In 2007, NHS of New Haven received a grant from NeighborWorks® America to establish a “rescue fund” for homeowners who were about to lose their homes through foreclosure.  The funds were used to bring borrowers’ mortgages current and, under certain circumstances, provide homeowners with a monthly stipend that would assist them with their mortgage payments for a year.  The stipends represented the difference between payments on existing sub-prime mortgages and hypothetical payments on a prime mortgage.  It was expected that some existing lenders would modify their customers’ mortgages, offering loans with more attractive interest rates.  In other situations, borrowers would be able to refinance their mortgages after a year of perfect credit, thanks to the financial assistance provided by the stipends.  Extensive individual credit counseling is a requirement for participation in the program. This program subsequently received new funding from the Neighbor-to-Neighbor LifeLine program sponsored by the United Way of Greater New Haven and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, as well as an extraordinarily generous contribution of $100,000 from Knight Libertas. Based in Greenwich, CT and a subsidiary of Knight Capital Group of Jersey City, New Jersey, Knight Libertas raised $100,000 in May 2009 when employees pledged a portion of their earnings to help fight foreclosures.