Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta Helps Record Number of People in 2008

More than one-half million Americans turned to Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta (CCCS of Greater Atlanta) last year to avoid foreclosure, pay down credit card debt and determine if they should file for bankruptcy.

The 509,718 individuals who received credit counseling or attended educational classes in 2008 represented a 26% increase from the 403,763 individuals who received those services in 2007. The agency estimates it will provide counseling or education to as many as 700,000 people across the country this year, as the U.S. economic crisis is expected to continue into 2009. The agency ramped up its capacity to provide help in recent months, significantly increasing its staff dedicated to helping people facing foreclosure.

"Our primary counseling services — housing, bankruptcy and budget and debt counseling — each experienced significant increases in 2008," said Suzanne Boas, president of CCCS of Greater Atlanta. "But as the housing crisis worsened, we focused our resources even more to help homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage."

Housing counseling sessions increased since the mortgage crisis began three years ago from 9,668 in 2006 to 31,287 in 2007 to 73,573 last year.

To help serve the surge of homeowners seeking foreclosure prevention assistance, CCCS of Greater Atlanta opened a new housing counseling center in suburban Atlanta in December 2008 staffed with 100 counselors and support staff. Early this month, CCCS of Greater Atlanta announced a merger with CCCS of Central Florida & the Florida Gulf Coast to extend its services further into one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

The Atlanta-based agency is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit counseling agencies helping people seek solutions to foreclosure. It provides counseling to homeowners in all 50 states 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through a 24-hour hotline, 1-888-995-HOPE.

In 2008 CCCS of Greater Atlanta answered 175,453 calls from the HOPE hotline, a 105% increase over 2007.

Counseling and education sessions rose 21% for people seeking help before filing for bankruptcy or before being discharged from bankruptcy, from 300,759 sessions in 2007 to 364,000 last year. Federal bankruptcy law requires individuals to undergo credit counseling before they can file for bankruptcy. Close to 20% of Americans who filed for bankruptcy in 2008 sought counseling help from the agency.

The number of people seeking help for budget and debt issues jumped 24% to 76,640 in 2008, up from 61,792 a year earlier. Individuals struggling with credit card, medical and other unsecured debt often seek help to pay their creditors. The agency works out debt management plans for people who cannot make their minimum payments.

About CCCS of Greater Atlanta:
CCCS of Greater Atlanta serves clients in all 50 states and has 33 offices in four states. It is the headquarters for the CredAbility Network, a family of agencies serving consumers in north Georgia, south and central Florida, middle Mississippi and east Tennessee as well as nationally via telephone and Internet.

CCCS is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Governed by a community-based board of directors, CCCS is funded by creditors, clients, contributors and grants from foundations, businesses and government agencies. Service is available at offices throughout metro-Atlanta and north Georgia in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. CCCS offers around the-clock help by phone at 1-800-251-CCCS or at its Web sites, www.cccsinc.org and cccsenespanol.org.