Department of Housing and Urban Development Establishes Single Toll-Free Housing Hotline (1-888-297-8685) To Help Disaster Victims With All Housing Concerns Assistance available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST, seven days a week

*WASHINGTON* - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today announced that HUD has established a single toll-free housing hotline, *1-888-297-8685,* to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. This nationwide telephone number will provide callers expanded services and hours and the opportunity to speak with an actual person," said Jackson. "With all that displaced families are going through starting to rebuild their lives, the last thing they need to encounter is an answering machine without answers. We have increased our staffing at the National Servicing Call Center in Oklahoma, to handle nearly 22,000 calls a week and shortly we'll be able to handle more than 30,000 calls each week."

Immediately after the hurricane, Jackson instructed all FHA-approved lenders to provide foreclosure relief to FHA-insured families who are affected by Hurricane Katrina. The relief includes a special 90-day moratorium on all foreclosures of FHA-insured properties in the Presidentially declared disaster areas. Jackson is also encouraging lenders to undertake actions such as mortgage modification, refinancing, and waiver of late charges.

Following President Bush's federal disaster declaration, HUD began deploying staff to Disaster Field Offices set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. HUD's initial concern is to help meet the immediate housing needs of those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

HUD is also reaching out to its private sector partners such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties to help identify homes that could be made available for displaced persons and families. In addition, HUD has contacted: top mortgage lenders about their inventory of repossessed homes; the homebuilding industry for help with building materials and supplying construction workers; its housing counseling network to assist displaced homeowners; and the manufactured housing industry about available housing stock.

[Posted 9/29/05]