For Immediate Release s378

MEDIA CONTACTS: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Diane Larche: (404) 273-3227 October 20, 2010 Martine Charles: (206) 295-9114

MAYOR KASIM REED AND NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE PRESIDENT MARC MORIAL ANNOUNCE FREE ONE-STOP HOME RESCUE AND CAREER FAIR HOSTED BY THE ATLANTA URBAN LEAGUE TO HELP THOSE HARDEST HIT BY ECONOMIC CRISIS IN ATLANTA ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21

While over 58,000 Atlanta families face foreclosure and 10.4% face unemployment, Economic Empowerment Tour Event Offers Access to Major Mortgage Lenders, Housing Counselors, and Career Fair with Over 50 Employers, Educational Institutions and Workforce Development Partners

ATLANTA, GA, October 20, 2010 - With over 58,000 area residents facing the threat of foreclosure and 10.4 percent unemployment, the Atlanta Urban League (AUL) and the National Urban League (NUL) offers residents the opportunity to get immediate help at one location. The 2010 Economic Empowerment Tour featuring the “Restore Our Homes: Housing Rescue Fair and Career Fair” will be held in Atlanta, Thursday, October 21st from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, located at 265 Peachtree Center Avenue Northeast in the city’s downtown business district.

The comprehensive, one-stop housing and employment event will provide concerned homeowners direct access to one-on-one sessions with certified Housing Counselors and lending institutions to negotiate resolutions, plus free legal advice, and workshops on sustaining and maintaining homeownership. Job seekers will also have access to immediate job opportunities, career coaching and resume critiques by human resource experts, as well as information on local job training programs. The entire event is free and open to the public.

“The National Urban League has been dedicated to economic empowerment in urban communities for many decades and President Marc Morial has devoted his career to empowering underserved communities across the country,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “The City of Atlanta is honored and very pleased to host The Economic Empowerment Tour in partnership with the National Urban League and the Atlanta Urban League.”

“Slow job growth threatens the city’s viability and an event like this will connect Atlanta residents to local job opportunities and will provide a much needed service for those struggling with foreclosure,” Mayor Reed added.

With more than 58,000 Atlanta families currently in some stage of default on their mortgage and in danger of foreclosure, and over 275,215, unemployed people in the metro area, Atlanta is one of three cities selected by the National Urban League to host the Economic Empowerment Tour’s “Restore Our Homes: Housing Fair and Career Fair” in 2010. 2 -more-

2010 Economic Empowerment Tour in Atlanta

The city was also selected by the National Urban League because of the Atlanta Urban League’s Comprehensive Homeownership Program. The program has been recognized and designated as a Home Ownership Center by NUL for its ongoing efforts to meet the needs of Atlanta’s multicultural community as they face rising foreclosures and risk of homelessness. The AUL exemplifies the grassroots work done by nearly 100 affiliates nationwide to help Americans, especially multicultural communities, survive these tough economic times.

Last year, Economic Empowerment Tour events helped over 4,672, people, and provided 1,700 job opportunities and counseling for 1,245 homeowners. Many participants were hired on the spot by local employers and all of those counseled in the housing fairs have had their cases moved towards resolution.

“The economic equality gap continues to widen as the recession stubbornly persists,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League. “While 9.6% of Americans are currently unemployed, multicultural communities are disproportionately vulnerable to the higher incidence of unemployment, often resulting in the loss of their homes. The Economic Empowerment Tour offers homeowners the necessary resources that may help families save their homes and find jobs. It is crucial to move beyond fear and worry and to take action. In Atlanta, we will work closely to reinforce the message that the Atlanta Urban League is on the ground every day helping families secure job skills and employment and hold to homes.”

The Process of Renegotiation of Mortgages Starts at Event

Certified housing counselors and representatives from lenders and mortgage servicers - Bank of America, Chase, Citi, GMAC, HSBC, PNC, Saxon, SunTrust, US Bank, and Wells Fargo - and attorneys will meet individually with homeowners to address their needs. Representatives will be prepared to assess the homeowner’s situation and begin the process of working out a resolution for homeowners who are delinquent on their home mortgage payments or in danger of getting behind. They will also be able to work with homeowners already in process with a counselor or lender.

An important note: Homeowners coming to the Home Rescue Fair should bring originals and one copy of the following documents with them in order to receive the best assistance possible:

 Current pay stubs ( 2 most recent, showing earnings for last 30 days)  Copy of any benefits statements reflecting amount, frequency and duration of benefits  List of all household expense  If self-employed, most recent quarterly or year to date Profit and Loss Statements  Last two months of bank statements  Copy of signed 2008 and 2009 income-tax returns  Copy of utility bill showing name and property address  Homeowner’s Association bill if applicable  Most recent mortgage and property insurance statements  Copy of closing documents and most recent correspondence from your mortgage company  If self-employed, most recent quarterly or year to date Profit and Loss Statement(s)

In addition to foreclosure counseling services, educational workshops will be provided by area experts on the Foreclosure Process in Georgia, Crisis Budgeting, the President’s Making Home Affordable Plan, and How to Avoid Loan Scams and other Forms of Fraud. 3

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The Restore Our Homes: Housing Rescue Fair component of the Atlanta tour stop is also part of the Alliance for Stabilizing Our Communities, a national partnership of non-profit organizations including the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), which is supported by Bank of America. The goal is to provide one-on-one sessions for at-risk homeowners with HUD-approved housing counselors and loss mitigation representatives from an array of lenders and servicers, as well as informational workshops.

Immediate Job Openings Also Offered at Event

The Career and Resource Fair portion of the event will feature over 50 local employers, educational institutions and workforce development partners. Companies planning to attend include Comcast, UPS and Grady Health Center, which has over 500 positions available, and many more. All employers will be providing job opportunities and will be ready to interview candidates onsite. The positions include all levels of skills and range from entry level to management positions. In addition, job seekers will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with career counselors and organizations providing job training, and attend workshops on resume writing, interview preparation, online job searches and entrepreneurship.

“Through our workforce development and housing counseling programs, the Atlanta Urban League works daily with local residents who are facing extraordinary economic hardships,” said Nancy Flake Johnson, President and CEO, Atlanta Urban League. “The Economic Empowerment Tour’s employment and housing fairs will enable us to join with local employers, job skills trainers, banks, lenders and other housing counseling agencies to provide comprehensive one-stop assistance to local residents and help to change the lives of hundreds of families.”

A Timely Event for Atlanta

The scheduling of the tour stop in Atlanta is significant for area residents since there are currently over 58,000 homeowners who are one or more months behind and in danger of losing their homes, (HUD Neighborhood Watch website www.hud.gov). And the foreclosure problem has been continuing to increase in Atlanta and across the state even while national trends have begun to shows signs of declining. According to Realty Trac, there were over 325,000 foreclosures in the Atlanta Metro Area in August alone, up 4.18% since July; the State of Georgia currently ranks 9 th in the country for foreclosures and the number of foreclosure filings increased nearly 13% in the last year. This rising tide of foreclosure is impacting African Americans even more significantly. According to federal data, people of color are three times more likely to have subprime loans: high cost loans account for 55% of loans to blacks, but only 17% of loans to whites. Even when income and credit risk are equal, African Americans are up to 34% more likely to receive higher rate and subprime loans with a prepayment penalty than are their similarly situated white counterparts. A 2006 report by the Center for Responsible Lending, entitled “Losing Ground” states that close to 20% of African Americans stand to lose their homes by the time this crisis is over.

The number of foreclosures is also significantly tied to the rise in unemployment, putting families in a double bind. According to the State Labor Department, Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate shot up to 10.4 percent in August, from 10.1 percent in July. More than 34,027 laid off workers in metro Atlanta filed initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits, an increase of 16 percent over July. And the number of total unemployed workers in the metro area was 275,215, up 6,163 in just the last month alone. Georgia lost more jobs from June 2009 to June 2010 than any other state but 4 California, according to the U.S. Labor Department. In fact Georgia’s unemployment rate has been higher than the national rate for 35th consecutive month.

2010 Economic Empowerment Tour in Atlanta

Homeowners in need of assistance or seeking more information about the 2010 Economic Empowerment Tour featuring the “Restore Our Homes Housing Rescue Fair and Career Fair," should contact the Atlanta Urban League at 404-659-1150 or go to www.atlul.org.

About the Alliance for Stabilizing Our Communities The Alliance for Stabilizing Our Communities is a national partnership of non-profit, community-based organizations’ whose programs’ serve multicultural communities nationwide. The National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) with funding from Bank of America to provide resources and counseling to homeowners with the greatest need. The Atlanta Housing Rescue Fair is one of 40 the Alliance is hosting in 19 different communities nationwide, with a goal to serve more than 11,000 households at the end of the two-year program. To date, over 6,500 households have been served and over 10,000 customers have attended 25 successful events hosted in high-risk foreclosure markets around the country. The National Urban League Economic Empowerment Tour is funded by the Alliance for Stabilizing Communities supported by Bank of America, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ford Motor Company

About the Atlanta Urban League Founded in 1920, the Atlanta Urban League was organized to encourage, assist and engage in activities which lead to the improvement of opportunities and economic empowerment of underserved persons and families in Metropolitan Atlanta. The League helps people achieve their highest human potential through pathways to empowerment programs that support enhancing educational attainment, accessing employment and next level careers, homeownership and foreclosure prevention, small business development, health and welfare. AUL serves as an advocate for the community in these pathways and promotes the improvement of interracial understanding and cooperation.

About the National Urban League The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. Today, there are more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide. For more information go to www.nul.org / www.iamempowered.com.