In January and February, Communities Creating Opportunity (CCO) in Kansas City worked  with Senator Claire McCaskill to discuss her response to the foreclosure crisis and engage affected homeowners and community leaders around the issue. PICO affiliates in Florida, Massachusetts, California, and Missouri have been taking steps to help homeowners in danger of losing their homes as a result of subprime predatory lending.

In Kansas City, MO, Communities Creating Opportunity (CCO) has been working for years to curb another form of predatory lending - payday lending. Clergy and leaders see a natural connection between their work on payday lending and the subprime mortgage lending crisis affecting the country. CCO has begun conducting an internal listening campaign to better understand how the mortgage crisis is affecting members of their congregations. Rev. Carmi Woods of Ebenezer AME shared with a group of 20 clergy that 57 homes in the area around his congregation are in the process of foreclosure. In February, CCO leaders co-sponsored a foreclosure clinic with  U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill to begin addressing the problem.  This work is part of CCO's Build Communities Campaign to keep homeowners in their homes, which to date has leveraged over $7.5 million in current and future home repair commitments.  .

On Saturday, March 1, Holy Rosary Church in Antioch, CA hosted over 180 community members for a free foreclosure workshop presented by Contra Costa Interfaith Sponsoring Community Organization (CCISCO) in collaboration with local area non-profits and banking institutions, such as Pacific Community Services, Housing Rights, Centro Legal de la Raza, ACORN and banking institutions, including Wells Fargo and Indymac Bank. The workshop informed the community of options available to those who are either faced with or are in the process of losing their home. Financial consultants who specialize in foreclosures were present to advise more than 80 participants on a case-by-case basis. The recent foreclosures in Contra Costa County have left thousands of families in difficult financial situations. Nearly 20 percent of the homes in Antioch are in foreclosure.

In Orlando, FL, Federation of Congregations United to Serve (FOCUS), in partnership with a non-profit housing counseling agency, organized a foreclosure information night in November at Good Sheperd Servants of Society Ministry, a member church of FOCUS. Florida has been hard hit by the mortgage crisis. In 2007, Orlando ranked 20th amongst major metropolitan areas for foreclosure rates, with over 24,000 filings, more than double the number from 2006. Florida was second in the nation in foreclosure rates, with two percent of homeowners across the state facing foreclosure.

In Brockton, MA, Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC), together with partner organizations, organized a mortgage counseling session in February to help Brockton residents affected by the sudden spike in mortgage payments coupled with the fall in housing prices. Over 60 community members attended the event at St. Patrick's Church. Brockton was one of the hardest hit cities in Massachusetts, with more than double the number of foreclosures in 2007 as in the previous year.

Media coverage
Video: 200 people show up to foreclosure workshop in Antioch
Free mortgage advice for homeowners in Brockton