While there are countless avenues distressed homeowners can pursue to procure legal advice, credit counseling, and real estate brokerage, I have noticed a critical component of care that is not being addressed; namely the human toll of facing or having gone through foreclosure. Who is helping these people grapple with the guilt, shame and humiliation inherent in the eventuality of losing one’s home?

At the macro level, it may appear to be a result of people who have made poor decisions, been taken advantage of by unscrupulous lenders, or simply stretched themselves by buying more house than they could support, but if we take a closer look at individual situations we will find everyday people whose security, identity, sense of community, and sometimes even family unit being severely compromised by current economic realities.

I’m in the process of developing a program aimed at addressing the human toll of going through foreclosure or job loss. As a professional and life coach, I strongly believe that more important than the events that occur in one’s life, it is one’s response to those events that most strongly shape one’s future. My conviction is that even if someone loses their home, they don’t need to lose themselves in the process! I believe in being proactive in sharing the power of reframing responses in a very positive and motivating way so that this perceived ‘failure’ can become a springboard for future success. Doing nothing may simply result in one channeling their sense of loss and shame into a never-ending downward spiral from which many may never escape.