Senator Foley Unveils Major Initiative to Take On Foreclosure Crisis

Announces $50,000 grant to create Foreclosure & Bankruptcy Clinic at Touro Law Center

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – Senator Brian X. Foley (D – Blue Point) was joined by administrators from the Touro Law Center and community leaders as he helped launch a major initiative to take on the foreclosure crisis in Suffolk County. Foley announced that he has successfully secured a $50,000 grant to create the Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic at Touro Law Center.

The Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic at Touro Law Center will serve residents from Central Islip – one of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis – and the surrounding communities of Suffolk County. The clinic will pair exceptional law students specializing in foreclosure and bankruptcy law with faculty supervisors who will offer free-of-charge legal services to local residents. Clients for the law clinic will include home owners in danger of losing their homes, individuals filing for bankruptcy, and people who have received notices from their bank.

"I am proud to announce that I’ve been able to secure $50,000 in funding for this extremely important initiative in combating home foreclosures," said Foley, who is Chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee. "We need to stand up for Long Islanders who are facing the brunt of this economic crisis. The Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic at Touro Law Center will assist families right here in Suffolk County and help alleviate the foreclosure crisis on a local level."

"We are immensely grateful to Senator Foley for recognizing the importance of this new initiative and securing the funding to make it possible," said Dean Lawrence Raful of the Touro Law Center. "This clinic will enable Touro Law students to help some of the most vulnerable citizens in our local community while providing valuable skills training in a vital area of the law."

The law clinic will help individuals and families manage complicated legal and financial processes. From assisting with case intake to paperwork to meetings with banks, the law clinic will offer comprehensive assistance pro-bono. At a time when local communities are struggling with the foreclosure crisis, the Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic will help working families who need help staying in their homes.

Law students – who provide this invaluable service to the community for free – will receive a real-life education that is supervised by qualified faculty members. They will learn, first-hand, all the intricacies of foreclosure and bankruptcy law as well as its implications for their clients.

"While we all wish we did not have to confront this terrible crisis, the Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic will emerge as a positive development for all of Suffolk County," said Foley. "With success from this important initiative and the hard work of the individuals who work here, we will help our communities turn the corner and build a stronger, more prosperous Long Island."

Additional funding commitments for this law clinic have been secured from various local banks including a $30,000 three-year commitment from Capital One Bank and a commitment from Astoria Federal Savings.

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