Foreclosure counselors undergo suicide prevention training

The number of people coming into Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services for free foreclosure-prevention counseling has more than doubled over the past year or so. Last year, more than 5,500 homeowners sought foreclosure help there. More people facing foreclosure means more people who are emotionally distraught. KPCC's Susan Valot says that's why the non-profit recently put its workers through suicide-prevention training.

Susan Valot: The waiting room at L.A. Neighborhood Housing Services on Wilshire Boulevard is quiet. No one's sitting on the carefully-arranged couches. But behind the counter, the receptionist answers one call after another about foreclosure.

Receptionist: [phone rings] L.A. Neighbhorhood Housing Services. OK, is this in regards to a loan modification? OK, OK, the first thing you need to do is register for a foreclosure prevention class.

Valot: The twice-a-week foreclosure prevention classes fill up a week or two in advance. After the class, the homeowners move to one-on-one counseling. Six in 10 people who come here will end up losing their homes.

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They're upset, they're desperate – and sometimes, they're angry. Ester Cadavid of L.A. Neighborhood Housing Services says the foreclosure crisis is our "economic Katrina."

Ester Cadavid: We have large fairs. We have group clinics. We have one-on-one counseling. And we're seeing more and more families and people saying, "You know, if I lose my house, I don't know what I'm going to do. I just, I feel like I want to kill myself." And they're not used to hearing that. And we certainly in this environment haven't heard that before.

Valot: Cadavid points to recent murder-suicides of families facing possible foreclosure, like the Wilmington man who killed his five children and his wife – then shot himself.

Cadavid: Our director of education kind of jokes that every time he hears about a suicide that happened – a family got taken out – he checks the database to see if it was one of our clients.

And that's how, that's how nervous he is that, "Oh my God, this might have been..." because we've seen 5,500 families in 2008. And 2009, it's going to be worse.

Valot: Ester Cadavid says that's on their minds a lot. Cadavid says her workers want to help anxious homeowners facing foreclosure. But she's worried.

Cadavid: What is the possibility that someone has a concealed weapon and they're angry because we weren't able to negotiate a loan modification and keep their home?

They're going to walk into the clinic. How do we diffuse that? How do we, where do we sit? Do we keep the conference door open? Do we put ourselves between the door and them farther?

Valot: So L.A. Neighborhood Housing Services decided to answer some of those questions by putting its staff through suicide-prevention training.

Lyn Morris (at training session): You know, typically, we will say something like, "Wow, you sound like you're in a tremendous amount of pain. I'm concerned about you. Are you thinking of killing yourself?" OK, you make it human. You make it an interaction.

Valot: The Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center in Los Angeles is the place to go for suicide-prevention training. It's home to the oldest crisis hotline in the nation. The center's Lyn Morris says the suicide-prevention training teaches workers how not to push people over the edge.

Morris: We are giving a general overview about suicide, stigma associated with suicide. But most importantly, we talk about warning signs and risk factors and how to talk to somebody who is feeling suicidal, and then how to get them the help that they need.

Valot: Morris says in the past few months, she's been getting all sorts of calls about suicide-prevention training.

Morris: We have gotten calls from a mortgage company – many people who are calling regarding foreclosure and different things. And they're wanting to get their staff trained. We've gotten calls from a banking institution. These are generally not places where we usually go out and do suicide prevention trainings.

Valot: Morris says she's even gotten calls from doctors' offices – all wanting to learn how to diffuse tense situations with desperate people having trouble paying bills. She says people aren't pushed to the point of suicide just because of foreclosures or the bad economy.

Morris says people in those cases often suffer from untreated depression or mental illness. The Fair Housing Council of Orange County hasn't gone as far as suicide-prevention training – at least not yet. Its lone foreclosure counselor is Brenda Magana.

Brenda Magana: If I have seen somebody get to that point or feel that they're frustrated, I really try to keep in close contact with them and make sure that two days later they're OK – Have you thought about things? How are you guys doing? Just, just personal level.

Valot: But for Magana, that can be tough. She's inundated with about 60 calls from worried homeowners each day. She says it's hard not to be overwhelmed herself.

Additonal Resources:

L.A. Neighborhood Housing Services: toll-free 888-89-LANHS
Fair Housing Council of Orange County: toll-free 800-698-FAIR
Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center crisis hotline: (877) 7-CRISIS or (877) 727-4747, toll-free in L.A. & Orange counties