by the El Reportero’s news services
Mother and daughter Diane and Antoinette López graduate together at SFSU.: (Photo Courtesy of SFSU)
NEWS FROM SFSU – Stephen de la Cruz, from homelessness to law school Criminal justice studies major Stephen de la Cruz has been accepted to the Boalt School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, with a full tuition scholarship. De La Cruz’ passion to improve society stems from his own challenges: being born into a single parent family in Oakland, fi nding himself homeless for a brief spell in his twenties, and then being diagnosed with a terminal illness in 1996. Living in the Western Addition in the 90s, De La Cruz became active in grassroots activism and involved in advocacy work on behalf of the incarcerated. He enrolled at SF State in 2006.
Diane López Trujillo and Antoinette López, Mother and daughter to graduate together
Diane López left a year of junior college behind to raise and support her three children. After an injury that prevented her from continuing with the manufacturing job she held for 27 years, the San Bruno resident chose to follow in her daughter Antoinette’s footsteps.
Though Antoinette has earned a master’s degree in early childhood development with a career in teaching ahead, her mother is not far behind. Diane will return to SF State in the fall to pursue her master’s degree in social work. “Don’t ever think that your children won’t influence you as much as you hope to influence them,” said Diane. “I am living proof that it can happen.”
ACORN Housing awarded $7.8 Million to help save homes from foreclosure
ACORN Housing has received an award of $7,850,939 from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Fund for its work in foreclosure prevention counseling.
As one of 48 organizations that received part of the $180 million in foreclosure prevention money that passed in Congress two months prior, ACORN Housing has received the fi fth highest award. As part of this program, ACORN will be holding Foreclosure Prevention Workshops for homeowners who are facing delinquency or foreclosure every Wednesday at 7 pm beginning Wednesday, May 14th.
ACORN Housing Corporation (AHC) has spent the last two years working with struggling homeowners and mortgage lenders to prevent foreclosures and restructure loans with affordable resolutions.
According to a written statement from ACORN, last year, they prevented over 4,000 foreclosures of homeowners. AHC has partnerships with 40 mortgage servicers to provide expedited resolutions, affordable workouts, and housing counseling for homeowners.
Foreclosure Mitigation funding will permit ACORN Housing to expand its work to over 20,000 homeowners in 2008, the statement said.
California Community Colleges Partners with Department of Food and Agriculture
SACRAMENTO – The California Community Col- leges System Offi ce entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to leverage and combine state resources to enhance California’s global trade prospects, announced Chancellor Diane Woodruff.
“As the largest provider of workforce training in the United States, California’s community colleges are pleased to partner with the state’s agricultural industry to help California’s economy remain strong and competitive in this important sector of the global market,” said Chancellor Woodruff.
