They?ll hear it on the radio, they?ll see it around town, but Baltimore City residents facing foreclosure may soon hear about assistance and aid from a new source: the pulpit.
Local housing groups hope to reach out to urban church leaders to spread awareness about the skyrocketing number of foreclosures on subprime mortgages, which have hit low- and moderate-income minority homeowners particularly hard.
“I don?t think a minister can reach, even in one congregation, everyone that needs help ? this is a very personal matter, they may not know who is in danger,” said Sally Scott, co-chair of the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition. “But if the minister can get the message out that they should be thinking about this, that there is help, that this is the number to call, [then] that would be an invaluable service.”
Across the state, the percentage of subprime loans taken out by black people is nearly twice that of whites, according to a study conducted by The Reinvestment Fund. In Baltimore City, subprime loans accounted for 56.7 percent of all purchase loans taken out by black borrowers and 34.7 percent of those for other minorities, compared with 26.8 percent for whites.
In areas of the city where minorities make up 50 percent or more of the population, subprime loans totaled 51.4 percent of all purchase loans taken out, while in areas with a minority population of less than 10 percent, subprime loans totaled 26.2 percent.
The Rev. Dr. William C. Calhoun Sr., president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, said he “would be open to discuss it [with] any institution dealing with the care of people to make sure that they don?t get ripped off.”
“If people are having difficulty, I would see it as just another help,” he said. “I don?t see why we couldn?t partner if those kind of resources are available.”
Nationwide, housing groups and public officials have turned to the faith community to reach a minority population at greater risk of foreclosure but less likely to seek help, said Thomas Perez, state secretary of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.
“These faith leaders have the trust of the affected community,” Perez said. “We?ve found people are much more likely to open the letter, answer the phone when it?s from someone like that that they trust.”
“If I walk up and say, ?Hi, I?m Tom Perez, I?m with the government, I?m here to help? … it?s hard to get that to resonate with people,” he added.
Perez said his department has been working with black community churches in Prince George?s County, one of the areas hardest hit by the subprime mortgage crisis.
