The California Homeownership Preservation Initiative has announced that over the next two years, mortgage counseling agencies will receive $5 million to conduct outreach, hire, and train mortgage counselors throughout the state.

It is predicted that half a million California mortgage borrowers will struggle to make payments on their home loans in the next two years. To address this growing need, grants have been awarded to 39 mortgage counseling agencies enabling them to serve over 40,000 troubled home loan borrowers residing predominantly in low-moderate income neighborhoods, communities most impacted by predatory subprime loans.

California Reinvestment Coalition partnered with Merryl Lynch, HSBC-North America, Wachovia Bank, Comercia Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Countrywide Financial, Citi, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, JP Morgan Chase, San Francisco Foundation, and California Community Foundation to create this $5 million initiative.