October 27, 2010; Source: NPR | NPQ has previously covered this ambitious foreclosure prevention program run by Boston Community Capital. The group has raised $40 million to buy houses in foreclosure “at a steep discount, and give the homeowners a new, smaller mortgage that they can afford.” Unfortunately, the excellently conceived program is operating in an environment where many scams have been perpetrated, so it is finding that outreach is more difficult than expected. The program expected to be spending $3 million a month but is only spending $1.3 million. The minute a house goes into foreclosure it is publicly listed and then, apparently, the shucksters descend on people looking desperately for a solution. Additionally, the potential beneficiaries of this program do not exactly have a great deal of trust in lending institutions. “These people have been sold a lot of bad products for a very long time,” said Mark Pinsky, the CEO of the Opportunity Finance Network. “At some point, you’re just not going to trust anybody.”—Ruth McCambridge