Contact: Douglas Robinson, 202-220-2360, drobinson@nw.org
Erin Angell, 202-220-6317, eangell@nw.org
$130 MILLION AWARDED THROUGH NATIONAL FORECLOSURE MITIGATION COUNSELING PROGRAM
WASHINGTON D.C. - February 26, 2008 — Today, NeighborWorks America announced that $130 million has been awarded to 32 State Housing Finance Agencies, 16 HUD-approved Housing Counseling Intermediaries and 82 community-based NeighborWorks organizations, to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure. In total, more than 700 local counseling agencies and local NeighborWorks organizations have been listed as partners and participants in this effort. It is estimated that 350,000 to 400,000 families facing the threat of foreclosure will be directly assisted with this funding — and many more will be helped by the training of foreclosure counselors, provided through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program.
View Awardees listed by state [PDF]
View more information about the awards.
National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program
NeighborWorks America was named in the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act to administer a $180 million national mortgage foreclosure mitigation counseling program. Under the terms of the legislation, up to $5 million may be used for training of foreclosure prevention counselors across the nation and 4 percent of the funds may be used for administering the program. The remaining $167.8 million is funding grants to eligible recipients (HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries, State Housing Finance Agencies, and community-based NeighborWorks organizations). The legislation stipulated that at least $50 million must be awarded in Areas of Greatest Need within 60 days of enactment.
In addition to the $130 million in awards announced today, a second pool of $37.8 million is available for a subsequent funding round and/or to accommodate for such issues as new underserved areas and unmet needs or to provide additional funds for organizations that are quickly achieving goals in areas of greatest need. The goal is to help eliminate the default and foreclosure of mortgages on owner-occupied single-family homes.
Background on NeighborWorks America
Created by Congress in 1978 (Public Law 95-557) as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, and now doing business as NeighborWorks America, the organization is the nation’s original community/public/private partnership model, providing grants, programmatic support, training scholarships, organizational assessment/evaluation and other programmatic support services to an affiliated network of community-based organizations (known collectively as the NeighborWorks network) and the broader community development field to support and promote vibrant, healthy communities. The NeighborWorks network comprises more than 230 community-based organizations serving more than 4,450 urban, suburban and rural communities in 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Local NeighborWorks organizations operate in our nation’s largest cities and in some of its smallest rural communities.
For more information about these awards, the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program, foreclosure training opportunities or NeighborWorks America, please visit http://www.nw.org/network/foreclosure/default.asp
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