LOUISVILLE, KY - Approximately 700,000 families will have a greater opportunity to find housing or keep the homes they have because of more than $44 million in housing counseling and counseling training grants announced today
by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

Housing counseling grants will assist families in becoming first-time homeowners and remaining homeowners after
their purchase. Renters and homeless individuals and families will also benefit from the counseling offered by the grants. These grants, totaling over $41 million, were awarded to 19 national and regional organizations and nearly
370 state and local housing counseling agencies.

In Kentucky, three local agencies and the state housing finance agency will receive a total of $162,073.13 to fund comprehensive housing counseling services as follows:

[A summary of each grantee's services and recent performance can be found at the end of this release.]

Housing counseling training grants will help approximately 2,600 counselors receive the instruction and certification necessary to effectively assist families with their housing needs. These grants, totaling $3 million, were awarded to two national organizations.

"This Administration strongly believes in the value of housing counseling services," said Jackson. "These organizations help families make informed choices before they take the important step of homeownership. They also provide a service that is vital in today's mortgage market - they counsel families facing foreclosure and advise them about
their options."

National and regional agencies distribute much of HUD's housing counseling grant funding to community-based grassroots organizations that provide advice and guidance to low- and moderate-income families seeking to improve their housing conditions. In addition, these larger organizations help improve the quality of housing counseling
services and enhance coordination among other counseling providers.

Of the more than $41 million in housing counseling grants, $3 million is being awarded in supplemental funding for
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counseling. These funds will provide counseling for the rapidly growing number of elderly homeowners who seek to convert equity in their homes into income that can be used to pay for home improvements, medical costs, and other living expenses.

The organizations that provide housing counseling services help people become or remain homeowners or find rental housing, and assist homeless persons in finding the transitional housing they need to move toward a permanent
place to live. Grant recipients also help homebuyers and homeowners realistically evaluate their readiness for a home purchase, understand their financing and downpayment options, and navigate what can be an extremely confusing and difficult process.

In addition, grantees help combat predatory lending by helping unwary borrowers avoid unreasonably high interest rates, inflated appraisals, unaffordable repayment terms, and other conditions that can result in a loss of equity, increased debt, default, and even foreclosure. Likewise, foreclosure prevention counseling helps homeowners facing delinquency or default employ strategies, including expense reduction, negotiation with lenders and loan servicers,
and loss mitigation, to avoid foreclosure. With foreclosures on the rise nationwide, these services are more important than ever.

HUD awards annual grants under the housing counseling program through a competitive process. Organizations that apply for grants must be HUD-approved and are subject to biennial performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved status.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities;
creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the
Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

For further information contact: Deborah Knight, HUD Louisville Office Public Affairs Coordinator, at (502) 618-8129.

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SUMMARY OF KENTUCKY GRANTEES

Campbellsville Housing & Redevelopment Authority
Campbellsville, KY
Comprehensive Counseling
$23,865.00

Since 1961, the Campbellsville Housing & Redevelopment Authority (CHRDA) has served the community of Campbellsville, Kentucky. The agency assists homebuyers, homeowners, and tenants increase the knowledge and
the skills needed to meet their housing needs and resolve their housing problems. In 1999, the CHRDA became the managing agent for the Lebanon Housing Authority in Lebanon, Kentucky. The FY 2007 comprehensive housing counseling work plan focuses on one-on-one housing counseling and group sessions for homeowners and rental tenants. The available comprehensive housing counseling services include: pre-purchase homebuyer counseling, homebuyer education programs, default counseling, home equity conversion mortgage counseling, post-purchase counseling, and rental housing counseling and education. The agency provided assistance to 259 clients from
October 1, 2005-September 30, 2006.

Housing Assistance and Development Services Inc.
Bowling Green, KY
Comprehensive Counseling
$20,000.00

Housing Assistance and Development Services (HANDS) Inc. began in May, 1993. The purpose of the organization
is to fill gaps between housing needed and housing provided in Bowling Green-Warren County. HANDS provides educational opportunities through NeighborWorks, Money Smart, Credit Smart and Yes You Can Own A Home Programs. HANDS conducts homeownership and money/debt management classes four times each year.
Approximately 100 individuals have participated in these classes during the past year. Also, HANDS offers
one-on-one counseling to assist with mortgage delinquency. The goal is to assist families in achieving the
"American Dream" of owning a home.

Kentucky Housing Corporation
Frankfort, KY
Comprehensive Counseling
$88,208.13

Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), the state housing finance agency, was created by the 1972 General Assembly
to provide housing opportunities for lower and moderate-income Kentuckians. KHC is a self-supporting, public corporation administratively attached to the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet. Through the sale of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds and the receipt of administrative fees, KHC offers lower-than-market rate home mortgages, multifamily housing production financing, homeownership education and a variety of rental assistance
and housing rehabilitation and repair programs. KHC's Housing Counseling Program provides pre-purchase and post-purchase counseling to thousands of persons statewide. Group and individual counseling includes financial literacy, credit score improvement education, predatory lending education and provides families and individuals with the knowledge and tools to help them purchase a home.

Purchase Area Housing Corporation
Mayfield, KY
Comprehensive Counseling
$30,000.00

Purchase Area Housing Corporation located in Mayfield, Kentucky, is a public non-profit organization developed to provide safe and affordable housing to meet the needs of low and moderately low-income citizens of western Kentucky. The agency's activities include housing rehabilitation, homeownership counseling and loan programs,
elderly and handicap apartments, plus initiatives to address specific housing needs of the area. The counseling
grant will be utilized to expand Purchase Area Housing Corporation's counseling services in the distressed Mississippi Delta Region of Western Kentucky. The agency provides pre-purchase counseling, homebuyer education, default counseling, post-purchase counseling without default, HECM, rental counseling, homeless/displacement counseling, and predatory lending counseling. The agency provided assistance to 217 clients from October 1, 2005-September
30, 2006.

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Note to editors:

• State-by-state breakdown of grant recipients is available on the HUD website.
• Detailed individual grant summaries are available on the HUD website.