Westmoreland County Attorneys Offer Free Help to Recession Victims
Posted By on Aug 18, 2009 7:57am PDT
Richard Robbins
Tribune-Review
August 9, 2009
Bankruptcy lawyer Jeff Golembiewski felt disheartened. The Greensburg attorney, a volunteer counselor for "Get Help Now, Pennsylvania," had heard the woes of people whose financial world has collapsed because of the recession.
"It's frustrating and sad," Golembiewski said of the number who say they sign their names to credit card applications and mortgage contracts without bothering with the bottom line or the fine print.
"People have got to study up," he said.
"Get Help Now, Pennsylvania," initiated by the Rendell administration in response to a call by President Obama for volunteers to help Americans in trouble, deploys attorneys and bank and credit union professionals to provide free advice to financially strapped individuals.
They are people like Margaret Fink, 70, of Loyalhanna Township, who dropped by the Westmoreland Bar Association office in Greensburg after spotting a "Get Help Now" pamphlet at the courthouse.
Scammed by a couple who used to help her with household chores, Fink said she heard "conflicting advice" about how to recover her missing cash -- $4,000 the couple said they needed to purchase a car. When she sat down with volunteer Jack Bergstein, a Monessen attorney, she confessed to being totally confused. With guidance from Bergstein, she left with a clear head and a plan of action.
"It was wonderful," Fink said.
As of last week, some 370 people across the state had taken advantage of the free services. Of the five Western Pennsylvania counties selected for the program, Allegheny assisted 40 people; Westmoreland, 25; Washington, 60; and Butler, 17. Beaver County had two.
The program came together within days, said James Antoniono, president of the Westmoreland Bar Association. "I think everyone did an amazing job" Antoniono said, including a guide to social, financial and legal service agencies hurriedly put together by Rendell's staff and the state bar association and supplemented by the local bar.
Greensburg attorney Anthony Bompiani said he advised a homeowner whose "entire problem was an adjustable rate mortgage. Once the adjustable rate started going up, it was unaffordable."
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