Discuss Strategies for Taking Charge of Your Finances

Rutgers professor and financial expert Dr. Barbara O’Neill will offer free Financial Workshops at Project Self-Sufficiency, Thursday, April 11^th, 1:00 p.m., and Tuesday, April 23^rd, 6:00 p.m.  Participants will learn how to plan and execute financial goals, discuss savings plans, checking accounts, college planning and other topics.  The seminars are free and open to the public, but registration is required.  Project Self-Sufficiency is located at 127 Mill Street in Newton.

Dr. Barbara O'Neill holds the rank of Distinguished Professor in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, and is Rutgers Cooperative Extension's Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management. Previously, she was Family and Consumer Sciences Educator in Sussex County and has taught over 1,100 classes to over 24,000 adult learners.  She also provides national leadership for the Cooperative Extension financial programs, Investing for Your Future and Small Steps to Health and Wealth and directed the five-year MONEY 2000™ savings and debt reduction campaign in the 1990s that resulted in over $7 million of economic impact in New Jersey and almost $20 million nationwide.

Dr. O'Neill has written over 1,700 consumer newspaper articles and over 160 articles for academic journals, conference proceedings, and other professional publications. She is a certified financial planner (CFP®), chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC®), accredited financial counselor (AFC), certified housing counselor (CHC), certified financial educator (CFEd), and certified in family and consumer sciences (CFCS). Dr. O'Neill has also held various leadership roles in state and national professional associations and served as president of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) in 2003.

To register for one of the free Financial Workshops, call Project Self-Sufficiency at 973-940-3500 or 844-807-3500.  Additional information is available at www.projectselfsufficiency.org.

Free Landlord-Tenant Seminar Next Month

Project Self-Sufficiency will offer a free Landlord/Tenant seminar on Wednesday, April 3^rd, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., featuring facilitator Michael Wojcik, Esquire.  Participants will discuss the rights and duties of landlords and tenants, including eviction, security deposits, leases, mortgages, and saving homes from foreclosure.  The presentation is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.  To register, call Project Self-Sufficiency at 973-940-3500 or 844-807-3500.  Project Self-Sufficiency is located at 127 Mill Street in Newton.

Free Legal Services Expanded in Sussex and Warren Counties

Northern New Jersey residents will be able to receive free legal assistance from volunteer attorneys in Newton and Blairstown, thanks to a new partnership between Project Self-Sufficiency and Legal Services of Northwest New Jersey, Inc.  Legal advice and limited representation will be available, by appointment only, to income-eligible Sussex and Warren County residents at Project Self-Sufficiency’s Newton office, 127 Mill Street, as well as at the agency’s Warren County Outreach Office, 35 Main Street, Blairstown.  Participants can discuss topics such as housing, consumer issues, life-planning documents, family law and public entitlements.  Appointments are available on Wednesday, March 27^th, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

This new initiative expands on the free legal education and assistance programs already available at Project Self-Sufficiency, which include evening consultations, pro se divorce workshops, legal clinics, court accompaniment, and divorce mediation, along with regularly-scheduled seminars, covering topics like family law, bankruptcy, landlord-tenant issues, elder law, expungement and mortgage modification.  All services are free; the seminars are open to the public, while the consultations are available by appointment to income-eligible residents only. 

To make an appointment for a legal consultation or to find out more about the other services available at Project Self-Sufficiency, call 973-940-3500 or 844-807-3500.  Information about Project Self-Sufficiency is also available at www.projectselfsufficiency.org.  Funding for Project Self-Sufficiency’s legal services program is provided by the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey, Legal Services of Northwest New Jersey, and the Sussex County Family Success Center, a program of the New Jersey Department of Children & Families.