Hardest Hit Kicks Off Officially Friday, Press Event in Portland Tuesday AM at Lloyd Center Application Center.

Friday Dec 10th will mark the first day of application taking for the Mortgage Payment Assistance program, the $100 million TARP funded Hardest Hit housing program expected to help at least 5,000 unemployed or underemployed Oregon homeowners make their mortgage payments in the coming months. (The main website for the Oregon Hardest Hit program is HERE). 

Next Tuesday Dec 14th Hacienda CDC and Economic Fairness Oregon are holding a 9:30 AM press event at the Doubletree Lloyd Center Exhibit Hall, 1000 NE Multnomah Street, Portland. 

The PR for that press event is HERE. (Hacienda CDC is the local non profit designated to help with Hardest Hit applications for Multnomah County; their website is HERE). 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Hacienda's Micro Mercantes Products/Loan Program Featured in Oregon Public Radio Story.

OPB story HERE includes audio links as well as story transcript. An excerpt:

"Summer is high season for fresh cooking ingredients in Oregon. This weekend, people will flock to farmers' markets all around the state. Most markets also feature a few homemade foods for you to try. April Baer checked in with an operation that’s helping some mother-daughter chefs take their business to a wider audience.

When Lourdes Hernandez makes tamales, the main ingredient is tradition.Lourdes Hernandez: “I learned from my grandma and my mom, and they still sell tamales in Mexico. What make the best of my tamales is that I put a lot of my heart, my knowledge, my expertise, and it also it has the flavor of my country or origin.”

That’s Hernandez, getting a little translation help from Pietro Ferrari. Hernandez is part of Micro Mercantes, a small business that makes and sells food at farmers’ markets.

The program was formed by Ferrari’s agency, Hacienda CDC. It’s a non-profit housing and economic development group based in Portland, that offers microloans to help Latinos get their businesses off the ground."

A schedule of when/where to find Micro Mercantes vendors and products is HERE.

A short YouTube video showing Micro Mercantes food prep in Hacienda's commerical kitchen, as well as sales at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, is HERE.

(Full disclosure: I am a member of Hacienda's Board).