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Springboard in the Media - Associated Press

March 6, 2009, 2:37 pm

John Mone of the Associated Press recently paid Springboard a visit.

Springboard was the focus of a recent Associate Press report on foreclosure prevention counseling.

Click here to view the video report at the AP's site.

A transcript of the report follows:

AP: When it comes to foreclosure numbers, Riverside County California is pretty much in the top ten in the United States. This is where the sub-prime mortgage meltdown struck deep.

Cindy Llamas, Client Care Center Representative:Yes, we can go ahead and do that, it's no problem. What's your first name?

AP: And this call center is getting the brunt of the casualties.

Counselor:Soâ€¦ it isn'tâ€¦ okay. Does that include taxes and insurance?

AP: It turns out many of the people giving out help on the phone worked in the mortgage and real estate business themselves.

Gary Aguilar, Vice President of Counseling Services:We do have a lot, especially with the downturn in the mortgage industry, we have a lot of mortgage professionals. So that may be a real estate agent, brokers, those that worked for servicers, for lenders in various different capacities. They have a knowledge of what the mortgage business consists of.

AP: The company's Vice President says his workforce has doubled, and 100% of his new hires worked in the mortgage industry.

Work is brisk at Springboard, one of the nation's nonprofit credit & foreclosure prevention counseling providers.

Gary Aguilar:Well last year we counseled approximately 50,000 people. Currently just to give you an idea of the comparison; year to date we've counseled around 19,000 so you can see we're helping a lot more people this year.

AP: Under new federal programs, this is one of many call centers nationwide, reachable through what is called the Hope Hotline.

Justin Waller, Vice President of Operations:The Counselors tell me at least one person they talk to a day are in tears on the phone with them.

AP: And here the counselors aren't lending mortgages any more.

Counselor: Adjustable or fixed-rate?

AP: They're lending their experience in helping people avert disaster, or at least deal with it.

John Mone, the Associated Press, Riverside, California.

About Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management

Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit personal financial education and counseling organization founded in 1974. Springboard is a HUD approved housing counseling agency and a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a national organization of nonprofit credit counseling agencies. The agency offers personal financial education and assistance with credit counseling, housing counseling, debt and money management through educational programs and confidential counseling. Springboard is accredited by the Council on Accreditation, signifying high standards for agency governance, fiscal integrity, counselor certification and service delivery policies. The agency provides pre-bankruptcy counseling and debtor education as mandated by the bankruptcy reform law. The agency has locations in California, Arizona and Nevada and offers face-to-face and nationwide phone counseling services. For more information on Springboard, call 1-877 WISE PLAN (1-877-947-3752) ext. 7750 or visit their web site at www.credit.org.

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