Facing the Mortgage Crisis
A Public Media Community Engagement Initiative,
Connecting People in Need with Trusted
Information and Free Services
Every day, more and more families throughout our
region lose their homes because they have lost their job, or can’t afford
unexpectedly larger mortgage payments. As unemployment increases, adjustable
rate mortgages re-set and property values fall, homeowners at all ends of the
economic spectrum find themselves facing the prospect of foreclosure. In
Montgomery County alone more than 41,000 homes have been foreclosed in the last
ten years, burdening neighborhoods and local governments with vacant properties
that invite crime and lower property values even further.
In response to the crisis that is threatening our
neighborhoods and cities, ThinkTV , in partnership with WYSO, is launching Facing the
Mortgage Crisis, a community engagement initiative designed to connect area
residents to trusted foreclosure prevention resources. Building on their role
as public media organizations, ThinkTV and
WYSO are working with a variety of community service organizations to connect
those in need with those who can help. Commercial media partners, including the
Dayton Daily News, WHIO Channel 7 and Cox Radio will help tell the story of the
mortgage crisis and reach the broadest possible audience.
Facing the Mortgage Crisis launches June 15. Every day through August, ThinkTV will broadcast a series of 10
informative on-air spots, each one answering the questions most frequently
asked by homeowners, such as, “Am I in danger of losing my home?” and “Can I get money to help make a payment?” The spots will
feature
In July, ThinkTV
and WHIO-TV will simulcast an hour-long special, also called Facing the
Mortgage Crisis. The program explores the issues
closest to homeowners who are threatened with foreclosure, including how to
negotiate with the lender if you’re in danger of missing payments, how to
handle phone calls and notices from lenders, how to keep track of pertinent
paperwork, and when to seek assistance. During the second half-hour of
the program experts will respond to viewer calls and e-mail. E-mailed questions
may be submitted in advance at mortgage@thinktv.org.
The program will also be rebroadcast on ThinkTV
16, as well as digital channels. In the weeks leading up to the
broadcast, Cox Radio will air news reports and features.
ThinkTV’s public media partner WYSO will
produce and broadcast Public Service Announcements in June and July. WYSO will
also produce in-depth news features about the mortgage crisis in the
Three live
call-in programs are scheduled for three Thursdays in July. The fist will be on
July 16th at 7pm following the popular business program Marketplace.
An expert panel will answer questions relating to the issues of foreclosure,
mortgage financing, scams to look out for and the agencies available in the
local area for help. Advance emails may be submitted to news@wyso.org,
subject line “mortgage.”
Web content
at www.wyso.org will support and reinforce
broadcast efforts.
In order to
inform WYSO’s reporting and planning, community
partner meetings will be held. The date of the first meeting was Tuesday, June
2nd, at the WYSO studios in Yellow Springs.
Together,
WYSO, WHIO-TV, Cox Radio and ThinkTV will
provide a coordinated broadcast effort, supported by on-line resources and
community events.
The Dayton Daily News, in collaboration with ThinkTV and WYSO will host the project’s culminating
event: a panel discussion that explores the local impact of the mortgage
crisis. The panel, to be scheduled in August, will be hosted by Dayton Daily
News Editor Kevin Riley and made available for streaming on partner web sites.
Additional resources will be found on ThinkTV’s Facing the Mortgage Crisis Web
site at www.thinktv.org. The
easy-to-navigate site will contain all of the information presented on-air,
including the toll-free phone number for help.