DAYTON, Ohio — Eleven local credit unions and the Ohio CreditUnion Foundation have joined to provide over $65,000 to theHomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton to help homeowners keeptheir homes amid rising foreclosures in the Miami Valley area. Thefunds have allowed the HomeOwnership Center to hire a certifiedforeclosure counselor to exclusively serve the local area.

Ohio's 46,000 foreclosures in the third quarter were the thirdhighest in the nation according to RealtyTrac. Montgomery Countyranks as the second worst county in Ohio due to job loss, illnessand predatory lending practices. The efforts of Dayton's creditunions and the HomeOwnership Center expect to assist over 300 MiamiValley families in avoiding foreclosure. The initiative will helpborrowers by providing them with resources, necessary steps andother tools.

“Foreclosure affects more than individual families, it affectsentire communities and it's having a huge impact in the MiamiValley. The need for this partnership has never been greater,” saidTim Mislansky, senior vice president, Wright-Patt Credit Union andspokesperson for the credit unions. “This crisis needs leadershipto be solved. There has been a lot of talk of solutions, but creditunions are taking meaningful action by taking a leadership role instemming the rise of foreclosures. The solution for our communityneeds to be solved by the community in order to ensure theprevention of future foreclosures.”

“As member-owned cooperatives, credit unions exist solely toserve the needs of our members. One of our biggest advantages isthe fact that we make decisions here–at the local level,” saidMislansky. “This allows us to direct our resources to solve localproblems and help our members.”

Beth Deutscher, executive director of the HomeOwnership Centerof Greater Dayton, said, “I'm extremely impressed with Daytoncredit unions' willingness to step forward on this critical issue,and we're thrilled to be partnering with them. Their commitmentsets an important example for our community, and we need morepartners like this that are willing to help us reach familiesbefore it's too late.”

The initiative is available to any homeowner in the Miami Valleyarea having trouble paying their mortgage. Borrowers needing helpshould contact the Hope Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE. Homeowners willreceive free foreclosure prevention counseling by a certifiedexpert mortgage counselor, and in most cases will be connected tothe HomeOwnership Center. They will get advice about their options,assistance in working with their lender, help in trying torefinance their loan and possible access to grant dollars to helpcure their delinquency.

In addition to the foreclosure counselor, the effort will alsoprovide public service announcements developed by the Ad Counciland NeighborWorks(R) America to encourage people to act early andnot ignore the problem. “For a homeowner who is experiencingtrouble in paying their mortgage, the most important thing is thatthey act fast,” said Deutscher. “The sooner they reach out forassistance, the greater our chances of being able to identify asolution.”

The eleven participating credit unions are: Affinia FederalCredit Union, Bethel Baptist Federal Credit Union, Code CreditUnion, Day Air Credit Union, DayMet Credit Union, FirstDayFinancial Federal Credit Union, Incenta Federal Credit Union,Montgomery County Credit Union, River Valley Credit Union,Universal 1 Credit Union and Wright-Patt Credit Union. The OhioCredit Union Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Ohio CreditUnion System, aided the efforts with a $10,000 grant.