Faithful readers with good memories will recall that last month the Bush administration announced an alliance of mortgage industry players aimed at helping prevent foreclosures. Robert K. Steel, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for domestic finance, gave an update on the "HOPE NOW" effort at a housing forum in Minneapolis today:

Today is an important day in this public-private outreach effort. Starting today, HOPE NOW will send more than 300,000 letters by the end of this month alone to struggling homeowners who could be in a position to move into a more affordable mortgage. That is 100,000 more homeowners than they initially expected to reach this month. And they will continue reaching out to more borrowers over the next several months.

The administration expects that the letter campaign will be more effective than can-we-help-you notices sent out by mortgage servicers. Steel said servicers "have reported limited success reaching at-risk customers, but independent counselors have reported a significantly higher success rate."

The letter recommends that borrowers in trouble get help by calling their servicer or a hotline, 888-995-HOPE. (The hotline belongs to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation.)