HUD cuts Pro-Home aid

TAUNTON – Nonprofit foreclosure counselor Pro-Home Inc. will lose $80,000 in federal aid for the coming year due to cuts made to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development budget for 2012, Pro-Home Executive Director Joe Pacheco this week.
The cuts represent 38 percent of Pro-Home’s $210,000 annual operating budget, Pacheco said.
“[The cuts] were a devastating blow to our agency,” he said in a statement. “But it’s important for the community to know we are committed to the services we provide and aren’t going anywhere.”
Pro-Home provides free foreclosure counseling as well as down-payment and closing cost assistance for first-time home buyers in 13 communities in southeastern Massachusetts.
The organization’s federal funds are supplemented by private donations and sponsorships.
Pacheco said he will have to work even more aggressively to secure private donations and grants to keep Pro-Home going.
Pro-Home is not alone in seeing a loss of funds from the HUD cuts. Congress cut all $88 million from the line item for counseling services in HUD’s budget.