By Ismael AbduSalaam
Hip-Hop soul icon Mary J. Blige and Outkast’s Big Boi stopped in Atlanta this past Saturday (April 18) to raise awareness on the nation’s foreclosure crisis.
The stars joined the “Bringing the HOPE Home” tour bus, which is currently embarked on a four-city, foreclosure prevention tour.
At each stop, the HOPE campaign offers troubled homeowners the option to review their situations with housing counselors and mortgage lenders.
At the Atlanta event, an excess of 20 counseling agencies and lenders came together to supply an estimated 3300 families with free counseling sessions.
As a non-judicial foreclosure state, Georgia has remained one the highest foreclosure states in the nation, primarily due to Atlanta’s housing market.
"Foreclosure rates in Atlanta have risen drastically in recent years," explained Mary J. Blige. "So I want to do what I can to help educate people about the options available to them to help keep their homes. They have to know where to go to ask for help. But most importantly, they need to know that they have to ask."
Six-time Grammy winner Big Boi agreed, and elaborated that many homeowners make the fatal mistake of waiting until the foreclosure process has begun before seeking assistance.
“There are too many resources available for this to continue happening to families in Atlanta,” he stated. “That's what this bus tour is about; making sure the people here know that too.”
At press time, the bus tour is scheduled to make two more stops in Miami and Cleveland.