SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania received a $25,000 grant from the Robert H. Spitz Foundation to help Lackawanna County homeowners facing financial hardships avoid foreclosure.
The funding will support the organization’s foreclosure intervention program, with $15,000 dedicated to mortgage relief and $10,000 toward housing counseling services. The program aims to help residents catch up on overdue payments while providing the guidance and resources needed to regain financial stability and remain in their homes.
Director of Homeownership Services with NeighborWorks, Heather Miszler, said the program goes beyond financial assistance. NeighborWorks HUD-certified Foreclosure Specialist Wendy Ramos works directly with homeowners, providing budgeting guidance and resources to help them regain financial stability and avoid foreclosure.
“They’re not just receiving financial assistance. They’re receiving ways to have new financial habits and how to sustain moving forward. And additionally from that, she’s also looking at the additional resources the community offers to help offset some of those other costs so they can afford the important cost of maintaining their home,” said Miszler.
“We have worked with a few families at this time, we’re able to assist five household members with a maximum of $3,000 per household. At this time, we were able to help two household members, one, being able to start assisting with their trial plan offer, which is again to remain in their home. It is a retention option that’s offered by the lender. With that was able to alleviate some of those housing costs and help stabilize more of the household situation,” said Ramos.
With rising costs putting added pressure on homeowners, especially those on fixed incomes, Ramos said connecting them with resources can help them navigate mortgage lenders, utility providers, and other financial challenges.
“We do see that a lot more, especially now with today’s economy. Right now, the biggest struggle are utility assistance with the rising utilities. And with most of our clients right now on fixed income, it does make it difficult to stay on track with that. Increasing changes with the utilities. A mortgage payment, it will always be what it is. It’s kind of what you get. Anything that changes that is within property tax value as well as homeowners insurance. But with utilities, you never know when the increase will come. And usually around this time of year especially, it does make it harder for households,” said Ramos.
“A lot of the time, clients don’t know what their rights are, and how they can navigate, most certainly either with lenders and or with utility services. They always have a right to communicate and just always express what hardships are going on. So that, one the lender or the utility companies are aware as well, and they can also offer other resources, one that our offices may not know at this time or just haven’t been able to access,” said Ramos.
Miszler and Ramos stressed that everyone deserves a place to call home and access to support when times get tough.
“Community is very important. It helps us lean on one another. It’s best to bring back what’s most important, which is a village. And being able to help others. The knowledge I can get, can help me help some other household member,” said Ramos.
NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania also received $40,000 from Geisinger’s Community Health Benefit Fund to help homeowners in seven northeastern Pennsylvania counties pay overdue utility bills, with assistance capped at $1,000 per household annually. Those counties include: Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, and Wayne Counties.