Kudos: Saint Joseph Community Land Trust thanks Soroptimists of South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Saint Joseph Community Land Trust (SJCLT) was awarded a Community Service Grant from the Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe Foundation. The grant was in the amount of $1,800 and will be applied to our Motel to Housing Loan Program. SJCLT Board Members, Lyn Barnett and MaryAnne Brand attended the awards ceremony at a luncheon held in Harrah’s South Lake Tahoe.

President Lyn Barnett accepted the award on behalf of SJCLT and gave a brief overview of our Motel to Housing Loan Program. Community Service Grant funds will be used to provide loans for families living in motels and transient housing to relocate into permanent and secure accommodations. Thanks to the generosity of Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe Foundation, SJCLT is able to make a difference in our community.

SJCLT established a short-term emergency loan program during Fall 2015 to help Lake Tahoe Basin families with children between the ages of three and 18 move from substandard temporary housing, such as motel rooms, into traditional long-term housing. The goal of this program is to provide stability and a positive environment to families with school-age children.

SJCLT offers a loan of up to $1,800 per working family to pay upfront moving costs such as first and last month’s rent, and cleaning or security deposits. The loan is at zero interest with payment terms of up to 36 months to qualified applicants. A loan committee reviews all complete loan applications on an as-needed basis, and loan checks are made payable to the property manager or owner of the unit, not to the loan recipient.

Other community service organizations that have donated charitably to the Motel to Housing Loan Program include Kiwanis of SLT, El Dorado Community Foundation and Tahoe Women's Community Fund, as well as numerous other individuals and groups.

SJCLT is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization which was founded in 2002 in response to rising housing costs and the negative impacts of those cost to the broad social fabric, well-being, and sustainability of communities around Lake Tahoe.

If you would like more information on the Motel to Housing Loan Program, please call Meredith Crosby at (530) 541-8930 or email contact@saintjosephclt.org

- Meredith Crosby, Office Manager