December 28, 2006 - Foreclosures are on the rise in Minneapolis. If your community is being hard hit by the increase in foreclosures, let residents know that they can dial 311 for assistance. A call center agent will connect them directly with someone who can assess their options.

As part of its Foreclosure Prevention Program, the City of Minneapolis has prepared posters in English, Somali, Hmong and Spanish to encourage residents to dial 311 if they are having difficulty making payments. You can get posters either by calling the City of Minneapolis, or by downloading posters and printing them. If you would like to pick up posters from the City of Minneapolis, call Casper Hill of the City of Minneapolis Communications Department at (612) 673-2342. Or you can download the posters at the following links:

Somali poster
Spanish poster
Hmong poster
English poster

The following statistics that appeared in a March report to the City Council demonstrate the importance of the Foreclosure Prevention Program to Minneapolis:

* Since 1991, more than 8,100 families have been served by the program.
* Three years after participating in the program, 61% of those who have left the program have
remained current on their mortgage

In the first half of 2005:

* 85% of the households served were families with children.
* 63% of the households served were families of color.
* 84% of the households served were at or below 50% of the area median income.

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