United Ways look to at-risk homeowners

Several local United Ways said today they have allocated $400,000 to help provide education and counseling services to prevent mortgage foresclosures.

The United Ways said they received $295,000 of that amount from a state grant and combined that with roughly $100,000 of their own money.

Earlier today, ForeclosuresMass.com reported that foreclosure activity in the Bay State surged 38 percent during the first quarter as home owners grappled with resetting adjustable-rate mortgages, sub-prime lows, declining home values, and rising energy prices.

The United Way groups said the $400,000 will enable more than 600 homeowners to gain the "financial education and counseling" that they need to renegotiate their mortgages and stay in their homes.

The investment includes $100,000 that will be earmarked to better equip 2-1-1, the phone number for a telephone hot line dedicated to responding to "calls from residents at risk or in the process of foreclosure," the groups said.

The groups involved include United Way of Massachusetts Way and Merrimack Valley, United Way of Greater New Bedford, and United Way of Greater Plymouth County.

The investment was largely made possible through a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development and the Massachusetts Division of Banks, the groups said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)