Mortgage Crisis: Communities to the Rescue

All over the country, people are feeling the effects of the subprime mortgage crisis. As home values plummet and foreclosure rates soar, communities are finding new ways to provide mortgage assistance to their neighbors.

The subprime mortgage crisis has been the financial world's equivalent of Hurricane Katrina.  Storming through the mortgage landscape, it has ravaged borrowers across the land and created an analogous kind of homelessness.  Homeowner after homeowner has sought out mortgage help, turning to their banks and their communities for assistance.  In towns and cities all across America, the response has been dramatic.

Neighborhood mortgage assistance

San Jose, CA:  In late August, nearly 400 people attended an event called the Foreclosure Prevention and Resource Fair.  Organized by San Jose's Housing Department, the event gathered lenders, counselors, and legal agencies together in an effort to provide mortgage help and counseling for homeowners who were afraid of losing their homes to foreclosure.  The event drew such a large crowd that event officials are planning to hold another one.

Columbia, MD:  A similar event was held at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center in Maryland's Howard County.  Sponsored by a group called People Acting Together in Howard, the half-day workshop included details on homeowners' rights and the foreclosure process.  Housing counselors and attorneys worked with the participants, reviewing any paperwork having to do with a foreclosure.

Brooklyn and Queens, NY:  In response to the more than 6,000 foreclosure filings in the first three months of this year, 10 churches in Brooklyn and Queens offered workshops to parishioners and non-parishioners alike on subprime mortgages.  The workshops were designed to help people steer clear of foreclosures and also to identify a potential predatory lender.  Catholic Charities USA notes that its member relief agencies are running similar programs in other communities, and have provided mortgage help to more than 4,000 homeowners.

Beyond mortgage assistance meetings

Phoenix, AZ:  In Arizona, the refinance assistance efforts weren't limited to workshops.  An organization called Community Information and Referral created a Foreclosure Prevention Hotline.  Staffed by a local, certified foreclosure counselor, the hotline was made possible by a grant and a partnership with the Arizona Department of Housing.

St Louis, MO:  A public TV station used its airwaves to provide resource information to people affected by the subprime crisis.  The station provided contact information on places where homeowners could turn for help and refinance assistance, and also aired stories about other people who were suffering in the same way.  The goal was to reduce the stigma associated with foreclosure, and increase public awareness of the widespread nature of the problem.

Help isn't possible for every homeowner affected by the mortgage crisis.  But it's encouraging that mortgage assistance programs have helped many people who have suffered through recent housing problems.  The community reaction also underscores the serious nature of the subprime crisis.  With the recent government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it appears that we may not have seen the last of these types of community events.