LAS VEGAS -- When hundreds of Nevadans called the 8 News NOW phone lines desperate for help in May, the I-Team and Nevada's Hardest Hit Fund delivered.
Hundreds of families were assisted in getting their share of hundreds of millions of federal dollars.
On Tuesday, the phone banks will open again from noon to 6:30 p.m. (The phone number is 650-1101 or 570-5662). Check this list to make sure you lender is participating.
"I was drowning," said Sandra Jackson-Oliver as she choked back tears. "I didn't know any other way to go."
Jackson-Oliver's story is pretty typical.
She raised her two sons in a house which she has owned for 10 years. During the boom years, she refinanced her mortgage.
When she took a pay cut during the Great Recession, she could no longer afford the $2,500 monthly mortgage.
She reached out to Nevada's Hardest Hit Fund.
"These people helped me and they wanted me to know, ‘I'm going to help you today,'" she said. "It was 10 days before my foreclosure."
The federal government gave Nevada almost $200 million 18 months ago to help underwater homeowners.
It's taken a while for the state to figure out how to distribute the money, but the state's wallet is open and they can't hand out help fast enough.
"We're working hard to make sure homeowners know about this," said Candice Kelley of the Hardest Hit Fund. "We will not let these funds go unused."
That's where 8 News NOW comes in.
The news station hosted the phone bank for our Desert Underwater series this past Spring.
The phone lines were constantly busy and back at the Hardest Hit office, they're still going non-stop.
Programs include providing temporary mortgage assistance, second lien elimination and short sale help.
"It'd be great if the homeowners have their most recent mortgage statement handy," Kelley said.
Jackson-Oliver has fond memories of her house, and now dreams of its future.
"My thought was to have my grandchildren … come here," she said. "This is going to be grandma's house."
The 8 News NOW Hardest Hit Fund phone bank runs from noon to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The phone numbers will be made available Tuesday on 8 News NOW in the Morning and on the 8 News NOW website.
