OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES NEARLY $73 MILLION IN COUNSELING GRANTS TO HELP FAMILIES FIND AND KEEP HOUSING
HUD funding critical to support 12 Maryland counseling agencies

BALTIMORE - In an effort to help families find decent housing and to prevent future foreclosures, the Obama Administration today announced nearly $73 million in housing counseling grants to more than 500 national, regional
and local organizations. As a result of the funding announced today, 12 Maryland housing counseling agencies will receive $480,561 to help households across the state have a greater opportunity to find housing or keep the homes they have.

The grants announced today represent a $13 million, or 22 percent increase over last year's funding level. In announcing the grant awards, Donovan said HUD-approved housing counseling agencies are a critical part of the nation's housing recovery.

"These organizations are on the front lines of helping families who are desperate to remain in their homes," said Donovan. "Now, more than ever, it's crucial that we support these agencies that are working with struggling
families on a one-to-one basis to manage their money, navigate the homebuying process, and secure their financial futures."

Housing counseling grants will assist families in becoming first-time homeowners and remaining homeowners after
their purchase. HUD-approved counseling agencies not only provide homeownership counseling, but also offer
financial literacy training to renters and homeless individuals and families.

"Now, more than ever, it is crucial that Americans better understand how to manage their money, navigate the homebuying process, and secure their financial future," said Donovan. "This critical funding will help counseling organizations continue to assist families in making more informed choices before they purchase a home and counsel families facing foreclosure."

Nearly $68 million will support the direct provision of housing counseling services by 24 national and regional organizations, 5 multi-state organizations, and 484 state and local housing counseling agencies. In addition, HUD
is awarding more than $5 million to three national organizations to train approximately 4,500 counselors who will receive the instruction and certification necessary to effectively assist families with their housing needs.

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.

Counseling agencies will use $9.5 million to help assist senior citizens seeking reverse mortgages or Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM). These agencies 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 review their loan documentation, and avoid potential mortgage scams, 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 at critical levels 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 performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved status.

For a list of all grants, organized by state, visit HUD's website.
For summary of each grant, organized by state, visit HUD's website.
For your convenience, the Maryland grant summaries are included at the end of the release.

###

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

MARYLAND

Arundel Community Development Service, Inc. (ACDS)
Annapolis, MD
$41,391.11 - Comprehensive Counseling
ACDS is a Local Housing Counseling Agency (LHCA) as designated and approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). ACDS is a private, nonprofit corporation established in 1993 by Anne Arundel County to create and retain affordable housing opportunities within the County. ACDS has a proven track record of supporting homeownership opportunities in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, providing homebuyer assistance, property rehabilitation assistance and homeownership and foreclosure-prevention counseling. In addition to its status as a HUD-approved secondary financing agency, ACDS has been a HUD-approved Homeownership Counseling Agency
since 1996. The ACDS Homeownership Counseling Program is one of Anne Arundel County's affordable housing
program priorities and plays an integral role in assisting low- and moderate-income residents of the County meet
their homeownership goals.

Cecil County Housing Agency
Elkton, MD
$35,000.00 - Comprehensive Counseling
$10,000.00 - Reverse Mortgage Counseling
The Cecil County Housing Agency has been awarded funding to provide housing counseling services to include budgeting, credit repair, pre- and post-purchase counseling, homebuying education, mortgage default and reverse mortgage counseling. Cecil County Housing Agency's mission is to promote adequate and affordable housing,
economic opportunity and a suitable living environment free from discrimination to eligible low- and moderate-
income persons and families in Cecil County. You may visit our office during normal business hours, located at 200 Chesapeake Blvd., Suite 1800 in Elkton, Maryland.

Frederick Community Action Agency (FCAA)
Frederick, MD
$38,441.37 - Comprehensive Counseling
Through a wide array of programs and services, FCAA provides food, shelter, medical care, transportation, housing, and other forms of assistance to families and individuals that are homeless or low income. Started in 1968, FCAA is sponsored by the City of Frederick and the Friends for Neighborhood Progress, Inc. with support from the Frederick County Government and the United Way of Frederick County.

Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc.
Oakland, MD
$42,374.36 - Comprehensive Counseling
Incorporated in 1965, Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc. is a private not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides housing services, housing development, senior services, child care development,
community and emergency services, transportation, and other areas of assistance to empower residents with
limited resources, primarily of Garrett County, Maryland, in obtaining essential resources and achieving self-sufficiency, to include obtaining and maintaining safe, decent, healthy, and affordable housing.

Garwyn Oaks Northwest Housing Resource Center, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$41,391.11 - Comprehensive Counseling
Established in 1999, and reorganized in 2007, the Garwyn Oaks Northwest Housing Resource Center is a homeownership education and counseling nonprofit organization that provides pre- and post-purchase
homeownership services to individuals and families. Located in Baltimore City, the organization was created by residents of the Garwyn Oaks community to help revitalize and stabilize its community and has grown to service Baltimore City home seekers for pre-purchase education and counseling, and three Northwest Baltimore
communities for post-purchase services. The mission of the Center is to ensure strong, healthy communities by equipping residents to obtain, maintain and/or retain their homes successfully.

Hagerstown Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. (HNDP)
Hagerstown, MD
$43,357.60 - Comprehensive Counseling
HNDP continues to assist individuals and families in understanding the homebuying process, evaluating their financial situation, determining their readiness to accept the responsibilities of homeownership, and accessing special finance and incentive programs. Since 1999, 1,975 households have used HNDP's homebuyer counseling services, and 1,170
of those have gone on to purchase homes. In addition, the organization has administered three community lending programs to assist in home renovation and community revitalization efforts.

Harford County Housing Agency
Bel Air, MD
$43,357.60 - Comprehensive Counseling
$10,000.00 - Reverse Mortgage Counseling
The Harford County Housing Agency has been a HUD-approved counseling agency since 1977. The agency provides comprehensive counseling services to Harford County residents as well as residents of other jurisdictions who
request counseling services. The agency offers counseling services in the area of pre-purchase, budgeting, credit, eviction prevention, rental opportunities, foreclosure, and reverse mortgage.

HomeFree-USA
Hyattsville, MD
$797,912.00 - Comprehensive Counseling
Established in 1995, HomeFree-USA is a minority-founded, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization specializing in homeownership counseling and foreclosure intervention. It is one of just 15 HUD-approved organizations currently receiving congressional funds to act as an intermediary between homeowners and lenders to prevent foreclosure. Based in the Washington metro area with regional offices in Atlanta, South Florida and Kansas City, HomeFree-USA provides services across the country through its network of faith- and community-based nonprofit partners. The HomeFree-USA network represents the interests of 15 million homeowners and homebuyers and enjoys a 0% foreclosure rate among families that participate in its pre- and post-purchase counseling activities. To learn more, visit www.homefreeusa.org.

Home Partnership, Incorporated (HPI)
Joppatowne, MD
$40,407.86 - Comprehensive Counseling
$20,000.00 - Mortgage Modfication and Mortgage Scams Assistance
HPI is a nonprofit housing organization dedicated to creating successful homeownership opportunities for families
living in the Upper Chesapeake region of Maryland. Since 1995, HPI has been helping families through counseling, education, financial literacy, secondary financing and housing development services. In 13 years, HPI has sold over 100 homes, provided counseling and education services to over 3,000 families and now administers closing cost and secondary financing programs such as the Workforce Homeownership Program for Harford and Cecil Counties, Maryland.

Housing Initiatives Partnership, Inc. (HIP)
Hyattsville, MD
$40,899.48 - Comprehensive Counseling
$35,500.00 - Mortgage Modfication and Mortgage Scams Assistance
HIP is a 20-year-old organization in Prince George's County, Maryland that has been concerned about housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons since it began. HIP does low-income rental, and rehabs vacant derelict single-family homes for purchase by persons with low- and moderate-incomes.

National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC)
Silver Spring, MD
$1,722,606 - Comprehensive Counseling
$1,610,346 - Reverse Mortgage Counseling
Founded in 1951, NFCC is the nation's largest and longest serving nonprofit credit counseling organization and one
of HUD‟s largest national housing counseling intermediaries. The NFCC vision is to create a national culture of
financial responsibility. Its mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest quality financial education and counseling services. With 99 Member Agencies and 811 community-based agency offices in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, NFCC members provide financial, credit and housing counseling services, and financial education to more than 4,000,000 clients annually. NFCC
Member Agencies offer a unique breadth and depth of counseling and education services delivered face-to-face, by phone, or over the Internet in a manner best suited to the client's needs. For more information, visit www.nfcc.org.

Washington County Community Action Council (CAC)
Hagerstown, MD
$38,441.37 - Comprehensive Counseling
The Washington County CAC is a private nonprofit agency committed to its mission of "providing encouragement, guidance, and assistance to the people of Washington County in the mobilization of resources to combat poverty." CAC was established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to fight America's War on Poverty. CAC's purpose
is to help people to help themselves in achieving self sufficiency. CAC is the designated community action agency
for Washington County. Founded in 1965, CAC has been a service provider in Washington County for over 40 years. The agency's structure consists of 5 components, composed of 25 full-time and 6 part-time staff persons, who provide a continuum of services for the customer from crisis intervention to the realization of homeownership.