Special to The Post-Searchlight

Housing has been in chaos for the last few years, foreclosures are on the rise, homeownership became a questionable investment for the first time, and communities had to scramble to pull resources together for failed developments and blight. With the housing market being in complete turmoil — affordable housing development was not what was on the forefront. We all have colleagues, neighbors and friends losing their homes many officials, agencies, and citizens really want to know what the options are.

“Be encouraged there are programs and agencies out there that have some solutions,” said Kerrie Davis, Southwest Georgia Housing Task Force chairperson.

In its ongoing effort to increase the supply of affordable housing, the Southwest Georgia Housing Task Force, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission (RC) are offering a region-wide affordable housing conference on Tuesday, April 10, at the First United Methodist Church in Blakely, Ga. The conference registration will start at 8:30 a.m. and adjourn at 2:30 p.m. City and county governments, local planning commissions, development authorities, builders, bankers, realtors, nonprofit agencies, homeowners, potential homeowners and any other community leaders that are interested in affordable housing issues are encouraged to attend.

Workshops sessions will be lead by a team of housing specialists from Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA); United States Department of Agriculture, Nonprofit Developers; Credit Counseling Agencies and the Housing Assistance Council. The sessions will include topics such as: Is this a foreclosure notice; Rehab my home; Energy Efficiency; Single-Family Housing Programs; Understanding Credit; First time homebuyer down payment assistance and more.

Reserve your seat today. Space is limited. The registration fee for the workshop is $25 per person, which includes breakfast, lunch, and training materials. Make checks payable to Regional Partners Network Inc. For more information, call Anna Lee or Kerrie Davis at (229) 522- 3552 or kdavis@swgrc.org.