Governor Rell Urges Homeowners Facing Mortgage Delinquency to call 2-1-1 to Connect with

Housing Counseling Agencies

With more Connecticut homeowners holding adjustable rate mortgages experiencing steep increases in monthly payments, Governor M. Jodi Rell today urged homeowners to call 2-1-1 to connect to local housing counseling agencies.  2-1-1 is the toll free number for the call center operated by the United Way of Connecticut that connects people to services and programs on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis.

“Families caught in a financial bind by large increases in their monthly mortgage payment need guidance on how to protect their interests,” Governor Rell said.  “The natural instinct to avoid contacting a lender when payments cannot be met may not be the best approach for many families.  Connecticut residents have community-based housing counseling services that can help them deal with this problem.  2-1-1 can connect families to the closest housing counseling resource and help them consider other assistance programs relevant to their own circumstances.”

            Close to a million adjustable rate mortgages across the nation will reset each year over the next two years, according to a report by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.  RealtyTrac Inc. reported that mortgage foreclosures increased almost 50% from March 2006 to March 2007.  In Connecticut our foreclosure rate has increased, however, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, we are below the rate for the U.S. and New England.

            Governor Rell’s newly convened Sub-prime Mortgage Task Force, chaired by Banking Commissioner Howard Pitkin and CHFA President Gary King, held their first meeting on May 4^th.   The group will address both short term responses to help affected households and consider longer term responses to lessen the likelihood of a reoccurrence of this problem. 

            Over 20 organizations around the state currently provide some form of housing counseling or assistance to families facing a foreclosure.  These organizations can help people understand the options open to them and advise them on steps to take to protect their family’s interests.  Both 2-1-1 and the community-based services will be able to maintain contact lists for families that need to learn about future national and state initiatives that may be rolled out in coming months to address this growing problem.

About United Way 2-1-1

Did you know Connecticut 2-1-1, is one of the national models for connecting individuals to the valuable community services or government programs that they need?  This easy-to-use, free, and multilingual service provides anyone in Connecticut with a single access point to find assistance with housing issues, child care providers, emergency shelter, substance abuse treatment, or volunteer services whether it is provided by federal, state, local governments, the private sector or nonprofit organizations. 

2-1-1 is a program of the United Way of Connecticut and is a funded partnership of the Connecticut United Ways and the State of Connecticut.  2-1-1 provides toll-free information, referral, and crisis hotline support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  In 2006 we provided information and referrals to over 400,000 callers and to over 800,000 inquiries on www.211ct.org .