Clinics Scheduled
Milford, CT, October 21, 2011: Mayor James L. Richetelli, Jr. announced today the beginning of an initiative to assist homeowners facing the possibility of mortgage foreclosure. The program, called Real Options for Overcoming Foreclosure (ROOF), will host their first clinic in Milford on October 25 at 5:30 at the United Way of Milford, 22 Evergreen Avenue. The program is free and open to the public. Interested parties should call (203) 789-8690, ext. 124 to pre-register.

Milford has seen about 815 foreclosure cases since the start of 2008, with about 166 of those cases ending with the homeowner losing their home. This year, there have been 72 new cases through June 2011.

The non-profit Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund has been managing the ROOF program and has been awarded a grant through the Milford Community Development Block Grant program to provide financial counseling and assistance to Milford residents. The clinics will be

Background: The South Central Connecticut Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG), comprised of the 15 mayors and first selectmen in the Greater New Haven region, are launching the foreclosure prevention program regionally. The mayors and first selectmen have joined forces with The Real Options, Overcoming Foreclosure (ROOF) Project which has been serving the City of New Haven since 2008. To date, ROOF and its network of partners have worked to bring assistance to over 3,000 residents in, or at risk of, foreclosure within the City of New Haven. ROOF services will now be offered to residents of Milford and throughout the 15 town region bordered by Milford on the west, Madison on the east, and Meriden to the north.

These SCRCOG leaders approved funding for the ROOF effort in order to address the growing number of foreclosures they are seeing in their towns. Volunteer representatives from the 15 towns, appointed by the mayors and first selectmen, have formed a Regional Housing Committee to help guide the new initiative.

The ROOF Project was formed in 2008 by non-profit organizations in New Haven and the city government as an effort to alleviate the foreclosure crisis affecting New Haven residents. Since then, it has become clear that the current foreclosure crisis is not simply an urban problem related to sub-prime loans. The impacts of foreclosure have spread to all communities within the South Central Connecticut region as residents have become affected by job losses and decreased incomes. Since the beginning of 2008, South Central Connecticut has seen over 12,000 foreclosure cases, affecting approximately 1 in every 12 homes in the region.

ROOF will offer foreclosure clinics on a monthly basis in different sub-regions within South Central Connecticut and will be expanding outreach to all 15 communities. Outreach activities include sending letters about counseling and mediation resources directly to homeowners who are just entering foreclosure, training for town staffs on foreclosure resources available to residents, and additional outreach efforts to those who are struggling with their mortgages where assistance may avert foreclosure.

ROOF’s partners offer a wide array of services to help both homeowners and tenants. HUD-certified counselors offer information and assistance to homeowners to help them avoid foreclosure. This is a free service, and ROOF is working with SCRCOG leaders to alert the public that they should never have to pay for help and should be wary of foreclosure scams. Tenants may seek legal help through Statewide Legal Services.

ROOF also advises homeowners in foreclosure to participate in Connecticut’s mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Program, which assists homeowners and lenders in coming to a mutually agreeable resolution to a mortgage foreclosure action.

For more information about The ROOF Project, please visit www.theroofproject.org.
Contacts:
Mayor James L. Richetelli, Jr., (203) 783-3201
Thomas Ivers, Community Development Coordinator (203) 783-3230
Carla Weil, Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund, (203) 789-8690