Project Porchlight, an initiative of non-profit counseling organization Money Management International (MMI), has announced its public launch along with the disclosure of its primary financing partner: the MetLife Foundation.
While previously available only through the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA, or “Fannie Mae”) Disaster Response Network, a grant from MetLife Foundation has enabled MMI to increase the scope of accessibility for the project to those financially impacted by a natural disaster in the United States and its territories.
“The aftermath of natural disasters disrupts lives and disproportionately complicates recovery for financially at-risk individuals,” said Sarah Willis, Director of Financial Health at MetLife Foundation in a press release announcing the grant. “With the expansion of Project Porchlight, MMI is creating a space where individuals from low- to moderate-income households can build resilience, helping to preserve the possibility for long-term financial health in the face of inevitable disasters.”
The formation of Project Porchlight was a long time coming, according to MMI President and CEO Jim Triggs.
“Project Porchlight is years in the making,” said Triggs in the press release. “Our team recognized the needs of disaster victims among our clients, and that awareness was reinforced by personal experience after our headquarters was affected by Hurricane Harvey. We are thankful not only for our employees’ resilience and innovation in moments of crisis, but for the support from MetLife Foundation that will allow us to make a real difference in lives across the country for years to come.”
Project Porchlight is currently seeking more active partnerships with reverse mortgage lenders who serve disaster-affected borrowers, seniors who may be more vulnerable than others to falling behind on their loan obligations.
“We have good relationships with reverse mortgage lenders to begin with, and we’re on the list for any consumer looking for regular HECM counseling,” said Jackie Boies, senior director of housing and bankruptcy services at Money Management International, in a previous interview with RMD. “People are familiar with MMI, so we’ll do outreach to the lending community to let them know about Porchlight, because this is new and different. It’s not HECM counseling or delinquent HECM counseling, it’s not like anything we’ve ever done. But, we’ve recognized for years now that recovering after a disaster is a real struggle for people.”
Project Porchlight is available immediately upon local, state, or national declarations of emergency. For reverse mortgage borrowers affected by the recent onslaught of Tropical Storm Imelda in the state of Texas, MMI is standing ready to assist any affected reverse mortgage borrowers.
“As soon as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issues a disaster declaration for the areas affected by the recent onslaught of Tropical Storm Imelda, we will be reaching out to reverse mortgage clients in the area to see if any of them can be assisted through Project Porchlight,” Boies told RMD in an email.
