""NeighborWorks America"":http://www.nw.org and ""the Ad Council"":http://www.adcouncil.org have announced the launch of new national public service announcements (PSA) as part of an ongoing foreclosure prevention campaign.
[IMAGE]The PSAs are designed to educate homeowners about where they can turn for help if they are at risk of foreclosure. The campaign encourages distressed homeowners to call the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline, a free resource that helps homeowners facing foreclosure move closer to finding a resolution.
[COLUMN_BREAK]When the campaign was originally launched in 2007, an estimated 1 million homes were at risk of foreclosure. Since then, this number has continued to rise over the years.
According to ""RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com data, foreclosure filings in the first quarter of 2010 hit nearly 1 million properties, a 7 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2009. Despite the ""short-term lull in foreclosure activity"":http://dsnews.comarticles/foreclosure-activity-drops-9-in-april-realtytrac-2010-05-13 reported by RealtyTrac this week, the upward trend is expected to continue throughout this year, with an estimated 4 million homes at imminent risk of foreclosure.
NeighborWorks CEO Ken Wade says this statistic underscores the urgency with which the industry needs to reach out to at-risk homeowners and provide them with the information and counseling they need to make the right decisions to save their homes.
""It is an increasingly cluttered and confusing marketplace and even though homeowners want to take action, they are unsure of the steps they can take to prevent foreclosure,"" Wade said. ""We are pleased to partner with the Ad Council and Cossette New York on this campaign to provide homeowners with a clear next step â€" call the HOPE hotline.""
To view the new foreclosure prevention PSAs, visit the ""NeighborWorks YouTube channel"":http://www.youtube.com/user/NeighborWorksAmerica.