The Power of Community
The community joined Channel 9’s Facing the Mortgage Crisis, changing lives and positively impacting the entire region.
Sue Livingston, 61, and her husband both work, and they always have.
For 28 years, she was in the Army Reserve, working her way up to master sergeant. When not on active duty, she held various civil service jobs for the federal government, plus a part-time job. Her husband, Timothy, 57, is a machinist who has worked nearly 40 years for the same company.
They are not the type of people who come to mind when picturing a family facing financial ruin, and yet in May 2008, the Livingstons received a foreclosure notice in the mail.
Despite their steady incomes, the Livingstons’ finances suffered through a perfect storm, compounded by Missouri’s extremely short window for foreclosure procedures. Timothy, who was accustomed to working seven days a week, had his weekly hours cut back to 40. Sue was locked into a low-paying job out of state working for FEMA; she faced thousands of dollars in penalties if she quit before a year’s time. Their savings had gone to help out Sue’s son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, whose home was destroyed in a fire.
As someone who grew up in the heart of Ohio, the daughter and granddaughter of business owners, and later as a single mom making $175 a week, Livingston’s life was a model of independence and self sufficiency. She had no experience looking to outside resources for help, so five months before the foreclosure notice even arrived, she had begun trying to contact her mortgage company to renegotiate her payments. She knew her financial problems were temporary, and would improve as soon as she could retire and start drawing from her military pension. But the mortgage company evaded her attempts, saying only that she should find an “agency” or a church for advice.
That’s when Livingston turned on the television and saw a promo on Channel 9 for the two-part special Facing the Mortgage Crisis. The Livingstons tuned in.
“I never thought I would see anything as helpful as Facing the Mortgage Crisis,” says Livingston. “Since then I’ve been able to breathe, I’ve been able to sleep, I’ve been able to eat and I feel like a thousand pounds is off my shoulders.”...
For the complete article, check out the current issue of
KETC Guide.
Tune In: Facing the Financial Crisis, Tuesday, January 27, 7:00 p.m.
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