NeighborWorks Press Release (04/16/10)
Washington, D.C. – Today NeighborWorks America announced that $59.5 million has been awarded to 35 state housing finance agencies (HFAs), 15 HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries, and 81 community-based NeighborWorks organizations to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure. Just four months after the fourth round of National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program funds were appropriated, communities across our country will be able to put the funds to immediate use.
At a time when foreclosures continue to rise and near-record unemployment rates hold steady, the need for the NFMC funding is critical. Demand for these funds far exceeded the amount of funding available; eligible applicants requested over $195,000,000 in NFMC grant funds.
In total, more than 1,300 nonprofit counseling agencies and local NeighborWorks organizations across the country are expected to be engaged in the NFMC Program as a result of these awards. These organizations provide invaluable, free assistance to families at risk of losing their homes, determine client eligibility for the Making Home Affordable programs, help clients understand the complex foreclosure process, and identify possible courses of action so their clients can make informed decisions and take action.
To date, more than 937,500 families in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam have received foreclosure counseling through the NFMC Program. It is estimated that more than 155,000 families facing the threat of foreclosure will be directly assisted with this fourth round of funding. Many more will be helped by the training of foreclosure counselors, provided through the NFMC Program; NeighborWorks expects to train more than 2,000 counselors with the fourth round of NFMC funding. A pdf version of the list of NFMC Round Four awardees by state is available here: http://www.nw.org/network/nfmcp/documents/A.granteesbystate.pdf
http://www.nw.org/network/nfmcp/documents/NFMCRound4PressReleaseFINAL.pdf