ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS RENEW CALL FOR HOMEOWNERS FACING FORECLOSURE TO TRY MEDIATION PROGRAMS (TRENTON) – Assembly members Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jerry Green, Ralph R. Caputo, John J. Burzichelli and Joseph Vas again today urged homeowners facing foreclosure to take advantage of mediation and counseling programs that can help keep families in their homes. Residents facing foreclosure can visithttp://www.nj.gov/foreclosuremediation/for more information and call a hotline at 1-888-989-5277. The hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The program is a partnership of the Judiciary, the Office of the Attorney General, the Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency, Legal Services of New Jersey, the Office of the Public Advocate and the Department of Banking and Insurance. The lawmakers sponsored a bill signed into law in December that provided $12.5 million to support the program. This included $500,000 to the courts and $12 million to the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency. The bill (A-3459) was crafted amid the recent global economic crisis that has left many New Jersey homeowners facing foreclosure. It’s among numerous bills passed by the Assembly to combat the global economic meltdown. “Nothing in the current crisis is as frightening as the specter of thousands of New Jerseyans losing their homes to foreclosures in the midst of winter,” said Majority Leader Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). “We need to provide this lifeline to the countless families who might otherwise find themselves homeless at the worst possible time.” “New Jersey families who are in jeopardy of losing their home now will have resources at their fingertips to legally stop foreclosure proceedings,” said Green (D-Union). “The mediation program will provide counseling services to struggling families to help them renegotiate the terms of their mortgage and keep their home.”“This mortgage mediation program is vital for New Jersey families’ in-need because it will ensure they can continue to have a place to call home,” said Caputo (D-Essex). “Unfortunately, too many New Jerseyans have been financially devastated by the troubling economy. This plan will help them pick-up the pieces and begin to move forward.” “We must do everything we can to help keep families in their homes during this tumultuous turn of the global economy,” said Burzichelli (D-Salem/Gloucester/Cumberland). “Working families have been hit hardest by this crisis. We must ensure that services and programs are working for New Jerseyans who are struggling to keep a roof over their head.” “The downturn of our economy has impacted our everyday lives but we cannot allow it to destroy the fabric of our communities – every family deserves to have a place to call home,” said Vas (D-Middlesex). “This new law will bring counseling, legal and financial expertises to many New Jersey families who need a helping hand, not a hand out.” On the Net: www.assemblydems.comwww.youtube.com/user/njassemblydems New Jersey Assembly Democrats on Facebook