CHAI is Assisting Homeowners to Retain Their Homes

by Rochelle C. Eisenberg

Anyone who’s read the news in recent years has been aware of the rising numbers of home foreclosures. Job losses, often followed by underemployment, resulting in lower wages, have made a number of individuals unable to pay their existing mortgages.

It’s a trend that has unfortunately touched homeowners in all communities, including the Baltimore Jewish one. But just because it may be difficult to pay an existing mortgage, doesn’t mean one has to lose one’s home

Anyone who’s read the news in recent years has been aware of the rising numbers of home foreclosures. Job losses, often followed by underemployment, resulting in lower wages, have made a number of individuals unable to pay their existing mortgages.

It’s a trend that has unfortunately touched homeowners in all communities, including the Baltimore Jewish one. But just because it may be difficult to pay an existing mortgage, doesn’t mean one has to lose one’s home.

In 2009, CHAI: Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc., an agency of The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, introduced its Foreclosure Prevention Initiative, which was initially funded by a grant from Baltimore City. In the four years since its inception, CHAI has assisted more than 600 households with in-person counseling, telephone counseling, and referrals.