"A Lot of Community Problems Go Unnoticed Here"



With government funds and private donations dwindling, Sowing Empowerment and Economic Development (SEED) EED had to cut the hours of its food distribution center until they got a grant from Neighbors in Need.

"A lot of community problems go unnoticed here," Lisa Butler McDougal told The Community Foundation recently. The "here" McDougal is referring to is Prince George's County, MD, where she is SEED's Director.

"Unlike Washington or Baltimore, Prince George's County doesn't have the resources of a large city," McDougal said. "Much of our work is done from the ground up, instead of from the top down."

"We have individuals who have launched organizations out of their church, out of their house or their car," she said. "We have single-issue organizations and multi-service organizations. We have partnerships, such as the Human Services Coalition and the two-year-old Coalition for Home Ownership Preservation." The one thing Prince George's doesn't have, McDougal laments, is an established network of local funders.

Which makes The Community Foundation's recent grant all the more meaningful. SEED recently received $25,000 from The Foundation's Neighbors in Need Fund, allowing it to provide additional food, clothing and foreclosure prevention to low and moderate-income families throughout Prince George's County.

Founded in 1997, SEED finds itself today in the eye of the economic storm. "The recession has hit us in literally every program area," says McDougal. In the past year, due to cuts in government and private funding and donations, SEED had reduced the hours of operation for its food distribution center from three days a week to one day, while at the same time seeing an increase in clients, especially those facing foreclosure. At one time, the organization provided counseling to 100 first-time homeowners per month. Today, while more first time home buyers are seeking counseling as a result of new government incentives, a large part of SEED's focus is on foreclosure prevention. Prince George's County has the highest rate of foreclosures in the state of Maryland.

SEED's three counselors are currently juggling nearly 400 open foreclosure cases with as many as 20 new calls coming in every day. "If we don't do something now, we're going to see a new wave of homelessness in the coming years," says McDougal. "With the colder months coming, it's scary to think about the new types of needs we're going to see in our community."

With support from The Community Foundation, the SEED food distribution center is now open two days a week and SEED has added an additional foreclosure prevention workshop each month.

One homeowner, who prefers to remain anonymous, turned to SEED after losing his job last December. "I'd never been unemployed in my life," said the 53-year-old. "This was unfamiliar territory."

So was the possibility of foreclosure. After researching his options, the man signed up to participate in SEED's foreclosure prevention workshop. "SEED walked me through the steps needed to keep my house, calmed my fears and left me with the feeling that I wasn't alone in this." This, in turn, allowed him to focus his attention on finding a new job.

Today, he is on the road to employment and optimistic he will be able to stay in his home.