Dreaming of home ownership

This post was written by IL reporter Rebecca Berfanger

Minutes after I turned in Tuesday's IL Daily story about a new initiative by the Indiana Supreme Court and the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network, I got an e-mail from the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership about 'Reclaiming the American Dream,' a documentary set to air on the Indianapolis PBS affiliate WFYI at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The documentary will include national and local experts' opinions on mortgage foreclosures, how the ideal of owning a home has changed over the years, and will also follow people in Indianapolis and Detroit as they strive to achieve the American dream of homeownership.

Lilly Endowment Inc. funded the project, which is a partnership between WFYI and INHP. The documentary was produced by filmmaker Kim Hood Jacobs.

Not having seen the documentary, I plan to tune in Thursday night. I'm hoping it'll include some glint of happy news, as I've been following mortgage foreclosures for Indiana Lawyer for a while now ' including how other news sources have been covering it ' and most of the news so far has been grim.

Even when I hear news reports explaining foreclosure numbers are decreasing slightly, or at least compared to the same time a year ago, I immediately start to wonder whether those numbers really mean anything as I continue to hear of friends of friends and relatives who have lost their homes in recent months. In working on a story for the April 28 edition, I'm also learning that Indiana's numbers are staying strong or slightly increasing ' and that Indiana is 11th in the country for foreclosures.

I also look forward to the documentary for personal reasons; last summer, I was able to buy my first house with the help of INHP's staff and free community programs. Like others who work with them, the organization will look over financial statements and credit reports, and will give potential homeowners different loan options if INHP thinks a potential buyer is qualified. And if they're not a good candidate for a loan, INHP offers classes and other resources to help people learn what they can do to become more financially stable and raise their credit scores.

So will you watch? Do you think we'll eventually see a decrease in foreclosures in Indiana any time soon?