Saturday, homeowners on the Northshore facing foreclosure can get help at a one-day fair.
St. Tammany Parish currently has the highest foreclosure rate in Louisiana.
A group of non-profit organizations will be present at the fair, including the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, Fannie May, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, and it's hosted by the Life Impact Center in Mandeville.
Pastor Paul Smith runs the Life Impact Center and said Friday, the program works by connecting homeowners with federal programs that can help them, while at the same time, helping those homeowners avoid scams.
"There are a lot of people who just don't know where to go," Pastor Smith said, "when the debts start piling up."
"You get overwhelmed to the point where you don't know where to turn," Sally Stickney agreed.
Stickney lives in the Lake Ramsey area north of Covington. Health problems, she said, forced her to retire early, and left her with a mortgage she could no longer handle. The non-profit program helped her reduce her interest rate, and her monthly note.
"It went down $600 per month," Stickney said, a difference which made her mortgage manageable.
Pastor Smith said, they have helped dozens of homeowners through an overwhelming process.
"Desperation is a word that's describes a lot of people who come in here," Pastor Smith said. "Distraught is another word that describes them."
The Northshore Home Ownership Resource Fair is Saturday, from 10 am – 1 pm, at the Life Impact Center at 5200 Highway 22 in Mandeville.
