First Time Home Buying Seminar In collaboration between CALL and the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership (MVHP) started in November 1995. The seminar is offered quarterly. More than two hundred fifty (250) Southeast Asian immigrant families, most Cambodians, have finished this training. Approximately ninety (90) families have already purchased their homes and more than twelve (12) families have received down payment assistance.

Pov Deborah Ye, BA, Housing Development Director, oversees the many aspects of CALL's development projects, recruits participants for the First-Time Homebuyer Seminars, coordinates instructors for three segments of the training, and provides technical assistance. Pov's considerable experience with non-profits and community service in the City of Lowell have proved a valuable asset in her current position.

Homeownership Education and Assistance Program

This program, currently in its third year, is funded by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), formerly of the Executive Office of Community and Development (EOCD), to provide additional services beyond those provided by CALL and MVHP, such as follow-up after completion of the First-Time Home Buying Seminars, down payment assistance, home buying assistance, and other assistance provided to new and emerging CDC's throughout the Commonwealth.

Citizenship Outreach in Lowell's Southeast Asian Communities - Currently, in collaboration with the International Institute of Lowell, CALL has continued this very important program. The experience of the Citizen Education and Democracy Program, administered by the Cambodian American League of Lowell, Inc., clearly demonstrated the importance of a bilingual/bicultural staff in reaching the Southeast Asian community. One hundred forty-seven (147) Southeast Asian immigrants were identified and contacted as eligible candidates for United States citizenship; one hundred twenty-five (125) of those persons identified began the citizenship process. The outreach includes activities in the Highland section of the city as well as other neighborhoods with a high concentration of Southeast Asian immigrants. It also reflects significant contact and cooperation with area business owners to get the word out (i.e., flyers distribution). Funded for this program ended June 30, 1996.