Debbie Kidd of the nonprofit Family Services Inc. in North Charleston, which offers free foreclosure counseling, said the growing volume of delinquent mortgages is no longer just a problem within the real estate industry. It is now a symptom of broader mounting financial hardships, she said.
Many families Kidd sees are one major unplanned expense or other economic disruption away from losing their homes. It could be a broken-down car, a medical emergency or the loss of a second job.
“It takes very little to push a family over the edge these days because they’re living paycheck to paycheck,” she said.
This seems to be a growing fear and reality for many families. I can’t help but feel that there is a role for the churches here in their communities; aid, debt counselling, perhaps clubbing together as so many did in the Gulf Coast situation?