Evening Exchange; 2312; Kevin McFadden, AIDS in Africa, and Home Ownership

The devastation of AIDS in Africa assistance getting that home mortgage aid and music and conversation with Kevin McFadden all up next an evening exchange on. Good evening and welcome to evening exchange. I'm and on the advice that you may need if you have not had a home mortgage before you think your credit may be too bad for a home mortgage you are seeing all of those wonderful commercials saying that you

can buy a home even though your credit is lousy before you pick up that phone. Get a little bit of advice from us on this edition of the evening Exchange. We'll also be talking about the devastation that is being written by the AIDS epidemic in Africa and what a Washington based organization is doing about those things. And speaking of doing in our first segment we were talking to one individual who in colloquial terms is certainly doing. Kevin McFadden is an award the nominee for the stellar award in 1999 because this homeboy has emerged as one of the nation's top gospel artists. And what you are about to see before we even talk to Kevin McFadden is why he has emerged as one of the nation's top gospel artists. So. What

you. Need. It. I.

Mean. You know I'm a fan of rock. How're you. Nice meeting in some places. I've met you through your music already. Tell me about the stunner nomination this year you had to go to Atlanta Georgia in January of 1999. You must have been a significant pick for your career. Yeah it was a rather significant piece to go from a year beforehand trying to figure out how was your my last two songs done and paid for sitting in the hotel and next to my wife was was a phenomenal thing God does miraculous things. I just thank you for that

opportunity for doesn't come again. He's done enough. Well you have done. Not yet enough as far as we concerned with. You've done quite a lot starting in Washington D.C. You grew up around music but never thought of having a music career for yourself. Right right right. Well I was you know out in the world on secular music so to speak. But then I ventured off from there. Football down the Universe is you know the old run the past that's OK you want to be. He was in a jazz group here in Washington. Yes. Tell us how you got into the world. Everybody sure that I had a child does the they will call it a phenomenal talent music. And I had always found my way working with musicians that were older were older than me and learned a lot of things with them. When the group called Nature's choice and traveled around the area locally and one thing led to another and ventured off to university of Cincinnati.

How many roads where you're playing in. Well I was playing percussion and singing some back around I was even doing some writing and then a football scholarship came calling and a football scholarship came calling me from Montgomery Blair and Silver Springs Maryland. I went on at the University of Cincinnati where I came out with my B.A. Business Administration football to play football there. I got into music again got into music again how ventured off into the church you know I'm I'm a stickler for having that church all came under the care of a church down in Cincinnati that was very musically oriented. Music ministry oriented. You know I hate to keep interrupting you like this OK. But you you say a number of things that those young people who are watching who are looking for stability they need to understand because all they see about athletes at the college level and at the professional level or the fact that you plan on making a lot of money and you're having a good time someplace. We're talking to a college scholarship guy who goes to Cincinnati and the first thing he does is find himself anchored in a church community.

Yes yes yes. Have to do it but it's all about your foundation being laid as well. You know I was a child I didn't want to get up on Sunday morning and go to church. We all went through that you know I was a child it was drugged out on my wheel but the worst is train a child in a way you should have to go for what he is or he will not depart out of the mouths of babes come perfect to pray. So I took the foundation and my mother and my father and grandmothers and believed it and I figured that that would keep me going. So if I'm doing what I wanted to do you know and do what I had to do then I get to where I want where I need to be. And you're clearly on your way there so you're playing football you're going to church and you get involved with music again in Cincinnati. Yes. Yes I got with a group by the name of the name of the group. I had a group called Brothers and choirs. And then I got with Cincinnati Corps you know under the direction of the Rodney Posey. I was there was another young man who is doing well named Darwin Hobbs. He was there sitting next to me and Donal Lars was there as well. So we were all in the background sure but off key

but having a good time and a lot of it. But one thing led to another and returned back here to the DCU were called home called on to come back home and to come back home and came back to the D.C. area and founded your own group. Redeemed Yes. Kevin McFadden every day. When did that happen. What had happened about let's. Give me four years ago to be exact. Got it for me too. I chose to do a work for him and I ventured and ventured and asked him to bring me a name for the group and the group consist of a lot of folks. There's been a lot want to talk about mistreated and been out there so to speak working but have been redeemed. So I just said that was the redeemer the Lord say so. And I just named a group redeem and that's what has been thus far. And it would seem as if regardless of whether it was the result of the name or not the group has been blessed. Yeah. We have been blessed exceedingly and abundantly. We've been some places we never had an opportunity to go. We've ministered to some souls we never thought we'd be able to see.

We've been in the hospitals we've been across the country God has truly blessed and gotten a label that didn't do a lot of gospel before international air. Gospel music. Well Atlanta International Atlanta International they were a traditional label Doddie peoples's their boss Joe Thompson. How come Swanee quintet. Straight down home. Bottom of the beltway gospel they ventured out with me as a contemporary artist with the traditional feel as well and thank God that they did because we've been successful on both hands thus far and very successful at that. Tell us how difficult it was for you putting the album together. Well the original album is a long story I don't think we have enough time. The original album I put that together myself it took about four years to put together. I went through some struggles and strains. I had a producer that I was working with by the name of Carlos Walker has gone on to be with the Lord now. And we were ministering to and trying to get him fully on God's side. You know you can't straddle the

fence when you go before him when you're not. And one thing led to another and I took the project that they gave me and mastered it and took it down to air and have picked it up and they were touched and everything else was downhill. What was the album for which you were nominated for the style of Kevin McFadden and redeemed. It was a safe debut album. Ok now you brought on you went on to Atlanta International Records on air as a contemporary artist and in a stable or whatever you call it of traditional artists What is your own take and it seems to me that just about as long as I've been in media there's been this debate going on between traditional and contemporary It goes back at least to oh happy day and the fact. Exactly right. What is your take on that. Well my take my take is that we living in the last days and times we know not the day or the hour of God's return. It didn't say how everybody was going no where but he said that they will know my word.

And so we need to tell everybody the word brothers in the street smoking weed and drinking the oil may not understand the traditional they may understand the Contemporary. So we are dealing to make sure that everybody knows who God is in it and talk about talk to them about his death burial and resurrection and the fact that he is coming back so it's not about the traditional And it's not about the contemporary. It's about letting folk know about who God is whichever way you can do what is the difference from the point of view of a musician between the traditional and the contemporary world contemporary is is a new and modern behavior of music dance does pretty much conform to the secular market. We just we just put a biblical structure to it to bring those those listeners of the secular over to the gospel the traditional This is a genre of music that that our founding fathers were built double and which hold the foundation and which will

stay there. So what the young folk did is took took the traditional and modernized it to make it work for you. You know when you think of all of the different forms of music that the nation in general and African-Americans in particular earned all of this whether we call that music pop rock jazz fusion funk whatever it would appear that they all found their basis in what we used to call Negro spiritual as we now call gospel music. That's right. I'm in total agreement with you. So it doesn't I guess really make a difference what form of music you use. What's the message that you're trying to put over as the same. That's right. How about groups like let me go out on a limb here. DC Talk to a young group here that uses the rap music form and I suspect a lot of traditionalists might feel a little uncomfortable with that. Right. And they may they may. And we we we as as as

children of God have to do is stop being stuck in a box. You know we're saying we go to church Monday we go to bible study on Wednesday we go to ours on Tuesday and Thursday right now and then I know these folks still hanging out there on the street corner. That may be a street corner or these or maybe a street a street corner in Rockville and maybe a street corner in my home in Atlanta. It doesn't matter. Whatever it takes to bring them off the street corner. That's what it's going to take and that's what we have to do. They have a great following of people. They've saved a lot of souls. It's about soul saving. It's not about you and it's not about me. It's about saving souls. You know I have a lot of friends who are Muslims I have friends who are Buddhists I have friends who are Christian. But. The one thing that people think is that when somebody becomes famous that they do not or when they have success in the recording industry that they do not follow the same kinds of daily rituals in their lives that others follow. So to hear you talk about having to go to bible study and having to go to this your life hasn't

changed fundamentally not because you've had success and it will not. And more over in the communities as well. I work with some work with some kids with developmental disabilities at a school by the name of the Kennedy Institute. We serve as kids with tinge of deficit disorder mood disorder conduct disorder hyperactivity various mental disabilities various severities. I mean the households making sure the kids get food. I'm serving as a liaison in the court systems you know and that keeps me balance. I was about to say why would you find that preferable to what a lot of other people would rather do if they had your success and that is spend that money having a good time you know. But so you meet the same folks. Come know you've got to treat everybody right. And that and that really keeps me balanced. I'm a person I'm a giving person I'm a loving person and somebody had to sit down and give to me. So why have I why I have with God is given me to bless folk. I believe in going back into the

vineyard so to speak and work on while last day for the night comes when no man can work. Somebody has to give back to them you know. And for the worse. Train a child the way you should have to go for when he is oh he will not depart far out of the mouth of babes comes perfect appraisal. Somebody trained me. So I feel deemed to have to train him as well. Talk again about your career in gospel music how what is your relationship with the traditional artists who you share the labor with or who you run into. You come into contact with from time to time. I love the people. He's a wonderful person. Shirley CS's one of my mentors. You know the bars are wonderful people. They paved the way. Albertina Walker Bobby Jones name all of them paved the way for me to be where I am. Every opportunity that I have to sit down and talk to them. You know they got a lot of wisdom with his wisdom his knowledge. You know so I give him the utmost respect. I don't talk much.

I get encouragement from yes I do very much so very much so. And they always say Kevin whatever you do boy don't change. That what do you see in your own future. I see much of central and off I want to do some things as far as putting some buildings up some half way home. I want to do some things with clothing people in and feet of it. I want to do a major thing I want to do some some movie stuff or want to do some work or I'm working right now on some spokesperson's stuff for for an organization I'm not going to see with the organization either because it hasn't come to fruition. But being a spokesperson for for your organization if used all week close the next you know those are some of the things I want to do you're at home where you grew up which means you run into a whole lot of people that you grew up with. Whose lives may not have turned out the way they wanted it to turn out. Who took a wrong turn someplace and have not been able to come back. What is your relationship to those people.

My relationship changes not the same yesterday today and forever more. The only difference is that I'm not into clubs anymore. You know we can't go we can go and eat and talk but I'm not I'm not going to go. Jason from from what God has blessed me with for every opportunity I get to tell you about God's goodness I what I'm going to do. There may not be straight Scripturally oriented. It may be a little Bodek so to speak but you won't understand that. All right. And then we understand what you're saying whether you're talking about actually whether you are talking perfect English or whether you are performing and it is the area of performance that has brought you into the public spotlight. We congratulate you for that and we certainly wish you the best of luck and encouragement in continuing to do the kind of community work you've been doing. Kevin McFadden we're proud to call you. I always appreciate you. We're going to take a short break. But before we do this give a look and a listen to some more of them. Ready to. Go.

That's. Right.

As concerned as we are about the effect that the AIDS epidemic has had in the United States particularly its effect in inner cities and among minority populations in general and African-Americans in particular. Consider this what Steve Sternbergh had to write in USA Today about what AIDS is doing in Africa children even if they never get HIV themselves are poised to become helpless victims of the viruses march through subsaharan Africa. Over the next decade the deaths of millions of parents will leave tens of millions of orphans to fend for themselves on the streets and in the countryside. Few families will escape in subsaharan Africa. Forty percent of children are stunted by malnutrition. Appearance HIV infection puts the child in even greater jeopardy. No one knows how many child headed households are in Africa though the clues are deeply

disheartening. For example studies show that in the Rakhine district of Uganda the heart of Africa's AIDS epidemic. Four percent of households are already headed by children and the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is just gathering steam in nine countries. Twenty to thirty three percent of children will be orphaned over the next decade as the death toll climbs. And Uganda being the epicenter it is therefore no surprise that joining us today to discuss the ravages of AIDS in Africa is the founder and executive director of the Ark foundation of Africa. Roy One guru who hails from Uganda. Welcome. Thank you. What is it that prompted you to decide to put the art foundation together. Well we started our foundation in 1986. During their bad days during the civil war in Uganda and we thought that there are so many other

organizations that are working in in Uganda but not Ugandans ourselves. And we thought if we go together as Ugandans we could effect change more rapidly and more easily because we live experience we understand our culture we understand our problem. That's one of the reasons that really prompted me to organize other kinds. And we were in Nairobi to really help our friends and because we already had too many during the war in 86. It started as an effort to relieve the situation of orphans as a result of the war and indeed even here on the evening exchange. We spent a great deal of time talking about the wars in Africa and the effects of those wars. But it would appear that the AIDS epidemic the HIV virus might be having ultimately an even more devastating effect than the wars themselves. I can tell you from our point of view as an African I've never seen such a condition as HIV. I have lost

at least nine cousins and brothers. I mean I have lost every friend that I went to high school with. I have lost. I mean you kind of go to my friends and wonder what went wrong and where is the wild you are as I said from Uganda which is seen as the epicenter of the virus and your personal testimony about having lost all of your friends that you grew up with is probably what drove you to decide that the foundation had to look more closely at the problem and even only the other thing that really drove me to it is that I have I grew up in a rage just 10 miles away from the city where you would expect humanitarian aid from big localization. But during the war we did not see one during the AIDS in my Brighid days no AIDS support center there's no clinic of any kind to Kelly and yet in every day in my rig somebody is being. And if somebody is sick there's no single day

that they know our office will receive a fax. Or our call I need five dollars to take my child to the hospital. It takes three days minimum to send $5 using tatic dollars to send in five. But now I've decided that as an African It is my obligation to give back to the mothers and fathers that educated him. This is the first generation in Africa that we are holding degrees but now degrees are disappearing. What do you say to people who say well don't look at me look at the governments of those countries look at the international assistance and relief agencies that are supposed to help look at the Organization of African Unity. Let's go through the list one by one. Why is it that the average poor peasant or worker in Africa does not have the resources available to his or her family to help deal with the ravages of AIDS. Well as you know it is even as simple as you know the purchasing power in

it is for example in America. It takes 11 months for somebody to make money to buy a hamburger. In Uganda it would take you a whole day as a secretary to make 50 cents to buy a hamburger with your salary of dollars a month. Compare that to the treatment of AIDS which costs at least five to one thousand. It has crippled in the development that Africa has ever achieved and in fact to go back to your point where the big organization African governments cannot manage to handle this. This is a crime against humanity for the world to sit back to see. Right now we are looking at 60 million people in the very near future. 2005 through 2010 that all of those cases are going to be in Africa. I don't think that any government in Africa is

able to hide our presence have no power over the polices in Africa. What do you mean by that. What I mean is that for example in Uganda almost 85 percent of the budget is made to buy for any governments and need convey self cannot raise the 15 percent are supposed to contribute. Indeed what she is talking about is the kind of depth that the countries in Africa face internationally and how much of their gross national product takes merely to service that debt by the time that debt is serviced there is not a great deal left for social services required by the population and virtually nothing left for the kinds of resources medical resources that are needed to deal with it is one of the reasons why an increasing number of people are asking for those debts to be forgiven so that the business of taking care of the people of Africa can go forward. Having said that however why should the

American people be concerned about what is going on with AIDS in Africa and what are you calling on the American people to do. Let me tell you the American people should really be concerned about AIDS in Africa for example if you are in Uganda the government then gets ten dollars by Ugandan pie your. Own health that does nothing doesn't get in a way. But for the American people they have the resources they have. The World Bank here on the World Bank has to relieve Africa of of some of the debts that were back on the international money and I and y if and so they limited if America does not take this as a disaster it will still affect America because in the end there are so many American companies that are doing business in Africa. They are also losing resources because the productive end in Africa is 20 to 49. And thats the age dying. So now we call on our America

please help us. Fight this war. If this had happened in Kosovo somebody would have acted. But Africa is not on the map of the world but we are dying on our feet. We in Uganda we have a one point seven million orphans that we never had the streets then even during that war. We are having so many dying when a 16 year old girl is taking care of the mother and grandfather and grandmother and the siblings are forced into prostitution. And how dangerous how are those orphans living those those one frontside live in Salaam in Tanzania. They are all on the street in Nairobi. The street kids have people in Mozambique. They are like flies. In Kenya alone and out 22 percent of the school age goes 15 to 16 to 19 years old HIV positive. Indeed it is my understanding that there is a group of young people in eastern and southern

Africa who are carrying out a campaign that says essentially let our generation be the last generation that is stricken with AIDS. But the problem that they're having is where do you find the money to run the kind of education campaigns that would be needed to prevent to prevent the virus from spreading in the future. Let me tell you. That's actually a program that I started it myself trying to help the young the young girls from Kenya that their parents died and they are being left out. So what we need is to develop a way to take them to a neighboring country whereby nobody knows them. So what we did is we took them to Uganda and put them into our school. And so in that school we had to find out what the teacher was a Howard University student was walking with according to the school of art. I asked him if he could go and volunteer for one year to start that program for me.

He did and he is in Uganda starting a drama program. We have to reach this student that's the only hope Africa has. We have to restore hope by reaching to this Preacherman cannot work. It is. Gold it's too expensive. Prevention is the only way to go. And when we're talking prevention we're talking about encouraging and making sure that young people or people in general don't have unprotected sex and in the case of young people you need to I guess educate them about exactly how the virus can be contracted to what extent outside of the program you started your search education taking place within Uganda or any else. Well we study in Uganda we have a program now starting in Tanzania are we are going to Tanzania next month. We are trying to start a similar program in Tanzania. And one has started in Kenya but it is very expensive but it cost effective compared

to one thousand. It is only you in estimates of one that goes for prevention or 1000 goes for treatment. But if we can be able to pump out money to get more money for food in this program then we are sure of saving Africa because this is a disaster that is worse than all the people have died during the malaria disaster. Africa has lost more people now than my lady has killed. We are taught we never really talked about the effect that poverty has on the inability of people to get treatment and education to prevent AIDS. Let's talk a little bit about the role that poverty and especially culture play in the fight against AIDS. I'm going to tell you I think poverty and culture go together because in Africa where we have nurses or services families this is a service to our culture. We are man and my in more than two three women. So we are we have

circumcision of the circumcising all the kids. And also a wife in the counties where if you die you are given to the brother and the brother already died of AIDS and you are taken to give AIDS to to his wife. It is a stumbling block and that's where people like me who are African can play the biggest role because we know what can alleviate poverty in Africa. You don't need millions and millions to elevate it. You don't need. We need to we to be sensitive with the culture our culture is very rich but we need to be able to educate our people. Pia we are using now the Education Group let the older people sell the idea to an older man to sell it to the older people tribe. Tribe one our foundation is reaching one person at a time. That's how important one person at a time saving one person at a time. What Africa is the AIDS epidemic in Africa. We talked about orphans. What effect is it

having on women. I can tell you when it comes to women and then the story is even worse because as you know in Africa the work lot of the family is on women but yet women are second class in Africa are considered to be nothing. So when it comes to sexual that you cannot tell a man put on a condom. So now do we really need to be able to educate the men and to educate the women to empower themselves so that they can be able to refuse and be stronger. But culturally women are weak and yet they are not. But the rate of women getting HIV now is a way higher than the men. And it is affecting because we the one man dying gives way to five or 10 women. So that means if those 10 women are sick they have to leave at least the doctor actually. And if they die you have lifted

that child and I know of a young woman in Kenya who is 13 taking care of three siblings the grandmother the grandfather. But with an income of a quarter of. Tell me what you fear can restore hope to a dying continent what can restore hope is when the world really takes AIDS as a war disaster. We have 40 and I didn't get to husband in the bombing the bombing making sure that one of mine bows to the understanding this is how we have to take aid. I'm sorry to see if you were to take it to serious and you are interested in the home trolling the spread of this disease. We need to take it as a Roble problem and not as an African problem because it's really not an African problem anymore. And we are calling again on everybody who is listening to us today. Please just help us and give us a call. We need volunteers to go to Africa to work with the youth to work with our people. We need money.

We can't do anything without money. If it were not for the foundation if it were not for you personally a lot of people may not realize the extent of the devastation and it would appear that some African leaders not all are playing down the impact of AIDS on the population. What is the reason is that you know African leaders have no power. They really have to play politics to get more money. So usually they have to give misleading numbers misleading figures to make these big industrialized countries feel good about it. And they are not given a chance to put new resources in programs that really affect change because most of the money that given by big-O concession they want to pass they are passed on they are to be in Africa which cannot work because they don't know the language. They have too many barriers but to affect change. Africans have to reach Africans. Even with Africans that we are referring to me that I would feel ashamed

is a disease that brings shame but we need to break the ice. Tell us what the ark foundation is going to be involved in. On June 30th 1930 Well on June 30th we have a function. Our reception at Duke Ellington School of the arts on the day the intention of that reception is to raise money to raise dollars. For the programs to prevent AIDS from finishing our young people and the beneficiary will be Kenya Uganda and Tanzania. And we are asking everybody who can hear us to please come out and support these so many Myrie owns the 1.70 in Uganda that are hopeless and helpless Roy one gorilla is the founder and executive director of the arc foundation of Africa. Obviously there needs to be a lot more that is done. You are carrying on a campaign to draw publicity and attention to that situation. Yes it is our fervent

hope that that campaign meets with as much success as it possibly can. But good luck to you. Can I give my telephone number of course. My number is 2 2 8 3 0 5 4 2 0. And may God bless you. Roy one Giller we're going to take a short break. When we come back we'll talk about how you or somebody you know might be able to get access to a mortgage that could get them that home that they so badly need. Stay with us. We'll be right back. You know how it goes. You feel you are desperately in need of a home however

you don't think your credit is good enough to allow you to get that mortgage and then you see a flashy commercial on television that tells you that you can get credit or that you can get money no matter how bad your credit is and then you go and frankly you get ripped off. How do you avoid that situation. Well one of the ways you can avoid that situation is seeking the advice and counsel of Home Free USA. And in order to tell you how to do that we have the founder and president of Home Free USA joining us in this segment and I should point out that she is a graduate of Howard University. Not to mention this. Mr. GRIFFIN welcome. How are you. Joe you worked in the mortgage industry for many years before you were leaseholders. Yes before you decided to form this nonprofit agency. Home Free USA. What led you to do that. Quite frankly it was the number of people that I saw getting ripped off. It was the number of people that bought their homes that lost their homes. It

was the number of minorities in particular particularly black minorities who I saw you know entering the home purchase process and really were just being taken for a ride. And let me just say that in the home buying process much of what happens is purely legal. So the reality is that what you don't know will hurt you and it's going to cost you a lot of money and there's going to be for many years. So it was really for those reasons that home free USA was absolutely necessary. One last point to was also to ensure that. More minority loans were approved. Now we don't just deal with minorities but the reality is that over 50 percent of people who apply for mortgage loans are denied. Now this is absolutely unnecessary. We have a strategy in home for us say it's a road map it's called an achievable plan that if certain steps are followed credit savings and all of that. That then that

person will become a homeowner and their mortgage loan will be approved. What I find interesting about the approach taken by home free you say is that you go to the lender and say we have a business opportunity for you know there was a market that you are ignoring. You are in this business to make money if you continue to ignore this market. You will be losing money. What do you mean by this. Well one thing is quite frankly I mean that is exactly right. And the reality is that right now over 70 percent of all whites who are employed already own their homes. Only 45 percent of all blacks on their homes are employed who are employed. OK. And only 45 percent of Hispanics who are employed on their homes. 54 percent of the total immigrant population how ever they own their homes. So you've got the black population and the Hispanic population that's falling behind. Obviously they're behind others. I mean now there's a little bit of an

increase but it's not significant. The reality is that the mortgage industry needs your business. They need our business. They want it. The question is how are they going to get it. That's number one. And under work terms. Oh will they get that loan. The most important thing to us is that when they get the loan at the loan should be one that's approvable which the lenders love. This is a tremendous opportunity to to work with an organization like ours and ensure that every single loan that they get will be approved. But in addition to that you know to take people in our community and in what's called underserved communities and understand what their needs are and be able to go to Alynda said look you need this business you deserve to have the business but we want to be able to present to you an opportunity and this is what you need to do in order to get it. And it usually involves money very many people feel that because of phenomena like redlining that lenders are the perpetrators of

stereotypes. What you seem to be saying is that lenders may also be the victims of stereotypes and that is because they do not know that they can make good loans in certain neighborhoods and in certain communities they are losing out. And that home free exists to assure them that there is good business in those communities because they're working people in this community. Exactly. Exactly. I mean that is just that that that is absolutely it. The mortgage industry needs the business the community people in the community the homebuyers they want the loans. It's a matter of marrying those two but marrying them in a way where the homebuyer benefits now because clearly I mean the mortgage industry is there and I come from the mortgage industry and I know the mentality and it's a for profit business. Let's be real clear on that. But but what we have to put our people in a position where number one there is a better understanding of financial matters management.

Period end of story. That's even beyond homeownership. OK. But in addition to that you know when when people endeavor to take classes to get counseling for their credit begin to understand who's making the money and who's not making the money. How much money are these lenders making. Who pays no points versus who's pays six points. Why is someone's one person's loan at an 8 percent interest rate loan and I'm paying 5 percent. I mean people need to really understand the difference here. And the most important thing that we want to convey and I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you is that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand this. This money does have to be paid back. I'm giving you this money so it is in our interest to understand the elements that are involved in the financing of homeownership. Indeed home for USA seems to serve as a bridge between certain

communities and the mortgage industry. And even though we might be sugarcoating it here what we are saying is yes racism does exist. Yes. One of the reasons that blacks who work and would like to buy homes are only owning homes at the rate of 45 percent compared to whites and the rate of over 70 percent is at least in large measure due to racism. Having said that would you. And then do about it. Home for the USA seems to be in the business of trying to make sure that racism or whatever phenomenon it is does not prevent deserving people in underserved neighborhoods from being able to get that access. One of the things you do I discovered is you provide free classes for people. That's right. As a whole Remember Humphrey is a membership organization. Our job is to inform educate and prepare future homebuyers or future home owners for mortgage approval. One hundred percent of our loans have been approved. There are

issues other than racism that keep a person from buying a home really or financial issues for their credit. What. Well that's a big issue. But you know the reality is this whatever a person's financial position is in it can be cured tomorrow. I used to say difficult for people to believe a lot of people would rather just duck and dodge their creditors and hope that this thing will kind of just go away. Oh I know. I know. But you know one thing this this country centers around somebody is going to make the money and somebody is going to pay the money. That's the reality. You know what most of us might go by the time we get out of college we have so many credit cards no job no job because I mean we're in debt before we even get a job and then you get student loans to that. I mean you've got you've got something to deal with and then my God you've got children and just on and on and on when I'm in the credit situation is an important issue that people

have to recognize. But you know one thing Cojo whatever the credit situation is today it can become better tomorrow. And the part and the credit does not have to be excellent. It just has to be decent. And that is one of our jobs to make sure that when you're working on your credit that you're working on the right things that's going to help you to get that mortgage loan. There's some things. That make a huge difference. But the main thing that the lender wants to know is how much money do you have come in and how much money do you have going out of the money that you have coming in and going out can you pay me back. My my my loan and that's that's basically one of the things also that home free USA does is not only help people how to organize their finances and to get their credit together but even if your credit isn't such a bad way that you can't get that house right now home free you see the plan to get it in the future. No question. As I said 100 percent of our loans have been approved now.

That does not mean that they get approved in one month precisely. Our job is to have a person come in for what's called a mortgage profile meeting. This is when we pull the credit report this is up to the last three minutes of every bit of credit that we can find on you. And that's one point that I just want to have your readers your your listeners be very aware of on their credit report. Look for something that's called a credit score. This is what the lenders are looking for and a lot of credit reports do not have a credit score but I can tell you if the credit score is up and I'm not going to get into all of that right now that might be a nother discussion point but if it's pretty high you get your loan immediately if is way down here you might be in for a rapist. This is the reality and you need to know what impact that credit score will have on you and where you stand so you could know whether this is going to be one month three months six months nine months whether you can expect to have what pay what interest rate we can we can put all of that together for you at the first meeting.

One of the things that confuses people and among the many things that people don't like to admit is that they don't understand the business of interest rates and points. And I saw a case that home for us they had to deal with in which they were hoping a couple of which was who was buying a home from the seller because the seller was acting as agent and they had their money they had their loan but they had the kind of agreement with the seller verbally promised to do certain things and that was not in their contract and they were also buying the home interest rates that they didn't have to pay for it. How how often you come across. Well look we have so many stories to tell. We have so many stories that in fact in the class that the free classes that we have we are able to introduce people to others who have gone through many of these many of these examples. Every Thursday night at our office at 6:30 in the evening at 3:18 Ridge Road South Dakota and South Dakota and Ridge Road. That's right. It's free it's free to the public we serve refreshments but the

class and I do this class myself it's called 10 home buying secrets. Everyone ought to know and we deal with issues like this what to expect from your or how to work with a realtor what you should what you should ask for from your lender what kind of points can you expect to pay. How do you analyze your credit score and once a person gets all of this information they come into our environment they become a member of home free and we walk them through every step of the homeownership process. We are there support where other mortgage counselor with a financial counselor. We provide a tremendous amount of of education in you know everything dealing with finances and the most important thing is that it's not Boeri is brought down to a level that people can really understand because that's really the killer. I mean quite often the mortgage industry and these bankers and all they talk and you know terms the by and by the way is that all of that and

nobody even understands what they're getting into. One of the big problems with foreclosures right now and there's a huge increase in foreclosures by the way home for USA has no foreclosures at all. Not at all. All have been approved and none have been foreclosed but the reality is a lot of foreclosures occur because people get into loans and they don't even know what kind of loan they have. You know they don't know whether it's a fixed rate mortgage on loan. You can't allow yourself to become so emotional about all of this that you don't really understand and that's why the education ahead of time will give you and give everyone the information that they need to ask the questions that they need to ask of the realtor and the loan officer home for you to say has relationships with banks that has relationships with the Department of Housing and Urban Development with the District of Columbia Department of Housing and other agencies. It just seems to me that then Marsha Griffin decided to form and phone home for you say that it would be in the interests of

all kinds of government to have hundreds of home free USA home for us in communities around this country. Well you know it's an excellent point. And really Washington D.C. is the model that we have. It's a homeownership model that we actually have begun here. Freddie Mac is one of our partners D.C. government a tremendous partner I would say with us how does a partner Chevy Chase Bank has been a tremendous partner in northwest mortgage crest our bank on and on and on. But the idea is that we have created this model here which attaches us we partners with 133 churches also and we have created this model and it is a model that works. So when we leave here our next stop is Atlanta and our next step after that is Baltimore so our partners are enabling us to create this model that really does work and really will produce home. Indeed when you mentioned churches in one of your pieces of literature I saw a picture of Reverend Frank Tukur First Baptist Church. What does the role of the churches in all.

Well excellent point with Reverend Tucker. We created what's called a crusade for homeownership. So Reverend Tucker brought together many leading pastors in the city and we just talked about how we are going to energize our people how we're going to put them in homes make them better off financially and really work together in doing so. So actually what we do we hold what's called homeownership rallies at the churches and it's really a very motivational rah rah look what this person did and these are the things that you should or should not do. And of course this is the first step and should we answer a lot of questions. The idea is to give people the sense of urgency and it truly is an urgent matter right now. I mean there's a lot of money available. This is another point that people are not using So we use the churches I mean in our community and in most communities certainly the Hispanic community also the churches where the people are people are going there to be made better both spiritually and

in some cases well actually because you know the pastors are very astute. I mean they are they are really focused on making their people better all the way around. So we are the launching pad for that for the churches. How do you deal with the obligations of homeownership in people who do not have a homeownership tradition and that is when people are buying their first home and their home and living in apartments for a long time. In addition to the financial obligations there are a number of ownership responsibilities. Well let me put it this way. No more resident managers. That's right. That's the one thing I think about. Right right. How do school people on those kinds the bottom line is. Everybody's not going to become a home. Let's just face the Fed. OK. There is a tremendous level of interest that's a tremendous thirst with the black and the Latino community and among particularly black immigrant populations to do better to gain more to

build some wealth. I mean these guys I mean we realized that. They were paying the mortgage rent to pay the mortgage and somebody else is working. I mean this is the reality. Let us wake up but we have to create a financial base you can't just walk into a house. I we just would not suggest that people just all of a sudden dream about homeownership and then go out there and sign a sales contract that is not the way to go. You've got to prepare for this just like you would an operation so that you can be successful. And I will guarantee you that as with early preparation the mortgage loan is going to be approved with early preparation and education and information. That person is going to get into that home and get into it. So it's a benefit to them and the money is right for them and they're going to be able to stay in the house. You've convinced me a telephone number for home for us. And the Web address the telephone number for Home Free USA is too old to 5 to 6 2000. It's 2 0 2 5 2 6 2000 and

our Web site is W W W at home free USA dot org. Unlike most guests on evening exchange Marsha Griffin actually remembers the telephone number on the Web site. Thank you very much for joining me. Thank you. Good luck at home for you. It's a pleasure. Thank you for having me. And that's it we're out of time. Thanks to all of our guests for joining us. But most of all our thanks to you for watching. Stay well. Goodnight