Agency continues efforts to prevent homelessness as cost-of-living concerns impact Coloradans across all income levels.
August 1, 2023 –
Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N), a local nonprofit providing housing stability and homeowner services in Larimer County for over 50 years, has partnered with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to assist Colorado homeowners facing lingering financial hardships following the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the federal Covid-19 public health emergency expired this spring, the pandemic’s lasting financial consequences continue to weigh heavily on many households. In the Colorado Health Foundation’s recent annual poll, Coloradans identified cost of living and housing affordability as their top two concerns this year, with more than 80% labeling these as serious problems. Additionally, the survey found that financial struggles, food instability, and worries over costs of living and housing were concerns across nearly all income levels.
With support from the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund, Neighbor to Neighbor is able to offer statewide help through the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, which aims to protect homeowners facing financial hardship from delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, utilities loss, and displacement after January 21, 2020. Eligible home and mobile homeowners can receive assistance with past-due payments to help stabilize their housing situation and prevent homelessness.
Even without widespread awareness of this program, since January, Neighbor to Neighbor has already assisted more than 700 homeowners in their efforts to save their homes. “We hear from so many families that have been scraping by, cutting back and digging deeper into their savings these many months,” shared Janese Younger, N2N’s director of financial programs. “Now, an unexpected expense, one that they previously could have handled, can mean the difference between staying housed and becoming homeless for the family.”
To prevent an overdue housing expense from jeopardizing a resident’s housing status, Neighbor to Neighbor works in partnership with DOLA to identify and distribute assistance to at-risk homeowners. “Beyond traditional homeowners, this program also helps mobile homeowners, who otherwise might be excluded from assistance programs due to renting versus owning the land and holding a chattel loan as opposed to a mortgage,” explained Miranda Minton, N2N’s senior homeownership manager.
To meet the program’s requirements, homeowners must have experienced financial hardship after January 21, 2020, the home needs to be their primary residence, and the household can earn no more than 150% of their county’s area median income. Individuals may begin the application process online at https://www.n2n.org/mortgage-assistance/ or reach out to N2N for a homeownership advisor to help assess their eligibility.
To help residents gain access to services, Neighbor to Neighbor has been hosting community information events. The next event is Monday, August 7th from 3-7 pm at Nueva Vida, located at 400 S. Link Lane in Fort Collins. N2N will have English and Spanish-speaking housing counselors on site to answer questions and help qualifying homeowners apply for assistance.
