Homeownership Preservation Foundation Awarded HUD Grant in Excess of $1 Million to Continue Counseling Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 19, 2012 – The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), an independent national nonprofit dedicated to helping distressed homeowners navigate financial challenges and avoid mortgage foreclosure through its Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline at 888-995-HOPE™, announced today that it received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to further support HPF’s housing counseling services.
The grant monies will be used to further fund housing counseling services provided by HPF to distressed homeowners across the country. On average, over 20,000 homeowners call HPF’s national Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline each week for information about their mortgage options and counseling on budget matters. HPF’s housing counselors are available every day, around the clock, to answer homeowners’ financial questions and help them navigate their mortgage crises.
HUD announced last week a total of $42 million in new grants to HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. In a statement issued at the time, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan explained that the grant monies being distributed derive from the recent $25 billion national mortgage servicing settlement as well as from federal housing counseling funds restored by Congress last fall.
“We are grateful for HUD’s continued financial support for the vital work we do at HPF, but also more broadly for housing counseling in general,” said Colleen Hernandez, CEO of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation. ”There are millions of homeowners facing foreclosure who are still in desperate need of reliable, accurate information to make better informed decisions about their options. Research shows that housing counseling is very effective at getting people back on the path to financial stability. Accordingly, these HUD grants will ensure more American homeowners will have access to the assistance they need.”
About the Homeownership Preservation Foundation
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) is an independent national nonprofit dedicated to helping distressed homeowners navigate financial challenges and avoid mortgage foreclosure. HPF guides consumers onto the path of sustainable homeownership and develops innovative solutions to preserve and expand homeownership. Through its Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline, 888-995-HOPE™, HPF provides comprehensive financial education and confidential foreclosure prevention counseling for FREE, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, in over 170 languages. Since 2007, HPF has served more than six million distressed homeowners, an average of 5,500 each weekday, who depend upon HPF as a trusted, neutral source of information and assistance. For more information about the Homeownership Preservation Foundation or the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline, please visit www.995hope.org.
