If foreclosures are making us sick, what are we going to do about it? Laura Giannotta has written an interesting post about foreclosures making people sick. http://activerain.com/blogsview/2548841/are-foreclosures-making-us-sick-it-might-be-true-. I believe that the threat of foreclosure and the stress of living through a short sale is negatively impacting families healthwise and mental healthwise across the country.
For all the people who may have used their home as an ATM, there are many, many others who faced an unexpected job loss, serious illness and other pressing needs. There are also many people who worked hard, had equity in their home and because of substantial declines in market vaue over the last five years are now under water and perhaps need to sell. Short sales and foreclosures create a lot of physical symptoms. I personally have a client who had a heart attack AFTER the successful short sale.
If foreclosures are making us sick, what are we going to do about it?
Rather than put "compassionate counselors" within a mortgage company as the recent New York Times editorial suggested, we need to increase funding for the local agencies who help homeowners in trouble. Not all short sales are successful and short sales and foreclosure can wreak havoc on families. Helping families to move forward is a very necessary and laudable goal. These agencies are understaffed and underfunded. Usually non-profits, they are a wealth of information and compassion for families and communities in trouble.
Weakened families and sickened heads of household are affecting our entire society. The greed and "gimme" ethos of the last 50 years permeated society at all levels. The belief in the infallibility of the American way of life contributed to this as well. We cannot as a society turn our back on those in need or assume that every homeowner is 100% responsible for the pickle they may be in.
If foreclosures are making us sick, what are we going to do about it?
Our strength as Americans lies in our ability to recognize a problem and find a solution. There are no easy solutions to the mortgage meltdown, the economic crisis and the problems they have brought. Our leaders continue to struggle (when they try) to address the economic issues and the job losses that continue to make it worse.
Homeowners in trouble deserve our compassion, no matter how they got into the situation they are in. Our strength as a society and our ability to go forward as a people depends on it.
If foreclosures are making us sick, what are we going to do about it?
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