INGRID’S STORY

“Nothing prepares you for the threat of losing your home,” says Ingrid, 61. Ingrid’s finances were tight after she got divorced and lost her job, but she always paid her mortgage on time. So when she got a notice that the bank was foreclosing on her house for past due property taxes, she almost didn’t believe it. She could stop the foreclosure, but the new monthly payments were more than her monthly earnings. “I went to pieces. I raised my family in this house. I didn’t know what to do, and I only had thirty days.”

In tears, Ingrid called a local foreclosure prevention program supported by United Way. “My counselor calmed me down and gave me hope. He suggested realistic options that we applied for on the spot.” Six months after Ingrid’s foreclosure papers arrived, she learned that her loan modification had been approved. “Words can’t describe my relief. I have a home today because of this program.” This holiday season, Ingrid says, “I’ll have the fireplace lit, and I’ll be thanking God for United Way and the help I received,” she says. “It changed my life.”