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Ohio to Receive $1.3 Million from Feds to Prevent Foreclosures

ideastream file photo by Brian Bull
ideastream file photo by Brian Bull

For several years, the federal government has been injecting a variety of grants into communities scrambling from the housing crisis.

This money comes from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program, and in Cleveland, $247,680 of it is going to Neighborhood Housing Services, or NHS -- based in the Slavic Village area.

David Rothstein with NHS says the group is putting this grant toward counseling nearly 975 families who are on the verge of default or foreclosure. Rothstein says these families likely didn't buy subprime mortgages that were at the heart of the crisis. Instead, he says, they're just having a harder time paying.

"A two-income family goes down to one income, that's a common issue," Rothstein said. "Divorce. Properties around the current property are going down in value so much, either from subprime lending or from vacancy of the house, that it's dragged down the value of the current house."

Ohio will receive more than $1.3 million from the grant. Money is also going to groups in Cincinnati, Dayton, Springfield and Ravenna. The state has seen a total of eight pay-outs from this grant. And Rothstein says it's unclear whether future rounds will be as big.

Nick Castele was a senior reporter covering politics and government for Ideastream Public Media. He worked as a reporter for Ideastream from 2012-2022.