Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- The rising problem of mortgage foreclosures is pushing people out of their homes, which has brought people to gather on Utah's Capitol Hill this afternoon.
Just after 6 p.m., the mortgage foreclosure problem was highlighted in a sometimes emotional news conference. It portrayed the cost of the economic meltdown in human terms.
The point that was stressed is that people victimized by the crisis aren't losing buildings, they are losing homes with families -- and it can happen to anyone.
Layton Mayor Steve Curtis was sent a foreclosure notice two weeks before Christmas, after he was laid off from his other job. He says he got snookered by a bank that falsely alleged he hadn't met his obligations.
Struggling to maintain his composure, Curtis told press conference attendees, "It brought extreme anguish, and a futile effort -- excuse me for getting a little emotional -- but a very futile effort to comfort our children that their home was still going to be their home."
"This is a new face of poverty," said community advocate Pamela Atkinson. "It is people who thought they had a safe mortgage and thought they had a safe housing situation."
Originally foreclosure reform advocates planned a rally, but they decided that may appear too confrontational. So they changed the event to a news conference, hoping to start a dialogue with lawmakers.
Email: Hollenhorst@ksl.com
