Vermont’s lowest in the nation foreclosure rate garners national attention.

When the Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship was first conceived of, who could have predicted its wildly successful first years? Vermont Legal Aid executive director Eric Avildson and Law Line of Vermont executive director Tom Garrett supported Vermont’s first Poverty Law Fellow Grace Pazdan as she worked on the foreclosure crisis. Grace has since been recognized at the White House for her work. Here are a few highlights:

• Grace served more than 100 clients.
• Grace led a licensing seminar to train lawyers to defend foreclosure cases.
• Grace provided technical foreclosure law expertise in the courtroom.
• Grace championed the passage of H590 to protect homeowners and mortgage lenders in foreclosure proceedings.
• Grace helped Vermont homeowners stay in their homes, strengthening our communities and allowing mortgage lenders to preserve the value of their collateral.
• Access to Justice in Vermont is improved.

“You can be proud of what we have accomplished together. Funds raised by the Access to Justice Coalition over these past years help support the Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship. Your gifts have made history and improved access to justice,” said Vermont Supreme Court Justice Denise Johnson.

Please read about Vermont’s achievements here:

“Vermont best as US foreclosure activity drops to lowest level since November 2008:
Vermont had the lowest foreclosure activity in the nation in November, with 10 foreclosures at a rate of only 1 for every 31,262 units. North Dakota was a very distant second with 49 foreclosures for a rate of 1 in 6,395.
New Hampshire had 561 foreclosures for a rate of 1 in 1,064.” http://vermontbiz.com/news/december/vermont-best-us-foreclosure-activity-drops-lowest-level-november-2008