Who ya gonna call? Foreclosure-buster

April 14, 2009; As originally appeared in The Advocate

STAMFORD -- In mid-November, during the height of the financial meltdown, Christopher Meek and a group of friends huddled at a bar after work in downtown Manhattan.

As they talked about the spiraling foreclosure crisis, Meek, a 38-year-old trader at Goldman Sachs, started to brainstorm about ways to tackle the problem. What if he arranged an event in his own community that brought lenders and distressed homeowners together to assess the available options?

"They said, 'You'll never be able to do it,' " he said, recalling the cold reception he received. Some were skeptical that any banks would want to cooperate.

As Meek held fast, they offered to place a friendly wager on whether he could pull off the feat. It was only for a cup of coffee, but he took the challenge seriously.

"I've got some Scottish blood in me," he said wryly.

This Saturday, Meek is scheduled to host a loan modification and foreclosure counseling event at the Yerwood Center on the West Side.

Following an aggressive campaign of letter-writing, e-mailing and cold-calling, he has enlisted the participation of five mortgage lending institutions -- HSBC, People's United Bank, New Alliance Bank, Webster Bank and Freedom Mortgage. In addition to loan officers, there will be debt counselors from organizations such as the Housing Development Fund, Neighbor Works, the Urban League of Southern CT and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.

He has asked local community groups to help him spread the word among homeowners. During a recent visit to the Yerwood Center, his face brightened at the sight of his fliers on the front desk.

"My greatest fear is that no one will show up, or that 200 people show up," he said, after sizing up the center's gymnasium.

Although he said that he will be content if only one family attends, he has estimated that as many as 72 homeowners might be able to modify their loans on Saturday. He based the figure on the number of appointments loan officers could make during the entire span of the three-hour event.

Within the community, Meek has turned heads with his initiative. A Wall Street veteran with an unassuming demeanor, he has expressed no interest in activism or running for office, nor does he profess any previous experience as an organizer.

Joan Carty, president of the Housing Development Fund, said Meek's interest was not unusual. She said that in recent months the nonprofit bank has heard from several financial professionals wanting to volunteer their skills.

"I just think it's very exciting that someone who has a background in sophisticated financial markets is turning their attention and talents to a very immediate crisis," she said.

Eugene Campbell, executive director of the Yerwood Center, said that addressing the city's foreclosure crisis was critical to ensuring the survival of its evaporating middle-class.

"It's time to stop the bleeding," Campbell said. "It's an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and say, 'We want to make you stay here.' " He noted that because of his expertise, Meek may have been able to reach out to people and companies who otherwise "would not have answered the phone."

To help him set up and ensure the event runs smoothly, Meek has recruited many Wall Street cohorts. Ironically, many are the same people who initially doubted him, he said.

Scott Duffy, who was there the night Meek conceived the plan, said that all of them were stunned by how quickly became absorbed in the project and the amount of time he dedicated to it.

"He's done a tremendous job of shepherding this from the inception to what it's actually becoming," Duffy said.

On a recent afternoon, Meek met with Yerwood staff members to go over details. Together, they tried to anticipate every possible problem or wrong turn. Would there be enough tables? Would homeowners have ample privacy to talk with loan officers? Had he arranged for translators?

"The fun part is meeting people who are in the daily activity of making people's lives work," Meek said. "It's shed some light on how far people are willing to go and how much help there is. You don't have to wait for Washington to do everything."

He reflected on how the experience has changed him.

"It's opened my eyes to things," he said with a sense of wonder. "I truly believe this economic environment has made everyone a kinder, gentler person."