Pam Fessler reports, some fear that worthwhile programs could be lost.
PAM FESSLER: The picture you get at the ACORN housing office in north Philadelphia is a lot different than the one presented by ACORN's critics, or the one seen in undercover videos made by a conservative activist, where ACORN workers dished out some very sketchy advice. What you see here instead are several young women with yellow case files piled high on their desks trying to help poor people save their homes.
Ms. LIANNA CROSBY (Housing Counselor, ACORN): If you can get proof that you're receiving public assistance at the time.
Mr. SHAWN DRAYTON: Okay, great.
FESSLER: Housing counselor Lianna Crosby talks with client Shawn Drayton about an upcoming mediation session at the city court. He's trying not to lose his grandfather's house to a bad mortgage deal. But Crosby says there's been a last-minute change.
Ms. CROSBY: The legal referral, because of everything that's going on, they put a freeze on our funding. But I have clients who were referred to another attorney, so I'm going to give you his number.
Mr. DRAYTON: Okay. Great.
FESSLER: That's because Congress has blocked, at least until the end of this month, a lot of the money ACORN Housing relies upon to do its work. The housing group, an ACORN spinoff, is a major recipient of grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It also received almost $24 million over the past two years for a foreclosure-mitigation counseling program created by Congress.
Bruce Dorpalen oversees counseling at ACORN Housing's offices around the country.
Mr. BRUCE DORPALEN (National Director of Housing Counseling, ACORN): We have a little bit of resources to keep going, but if this can't get resolved in a different(ph) way, we would have to lay off the staff, not be able to serve clients.
FESSLER: Clients such as Fred Butler, a retiree who came here for some of the free help. He admits he made a big mistake when he got a new mortgage on his Philadelphia home.
Mr. FRED BUTLER: I had a (unintelligible) on it. Well, it ballooned. After so many months it would go up. I just couldn't afford it and it was just too much.
FESSLER: But when he tried to pull out of the deal during a three-day grace period, his mortgage broker was nowhere to be found. ACORN Housing has worked with the lender to negotiate a more palatable deal that will keep Butler in his home.
ACORN's critics say the organization has misused federal funds and have called for multiple investigations. But neither HUD nor NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit that administers the foreclosure counseling grants, have reported any problems with ACORN Housing.
Ken Wade is CEO of NeighborWorks America.
Mr. KEN WADE (CEO, NeighborWorks America): They've been one of the highest-performing organizations, so, in that regard we've not had any concerns about their performance under this program. But like everyone else, we were concerned with the, you know, the videos we saw on television.
FESSLER: So he says NeighborWorks is reviewing its contract with ACORN Housing to make sure none of the terms has been violated. Wade adds that if the funding cuts become permanent, it will be a challenge finding other groups to take over the thousands of foreclosure cases being handled by ACORN Housing.
National ACORN officials admit their group has made mistakes, including concealing, until recently, an embezzlement scheme by the founder's brother. And they say they're fixing the problems. But it could be too little too late, which is especially troubling for those who work in the Philadelphia office, because they are the ones who actually got suspicious when a couple showed up here last July asking strange questions.
Ms. KATHERINE CONWAY-RUSSELL: They said something about bringing girls from El Salvador into the country to live in the house with them, and if I knew anything about getting them papers.
FESSLER: Office manager Katherine Conway-Russell says she didn't know she was being videotaped. She told the couple that ACORN couldn't help them. And after they left, workers here called police. But when videos taken at other ACORN offices became public last month, Conway-Russell says her office started getting crank calls - people asking if they could get help opening a brothel and even threatening to kill one of the counselors.
Ms. CONWAY-RUSSELL: It's saddening to know…
(Soundbite of crying)
FESSLER: Conway-Russell can't help herself. She starts to cry.
Ms. CONWAY-RUSSELL: To know that our staff works so hard to help people. And I feel like this is just an attack. It has nothing to do with what we do for the communities that we serve.
FESSLER: So, for now, she says she and the other workers here will just keep doing their jobs and try not to worry too much about what comes next.
Pam Fessler, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
