Housing Development Services
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A strong community is made up of successful homeowners AND successful renters - the key to each is financial resiliency. Four Directions Development Corporation provides one-on-one counseling and group presentations and training to assist tribal members and their families with financial education and home ownership. One-on-One Counseling Participants attend one-on-one counseling sessions as often as needed, but at least once every six months. By first identifying their short- and long-term goals and current obstacles they are facing, the participant and counselor create a financial plan that is specifically tailored to meet the participant's needs. These one-on-one sessions are an important personal "check-in" to ensure they are on track with their personal spending and savings plan and to make adjustments as needed. Our certfied staff assist with:
Group Education We offer workshops in a variety of topics with the underlying themes of saving money and increasing financial resiliency. Participants are trained in paying down debts; increasing income; making wise financial decisions; and developing an emergency savings plan. We also teach strategies to avoid predatory lenders and other financial scams. We use an adapted curriculum that incorporates traditional Native practices as the foundation for building personal financial literacy. This curriculum introduces tribal members to the following topics:
Wabanaki Beehive Free Tax Preparation Our Wabanaki Beehive Free Tax Preparation Program provides Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services to educate tribal members about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and alert them to the predatory nature of Refund Anticipation Loans. In partnership with the IRS, our Wabanaki Beehive Program delivers income tax assistance to taxpayers earning less than $58,000/year. We launched our program in 2009 with the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point. Today we serve all five tribal communities. Taxpayers are now able to file their own returns online using the Wabanaki Beehive Free Tax Preparation service with the guidance and assistance provided by our certified volunteer tax preparers. To date, our volunteers have helped prepare tax returns for more than 80 households. One third of those households qualified for EITC and Child Tax Credits that returned over $50,000 to eligible families. Next year, we are planning to provide two Wabanaki Beehive Clinics in each community. Community Outreach Services We conduct monthly outreach trips for the purpose of bringing our services to the people living in Maine's Native communities. Housing staff members spend two days a month in the Aroostook & Washington County tribal communities on a rotating schedule. The following sites serve as community outreach locations:
Services at each of these outreach locations include one-on-one assistance as well as mini-presentations on financial education topics. For more information please contact Johanna Anderson, our Housing Program Manager at (207) 866-6572 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
