Feb 02 2009
Addressing the Fallout From Foreclosures
We spoke with a man who people call Foreclosure Tom. He was being considered for a special project to help people that are being threatened with foreclosures to keep their homes. Although he is in real estate to make money, he offers his foreclosure alternatives consultation for free. His reasoning is that if he helps people now it will be a good investment for later, if they decide to purchase another property.
But as I listened to him speak about his desire to help others, I became intensely aware that he was speaking from experience. As I probed more deeply, he was eager to share how he was once in the same situation. He knew about the paralyzing effect that the fear of becoming homeless could have on someone. This anxiety is also likely to adversely effect family, social and spiritual relationships.
Just recently, I was informed about a man who took the lives of his entire family including his wife and five children before committing suicide. He had recently lost his job. There is a fall out that occurs in economic distress. Those who have worked so hard to build and support their families are faced with trying to apply coping skills that they were never taught. I believe that we all tend to have a desire and even a need to feel secure. In this world of so much instability, we discipline ourselves to finish school and get a good job so that we can raise a family and have a sense that our lives have meaning.
The most dependable symbol of this security and accomplishment has been home ownership. There are those who see their lives as mundane and their contributions as insignificant accept for knowing that they are providing a secure living for their families. So what happens when the only evidence of having meaning crumbles with lost employment followed by a foreclosure notice?
There are many businesses that have sprouted in response to people’s inability to navigate through the technicalities of negotiating foreclosure alternatives. Unfortunately many of these so called solutions are really investors looking to cash in on the misfortune of those facing foreclosure. These unscrupulous vultures offer advice that does not include resources and information for keeping their homes. They offer quit claim solutions, buyouts and other undesirable options. However there is seldom consideration for the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. No one is suggesting emotional and moral support. There are many job fairs and make- money- now solicitations. But where are people to find help to simply hold on in the mean time?
If not for the blessing of Foreclosure Tom, I would have been among those stuck in paralyzed state. I found that I had even been unable to show enthusiasm in job interviews because I simply did not have the energy. The worry and concern had drained me of the ability to show interest or hope. I would not have hired me if I was the interviewer.
What will happen if by the time the bailouts take effect that the people are so battered and discouraged that they are in no condition to hold a job? Perhaps the bailout needs to include some sort of social services that offer group or individual therapy and support to help people facing foreclosure to reconnect to the community and the job culture. There needs to be assistance to hold on while help is on the way.
