Foreclosure Counseling for At-Risk Families

New York, NY —

More than 6,000 families facing foreclosure will get counseling next year under a series of grants announced by Mayor Bloomberg yesterday. The $2.3 million will go to 19 community organizations that'll help troubled homeowners hold onto their homes. A smaller set of grants awarded over the summer provided counseling for 660 New Yorkers. Most of them are still negotiating with their banks, but about a hundred have resolved their problems, while nine people have been foreclosed upon. Michael Hickey is with the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.

HICKEY:Sometimes it's extending the term of the mortgage to 30 or 40 years. Sometimes it is reducing the principal. Those are all very significant changes.

REPORTER: The money for the foreclosure counseling comes from the city budget, philanthropic foundations, and financial lenders.