Phone-a-thon helps 2,000 homeowners

A phone-a-thon June 30 helped 2,000 Indiana homeowners by giving them a chance to get more information if they were afraid of facing foreclosure or already knew their home was or would likely go into foreclosure.

"By every quantitative and qualitative measure, (the June 30) phone-a-thon was a tremendous success," said Amber Seidler, public relations and communications specialist for the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

Those who called one of three toll-free numbers that night spoke to volunteers from the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network (www.ifpn.info/) who answered calls at Public Broadcasting Stations in Indianapolis, Bloomington, or South Bend.

While the numbers had not been finalized at IL deadline, Seidler said more than 2,000 homeowners spoke with 200 volunteers around the state in the course of the five-hour program.

Estimated calls for each area were 250 to the South Bend station, 150 to the Bloomington station, and 1,600 people spoke with someone in Indianapolis.

All three PBS stations have offered to host a similar event in the future, and Seidler said it was likely the IHCDA would work with them again.

"All of the homeowners who contacted us last night will receive a follow-up packet that is being compiled by IHCDA's single-family department," Seidler added. "The packets will request more detailed information from homeowners regarding their mortgage situation and provide them with additional resources and next steps to take."

The Indiana Supreme Court and Pro Bono District plan administrators around the state continue to encourage attorneys to help homeowners facing mortgage foreclosures. More information is available at http://www.in.gov/judiciary/home.