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Gov. Kicks Off Housing Program Campaign

Government officials joined forces with local leaders in Miami on Friday to kick off a nationwide campaign to promote the federal ""Making Home Affordable"":http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov program and the options available to struggling homeowners.
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Miami Gardens Mayor Shirley Gibson, other local officials, and nonprofit housing groups helped launch the event, which included specialized training for local agencies and housing counselors on federal mortgage relief programs. The Miami metro will hold its first homeowner workshop this Tuesday as part of the effort to raise awareness of the free assistance available to borrowers having trouble making their monthly mortgage payments.
Mayor Diaz said, ""The city of Miami has implemented a Foreclosure Prevention Program to help our residents who are in danger of losing their homes but we cannot do it alone, and I am happy to work in partnership with the federal government to prevent this foreclosure crisis from getting worse.""
From Miami, the campaign caravan will travel to nine other cities whose housing markets have been hit hard by foreclosures. The goal of the outreach effort is to partner with local housing counseling agencies, community organizations, elected officials, and other housing agencies and advisors in the target markets to build public awareness of the Making Home Affordable initiatives and educate at-risk borrowers about the assistance available so they are better prepared to work more efficiently with their servicers.
The administration says it is ramping up on-the-ground outreach to homeowners to help ensure eligible families that could benefit have the necessary information and resources to access the program. By organizing community events, the administration hopes to maximize behavioral research which suggests that more homeowners will feel comfortable asking for help if they are among peers who are doing the same.
According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, more than 50 percent of all foreclosures occur without servicers and borrowers ever connecting. ""With this targeted campaign, we can reach in to the communities most in need, bolster awareness of this program and help responsible homeowners take the first step toward getting relief - all steps that will in turn help to stabilize the housing market and get our economy on the path to recovery,"" Geithner said.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan added, ""Leveraging local housing partners on the ground is a key component in making the Making Home Affordable program a success. Engaging community groups that are on the front line with at-risk borrowers will help broaden our outreach efforts and keep more people in their homes.""
As part of the campaign, government officials are holding training sessions with local housing counselors and community organizations to help them more effectively reach out to distressed homeowners and arm them with Making Home Affordable collateral materials. The promotion also includes neighborhood door to-door canvassing and local Making Home Affordable foreclosure prevention workshops for homeowners.
Other cities on the tour include Los Angeles, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Boston, among others, with the possibility of expanding the tour to more foreclosure-ravaged areas in the coming months. Specific dates and events in these markets will be made available by the administration in the weeks ahead.
The HOPE NOW Alliance's """"Bringing Hope Home"" bus tour"":http://dsnews.comindex.php/home/news_story/3154 also made it's way to Miami last week. Headlined by NBA all-stars Dwyane Wade and retired center Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat, the event sought to turn the celebrity spotlight on the foreclosure crisis in Miami and inform local communities of the affordable counseling resources available to struggling homeowners.

About Author: Carrie Bay

Carrie Bay is a freelance writer for DS News and its sister publication MReport. She served as online editor for DSNews.com from 2008 through 2011. Prior to joining DS News and the Five Star organization, she managed public relations, marketing, and media relations initiatives for several B2B companies in the financial services, technology, and telecommunications industries. She also wrote for retail and nonprofit organizations upon graduating from Texas A&M University with degrees in journalism and English.
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