Members of an organization that helps families in foreclosure is concerned the issue is falling off the national radar.
Barbara Busch of Working in Neighborhoods says the number of foreclosures in Hamilton County has been dropping since 2009.
“Clearly what you see in the media, what you hear from the government and by their lack of funding, is that everything is getting better," Busch says. "We do believe it’s better than it was during the bubble and the recession, but that doesn’t mean it’s better.”
Busch says the number of foreclosed homes sold at auction last year was down from 2013, but was still higher than in 2002. Busch says 1,733 families had their homes sold by the sheriff's office last year after being foreclosed.
“And since that is higher than it was in 2002, at that point we knew we had some crisis in the city, but I don’t think it was commonly known that there was a crisis happening," Busch said. "So if we’ve got more than we had then, clearly we still have a problem.”
Busch says public attention on the foreclosure crisis is waning, and with it, support for programs that help families. She says the private sector and the government need to continue funding for foreclosure assistance.
"If 1,733 families were in a tornado, would we say we couldn't help them?," she asked.
Working in Neighborhoods has been tracking foreclosures in Hamilton County since 2001. The latest report from the group is at their website.
