b"RCAC provides technical assistance, training, and financial support to housing counseling agencies that serve rural communities throughout its service area. Homeownership counselors advise consumers who are buying or renting a home, are homeless, seeking reverse mortgages, have credit issues or risk default or foreclosure. RCAC is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-ap-proved national intermediary. In fiscal year 2019 alone, RCAC's HUD housing counseling trainings resulted in nearly 10,000 contact hours for 600 plus participants. Of those, 330 were rural counselors and more than 475 partici-pants provide counseling for underserved areas. Since the 2008 housing crisis, when homeowners faced the very real threat of losing their homes to foreclosure, RCAC has partnered with the Califor-nia Housing Finance Agency to secure more than $21.5 million to fund 30 housing counseling agencies. As a result, agency staff provided counseling to nearly 100,000 homeowners.RCACs Housing Counseling program builds the capacity of established and emerging housing counseling agencies, including Tribal-based orga-nizations. Our experience with the 2008 crisis means we are equipped and ready to provide expertise as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds and another crisis looms. Many of those who are now unemployed as a result of the virus will vitally need our housing counseling services once again."