The mortgage foreclosure crisis which began in the late 1990s and peaked between 2007 and 2010 was devastating to Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. A flood of subprime and predatory loans led to massive abandonment and an unprecedented loss of wealth and equity, most notably in majority African American communities in the county.

Now, unexpectedly, Cuyahoga County finds itself thrown into another economic crisis, at a time when a significant portion of the county has still not recovered from the prior crisis. Unemployment from COVID-19 threatens a new wave of housing instability: tenants will be unable to pay their rent and will be faced with eviction, property owners will be unable to pay their property taxes and their mortgages and will face foreclosure; owners and tenants will be unable to pay their utilities and will be subject to shut-offs; homeowners will be unable to pay for urgent repairs, leaving them living in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.

At present there are eviction and foreclosure moratoriums in parts of Cuyahoga County, but these are temporary solutions at best. Without new income or rental assistance, it is uncertain where the money to pay these expenses will come from. At the federal level, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is the principal sponsor of the pending Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act. This bill would distribute $100 billion to low income people for rental assistance. It is clear that a multifaceted, strong, and timely response is necessary. How exactly should individuals, nonprofits, governments, and corporations respond to this situation?

This forum will:

1) Explore how lessons from the foreclosure crisis can be used to respond to the reverberations of the coronavirus pandemic.

2) Review the tools and resources that are currently in place.

3) Discuss what further resources, tools and programs are needed.

The panel for this forum, listed below, includes housing counselors and advocates who were literally on the front lines of the crisis, working with homeowners facing foreclosure, negotiating with banks, and helping thousands keep their homes.