My name is Danita Bowen and I own a home on [address omitted] in New Haven Connecticut.  I just wanted to write this note to tell a story about a certain organization that helps people to stay in their homes called The Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund Program.

Gladys has a good job at the post office.  Her husband was working, too, and their daughter was attending technical school, getting ready to launch her own career.  They had accumulated some debt - household expenses, school loans, credit cards - but refinanced their mortgage to consolidate debt.  The terms were tough, a loan of 8.9% with payments of $1,553 a month which did not include escrow for insurance and taxes.  Tough but manageable. Then her husband lost his job. 

Emilia is a CNA who had a first and second mortgage with the same lender.  She had worked with her lender to modify the first mortgage, and was staying current but she was starting to fall behind on her second mortgage at the end of last year. Then in January, she was laid off from her job. 

Neighbor to Neighbor - one at a time.

One morning after a particularly fearsome storm, a man arose early and decided to go for a walk along the sea. As he neared the beach, the early riser saw an old man in the distance slowly, yet purposely, ambling down the shoreline. As he watched, the old man stopped, picked something up, and tossed it into the ocean. Then, the old man slowly straightened himself up, walked several more feet, stooped down, and once again picked up something, which he tossed into the sea.

The N2N Lifeline funds granted to the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund are "rescue funds." This grant allows the Loan Fund to help homeowners and renters with one-time payments that will achieve solutions that keep people in safe, adequate and affordable housing.