ACORN, Countrywide Canvass Katrina Victims

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has launched a telephone and door-to-door campaign financed by Countrywide Financial Corp. to find Gulf Coast evacuees and put them in touch with their lender.The program is being undertaken in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge, La. The canvassing follows newspaper advertisements placed by Countrywide last month that encouraged its customers to call the company and listed the ACORN Housing Helpline as an intermediary for customers of other mortgage companies. "ACORN Housing has been able to assist almost all the Katrina survivors we have worked with in making arrangements with their lender to protect their home and their finances," said Dorothy Stukes, president of the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association. "But everyone needs to get in contact with their lender or ACORN Housing as soon as possible." Michael Gross, managing director of mortgage servicing at Countrywide, noted that the company has suspended mortgage payments and credit reporting for customers victimized by the storm, but that "despite our best efforts to reach them, there are still a number of customers who we have been unable to reach, limiting our ability to provide assistance to them." The company, based in Calabasas, Calif., can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.