There is an old adage, “if you want something done, ask a busy person.” The story of the Collier County Foreclosure Task Force proves that time-honored saying true. Another famous quotation, attributed to Thomas Hardy, also applies to the Task Force: “good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”

What is the Collier County Foreclosure Task Force? It is simply a ‘grassroots’ cooperative effort between the Legal Aid Service of Collier County (Legal Aid), the Collier County Bar Association (CCBA) and others to promote foreclosure prevention in Collier County.

Creating the vision

The true genesis of the Task Force can be traced back to February 21, 2008 when Legal Aid (through funding by the United Way of Collier County) hosted a “Friend-raiser” event at the Naples Beach & Golf Resort. The purpose was to thank old and new ‘friends’ of Legal Aid and to recruit additional volunteers for Legal Aid’s Collier Lawyers Care pro bono program. That night, several prominent local attorneys decided to form a Task Force, along with Legal Aid, as an emergency initiative to address the alarming rate of foreclosures occurring in Collier County.

From that moment on, all members rolled up their sleeves, checked egos at the door and got to work. Early on, a core philosophy evolved. The people at-risk of foreclosure in the community did not need a ‘Blue-Ribbon’ panel, or a white paper from a think tank. These folks needed help now. Not false hope or empty promises.

But what kind of assistance could be delivered and how? The Task Force needed to determine what was realistic as the initiative was completely volunteer-based and lacked direct funding of any kind.

After the initial meeting, the ranks of the Task Force grew rapidly. The members began to meet once a week. A very talented team was quickly assembled. By April, the attorney members of the Task Force included: Legal Aid Advisory Board Member and Past CCBA President Kelley Price, Esq. (Cohen & Grigsby); CCBA President Kathleen Passidomo, Esq. (Kelly, Passidomo & Alba, LLP); Maureen Aughton, Esq. (Aughton Law Firm, P.A.); Jane Yeager Cheffy, Esq.; Celia Deifik, Esq. (Ross, Lanier & Deifik, P.A.); Lisa Barnett Van Dien, Esq. (Cheffy, Passidomo, Wilson & Johnson); Kelly Davis, Esq. (Quarles & Brady, LLP); Elizabeth Opalka, Esq.; and Former Rep. J. Dudley Goodlette, Esq. (Goodlette, Coleman & Johnson, P.A.) - among others. The CCBA’s Executive Director, Lisa Mead, performed a central role from the beginning.

The vision about what to do, and how to do it, became clear. With limited resources and time to give, the foreclosure prevention initiative would have to be implemented in stages. The three stages would be education, intervention and prevention. Something had to be done quickly to provide ‘triage’ for homeowners who could not hold on to their homes much longer without meaningful intervention.

Articulating the vision

It was decided that the first ‘stage’ of the initiative, education, would involve a free seminar/workshop, open to the public. With less than 2 months to plan, the date of May 22nd was selected. Hot topics of interest to those facing the prospect of foreclosure were identified, such as short sales, loss mitigation, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, negotiating with lenders, bankruptcy and ‘foreclosure rescue’ scams. A talented panel of attorneys and experts from other disciplines was recruited to address these topics at the workshop.

To pull off a successful event in less than two months, more than good planning was required. The event needed to be promoted effectively, and a team assembled with the capacity to execute the project. In true grassroots fashion, the pieces began to fall into place. Volunteers came on board on what seemed like a daily basis. Paula Robertson and Vivian Vedel (Paula Robertson & Associates) donated their Public Relations services to promote the workshop. The Task Force was featured on Fox 4 and ABC 7 local TV, and members appeared on the ‘Gulf Coast Live’ radio show on WGCU 90.1 FM, and ‘the Bob Harden Show’ on WGUF 98.9 FM. An article on the upcoming workshop appeared in the Naples Daily News.

A crucial component of the plan to assist borrowers at-risk of foreclosure was to enlist certified credit and foreclosure counselors, to craft household budgets for individuals, and prepare the ‘loss mitigation packet’ materials required by lenders. Two local non-profit agencies became key players in the initiative: Home Ownership Resource Center in Ft. Myers (Eddie Felton, Executive Director) and Collier County Housing Development Corporation (Kathy Patterson, Executive Director).

Mike Reagen, President and CEO of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Task Force. Mike and his staff provided technical assistance and promoted the Task Force to the local business community. From the media exposure, more volunteers came forward. Bankers, mortgage brokers, citizen volunteers and others wanted to help. Volunteers placed brochures all over town.

On May 22, 2008 over 100 people attended the “Save Your Home” Workshop at the Max Hasse Community Park in Naples. In addition to Task Force members mentioned previously, the expert panel included General Magistrate David Friedman (who coined the name for the workshop); noted real estate Appraiser Cindy Carroll, SRA (Carroll & Carroll, Inc.); Brian Williams, Esq. (Cohen & Grigsby); Stephany Carr, Esq.; Molly Whalen (Collier County Housing Development Corp.); and Sandra Rains (Consumer Credit Counseling Service). The workshop spanned over 2 hours, and in a key planning element, it was videotaped (courtesy of Mike Sturdevant and Action Legal Video). The workshop included a question and answer segment at the end. The feedback received from those who attended was overwhelmingly positive. Stage one of the initiative was now complete. Stage two, intervention, would undoubtedly bring even greater challenges.

Passionately owning the vision

The intervention phase of the initiative would entail providing direct one-on-one counseling sessions with people. At these sessions, options would be identified, strategies formulated and an action plan developed to try to save homes from foreclosure. This would often include direct negotiation with lenders.

The Task Force has been inclusive in offering assistance to all those concerned about foreclosure, regardless of economic standing. Nobody has been turned away from the free events. However, the emphasis has been to assist lower-income homeowners and ‘core workforce’ members - particularly families with children trying to save their only home.

“So many of our neighbors are finding themselves in the untenable position of losing their homes that something had to be done to help them,” noted Lisa Mead. “The Foreclosure Task Force is the culmination of the efforts of a group of dynamic, committed and compassionate people who saw that need and responded.”

On June 21, 2008, a free clinic was conducted at Legal Aid, administered by certified counselors with the Home Ownership Resource Center and the Collier County Housing Development Corporation. At this 4 hour clinic, the agencies gathered the information needed to try to save almost 25 homes from foreclosure.

The largest and most ambitious event to date by the Task Force was scheduled for July 12, 2008, when a free foreclosure law clinic was conducted at Legal Aid. This event featured more than 20 pro bono attorneys from the CCBA, who provided advice and counsel on foreclosure matters to all who attended.

Relentlessly driving to completion

The work of the Task Force is far from complete. The final stage of the initiative, prevention, will be addressed starting in the Fall of 2008.

Thanks to the efforts of Rep. Garrett Richter, a supporter of the Task Force, meetings have been scheduled with the Florida Bankers Association (FBA). The Task Force and the FBA will explore mutually beneficial solutions to problems facing borrowers and lenders alike. Furthermore, in the planning stage is a public policy forum to address ‘macro’ issues regarding foreclosure. The forum would include representatives from the banking, real estate, and mortgage industries, as well as government officials, attorneys and consumer groups.

Perhaps the most far-reaching project by the Task Force is the blog it has created at www.foreclosuretaskforce.blogspot.com. It is updated regularly and contains links to approximately 2 hours of video from the “Save Your Home’ Workshop and other helpful resources on foreclosure prevention.

The Task Force needs more volunteers and more resources to complete its work. If you would like to become involved, contact the Task Force by email at collierftf@yahoo.com.

Jeffrey Ahren is the Pro Bono Coordinator and Development Officer for Legal Aid Service of Collier County, a private, non-profit law firm, and a Division of Legal Aid Service of Broward County, a non-profit corporation. He has been named by the members as the Chairman of the Collier County Foreclosure Task Force, a cooperative effort between Legal Aid Service of Collier County and the Collier County Bar Association promoting foreclosure prevention.

Jeffrey is an Attorney licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He practiced for 10 years with a prestigious law firm specializing in complex litigation and appellate practice located in Southern New Jersey. He is a graduate of the Rutgers School of Law/Camden, and of Albright College.