Press Release

HOMEOWNERSHIP PRESERVATION FOUNDATION GIVES $350,000 IN GRANTS TO SUPPORT MILITARY HOMEOWNERS

Minneapolis - October 12, 2006 -

 “We would have had to foreclose,” said Amy Douglas. However, with the grant money from the Homeownership Preservation Foundation awarded through USA Cares, the Douglas family made their house and car payments and fully recovered from a serious financial situation.

Amy’s husband Kevin, a member of the Army, was injured in Iraq and discharged on disability. Amy, Kevin, and their young son waited four months for his Social Security payment. During that time, they found they owed $3,000, which they could not repay. So they called USA Cares (http://www.usacares.us), a leading nonprofit dedicated to assisting active military personnel representing all branches of the U.S. military, for help.  USA Cares referred Amy and Kevin to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (http://995HOPE.org) 

“Our family is neither rich nor poor, and we were not qualified for local aid,” said Amy. “The Foundation saw our need before they saw our income."

The Douglas family is not the only family in their situation.  So far in 2006, the Homeownership Preservation Foundation and USA Cares have distributed more than $350,000 in emergency relief grants to military families whose finances were stable and house affordable before a military deployment.  When deployment causes a decrease in household income or expenses increase, the program will make a payment to the military family's mortgage lender of up to $7,500 to either bring the payments up to date, or to start the homeowner on a long-term plan to bring the loan up to date.  This effort has helped 96 families avoid foreclosures and keep their homes.

“The Homeownership Preservation Foundation is committed to helping families facing financial difficulty,” said Colleen Hernandez, president of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation. “Our work with USA Cares has helped 238 children of service members stay in their homes.  This has been a tremendously satisfying outcome for our organization.”
“Through a $400,000 grant from the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, USA Cares is able to help at risk military homeowners keep their homes and find financial stability,” said Colonel (RET) Hugh Dukes, Executive Director of USA Cares. “Working with the Foundation has proven to be a great success.  The numbers and stories speak for themselves.”

About The Homeownership Preservation Foundation
 
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation is a Minneapolis-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit dedicated to reducing foreclosures and preserving homeownership for American homeowners. The Foundation was founded in September 2004 with a $20 million seed contribution from GMAC-RFC, a subsidiary of Residential Capital Corporation, one of the nation’s largest real estate finance companies. The Foundation partners with city, county and state governments; federal government agencies; community-based non-profit organizations; and mortgage companies to offer creative solutions to preserve home ownership. For more information about the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, please visit www.hpfonline.org or our foreclosure counseling website at www.995HOPE.org.

About USA Cares
 
USA Cares serves to provide military families of all branches and services with financial support while offering direction and advice along with a caring attitude. To date, in addition to stopping foreclosure on over 96 military homes, the non-profit has helped more than 3,550 families with other quality of life issues by providing or locating more than $1.9 million in resources and financial support. Funding for USA Cares is provided through the generous contributions of corporations, organizations and individuals.  Learn more about USA Cares by visiting www.usacares.us or calling 800.773.0387.

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