Below is the second installment of a five-part series titled Too Little to Save, in which the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) highlights a family and describes their struggles with foreclosure.

A husband, a pregnant wife, and a five-year-old son:  this is the Nunez family of northwestern Georgia.  The parents watched their employment hours dwindle and after losing their main source of income, they ultimately confronted the prospect of losing their home.  While searching for jobs, Mr. and Mrs. Nunez petitioned their bank to help them until they found employment.  Mr. Nunez said the bank was not helpful:

I sent a letter to the bank explaining my case…They told me that they couldn’t help me and that I had to pay about $12,000.  I wasn’t able to get any help from them.  There was no program back then that could help people who were in my same situation.  So I had to go into foreclosure.

Mounting frustration weighed on the Nunez household.  They lost their home and moved from place to place, sparking contention between the parents.

I think that what has been affected the most is the relationship between me and my wife.  We almost got divorced.  We keep thinking about the instability for our son and it has been very difficult for us.

Unemployment, foreclosure, and a sense of hopelessness entirely derailed the Nunez family from a prosperous path and provoked the unraveling of their family bonds.

We could see that all of our efforts [with the bank] were useless.  There was a lot of tension…Today my son asked me again, 'Why are you undoing my bed?  Are we going to another house?'  I mean, it’s difficult as a parent [to go] from one place to another wanting to be stable.

Unemployment is now the leading cause of delinquency for families facing foreclosure.  Foreclosure, however, does not have to be the inevitable consequence of losing a job.  Nowadays, many families might experience an extended bout of unemployment lasting eight months or longer.  Most of them are not aware that there may be options other than foreclosure during employment dry spells.

The ten hardest-hit states have already received funds to develop their own programs to help unemployed homeowners with underwater loans.  Such programs need to be extended on a national level.  Such unemployment services could represent the reprieve families need during these tumultuous times.  We know well that a series of foreclosures can be a neighborhood’s demise.  If the Nunez family had received extended benefits, they would have had more time to secure work, hold on to their home, and retain their wealth for future generations.