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Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Sessions More than Doubled in 2009's First Half, CCCS-Atlanta Reports

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 July 2009, 07:00 CDT

ATLANTA, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In a clear sign that more people are seeking help to avoid foreclosure, Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta today reported that its foreclosure prevention counseling sessions more than doubled in the first half of 2009 compared to the same period last year.

The national nonprofit financial counseling agency, which serves people in all 50 states, provided foreclosure prevention counseling to 56,183 people in the first half of 2009. That figure is more than double the 25,404 individuals that were provided foreclosure prevention counseling from the agency in the same period last year.

"As unemployment rises, we are seeing a change in the financial profile of the people seeking our help," said Suzanne Boas, president of CCCS of Greater Atlanta. "We are serving an increasing number of people who work in professional services and skilled trades. These people have maintained solid incomes their entire lives, but are now in financial trouble and are reaching out for counseling to help avoid foreclosure."

The agency has helped more homeowners this year partly because it has added more foreclosure prevention counselors to its staff. A $2 million grant from the Ford Foundation enabled the agency to open a new national housing counseling center in suburban Atlanta in December 2008 with additional counselors and support staff.

In January, the agency announced a merger with CCCS of Central Florida & the Florida Gulf Coast, which extended its services further into one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Research conducted by CCCS of Greater Atlanta shows that many homeowners who receive counseling are able to avoid foreclosure. In a study conducted earlier this year, the agency determined that, one year after a homeowner received foreclosure prevention counseling, 71 percent of them had successfully avoided foreclosure.

The Atlanta-based agency is one of the nation's leading nonprofit counseling agencies helping people seeking solutions to foreclosure. A homeowner anywhere in the United States can reach a customer service representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in English or Spanish, to answer questions and schedule a counseling session. "Providing convenient access to competent, compassionate support in a time of crisis is critical to helping people regain financial control," Boas added.

Many homeowners reach the agency through the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline, a nationwide, toll-free telephone number. The number is 888-995-HOPE.

About CCCS of Greater Atlanta:

CCCS of Greater Atlanta serves clients in all 50 states and has 33 offices in four states. It is the headquarters for the CredAbility Network, a family of agencies serving consumers in north Georgia, south Florida, middle Mississippi and east Tennessee as well as nationally via telephone and Internet.

CCCS is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Governed by a community-based board of directors, CCCS is funded by creditors, clients, contributors and grants from foundations, businesses and government agencies. CCCS offers around the-clock help by phone at 800-251-CCCS or online at www.cccsinc.org and www.cccsenespanol.org.

SOURCE Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta

Source: PR Newswire

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