Information About Innovation:
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| Title: | NHS/City of Chicago 311 Hotline to Prevent Foreclosures |
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| Summary: | As a result of NHS of Chicago’s Home Ownership Preservation Initiative (HOPI), the City of Chicago launched a 311 marketing campaign in January 2004 to assist people at risk of losing their home to foreclosure. Individuals facing foreclosure can call a "311 hotline" to contact a neutral third party counselor to get help with their situation. Almost 100 people per month call the hotline. |
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| Detailed Description: | To expand efforts to reach homeowners at risk of foreclosure, the City of Chicago along with the assistance of NHS of Chicago developed the 311 Homeownership Preservation Campaign to coincide with NHS’s Home Ownership Preservation Initiative (HOPI). The 311 Campaign will encourage homeowners to call 311 at the first sign of mortgage delinquency. Callers will be connected with one of three credit counseling agencies affiliated with the Credit Counseling Resource Center for a free one-hour counseling session. The counseling agency provides an in-depth assessment of the homeowner’s financial situation and an individual action plan; serves as a liaison between the homeowner and the mortgage company, where appropriate, to advocate for a repayment plan, loan modification or other loss mitigation strategy that will help the homeowner avoid foreclosure; and provides referrals to local resources, such as NHS for assistance with homeownership and homeownership preservation education and emergency grants.
The credit counseling agencies are paid $100.00 for each counseling session that results in an individual homeowner action plan. Participating lenders will pay for sessions for their mortgage customers who call 311. The city of Chicago will absorb the cost of the remaining.
The City of Chicago is involved in various marketing opportunities such as strategic zip code mailings, door-to-door flyer distribution, and a news conference which was held on March 11th by Mayor Daley which included all the important partners and received great print coverage. The news conference was enhanced with interviews which aired regularly. Public Service Announcements and paid radio advertising will begin in July.
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| Projected Cost: | NHS’s primary cost for this campaign is staffing costs. These costs are currently included in NHS’s overall annual budget specifically under the HOPI budget. |
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| 2003 Outcomes: | From January 22, 2004 – May 31, 2004 there have been a total of 454 referral outcomes. Of these, 27 customers were able to fix their situation on their own through basic budgeting, etc. Fourteen customers have received a repayment plan. There were 102 referrals to agencies such as NHS. Of these referrals, NHS received 80 calls. |
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| Website: | http://www.nhschicago.org |
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| Keywords: | 311, City of Chicago, Foreclosure |
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Information About Organization:
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| Name: | Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Inc. |
| Address 1: | 1279 N. Milwaukee Ave., 5th Floor |
| City, State, Zip: | Chicago, Illinois 60622 |
| Org. Status: | 501c3 Non-Profit |
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| Contact Name: | Ave Costa |
| Contact E-mail: | acosta@nhschicago.org |
| Contact Phone: | 773/329-4130 |
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