“Bringing Hope Home†outreach campaign targets at-risk homeownersMortgagePress.comHOPE NOW, Bringing Hope Home, outreach campaign, Queen Latifah, Wyclef Jean, Angie Martinez
HOPE NOW has launched its "Bringing Hope Home" outreach campaign
with several celebrities, including Queen Latifah, Wyclef Jean and
New York City radio personality Angie Martinez. The campaign is
designed to raise awareness about the foreclosure problems facing
families and the resources available to help them avoid losing
their homes.
The campaign kicked off with a bus tour in Newark, New Jersey
and is slated to continue with celebrities in three additional
cities: Atlanta, Miami and Cleveland, with the hope that the format
will be duplicated in more cities in the near future to maximize
the number of homeowners reached.
The "Bringing Hope Home" foreclosure prevention initiative is
allowing celebrities with a personal connection to their hometowns,
and a genuine concern for the homeowners affected by the nation's
foreclosure crisis, to become involved in a vital outreach effort
that comes at a critical time in the country's history.
"The idea is to lend a hand, to reach people that the mortgage
industry has not been able to reach. I am going to take the message
as broadly as I can to say, don't hide from mortgage troubles. Talk
with your lender, go to a HUD certified housing counselor, or call
the Homeowners Hope Hotline at (888) 995-HOPE. There is hope, there
is help. It's free and all you have to do is pick up the phone and
you may be able to save your home," said Queen Latifah.
The campaign, which features an intensive six-week effort in
each city, includes a celebrity bus tour, the airing of a 30-min.
educational video, narrated by Queen Latifah; radio programming
designed to educate homeowners of their options; and phone and
direct mail with the end goal of bringing homeowners to a workshop
where they can meet with their mortgage lender and local counseling
organizations face-to-face.
The campaign supports efforts to expand outreach efforts by
leveraging the star power of select celebrities to reach a broader
group of at-risk homeowners and encouraging them to contact their
loan servicer and to seek foreclosure prevention counseling.
Faith Schwartz, HOPE NOWs executive director says that people
cannot just ignore the problem and hope it goes away. "The worst
thing people can do when faced with problems making their mortgage
payments is nothing. If you do nothing you will lose your home,"
she said. "Half of all foreclosures happen to people who never
asked for help. Were here to tell them that help is just a phone
call away."
The "Bringing Hope Home" campaign is being supported through a
grant from Fannie Mae's Office of Community and Charitable Giving.
Fannie Mae has been an active partner in the HOPE NOW effort since
its inception and the grant provided for the "Bringing Hope Home"
campaign is an extension of this continued support and the
company's overall efforts to prevent foreclosures and keep people
in their homes.
For more information, visit www.hopenow.com.
