News Release

February 11, 2009

Contact: Douglas Robinson, 202-220-2360, drobinson@nw.org
Erin Angell Collins, 202-870-3584, ecollins@nw.org

NeighborWorks America Joins HOPE NOW and Queen Latifah in Kicking Off ‘Bringing
Hope Home’ Campaign and Bus Tour in Newark
New Campaign to Promotes Foreclosure Prevention

Newark —Today NeighborWorks America CEO Ken Wade and National Homeownership Programs Director Marietta Rodriguez joined the HOPE NOW alliance to kick off ‘Bringing Hope Home,’ a foreclosure prevention campaign with Golden Globe and Grammy Award winner and Oscar nominee Queen Latifah, multi-platinum recording artist and actor Wyclef Jean, and New York/New Jersey radio personality and actress Angie Martinez, while participating in a bus tour of Newark, N.J.  The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the foreclosure crisis and the free resources available to homeowners in danger of foreclosure. 

“For families facing foreclosure, nothing is worse than doing nothing,” said Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America. “We want homeowners at risk of foreclosure to know they can turn to skilled nonprofit foreclosure counselors to help them understand their options and identify steps they can take to help save their home.”

Following the tour, Wade and Rodriguez participated in a roundtable discussion with Queen Latifah, and national and New Jersey-based community leaders to further examine the issue of home foreclosure and how it is affecting the community of Newark.  The tour and discussion were sponsored by the HOPE NOW alliance.

NeighborWorks has helped homeowners across the nation avoid foreclosure through its network of nonprofit housing organizations that offer homeownership and foreclosure intervention counseling; public education campaign promoting the Homeownership Preservation Foundation’s Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline (1-888-995-HOPE); and participation in the HOPE NOW alliance.  In addition, NeighborWorks America is the administrator of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program, awarding $307.5 million in grants to state housing finance agencies, HUD-approved counseling intermediaries, and local nonprofit counseling agencies for counseling, and $25.1 million in grants to state housing finance agencies, intermediaries, and local nonprofit counseling organizations to provide legal assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure.

For more information about NeighborWorks’ foreclosure prevention efforts, please visit www.nw.org.

About NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $19.5 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.