Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, at a news conference yesterday, announces that national and local efforts are under way to help city residents and all Rhode Islanders avoid foreclosure on their homes.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

PROVIDENCE — U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline yesterday praised state housing officials for opening a new “Housing Help Center” in an effort to assist homeowners who cannot pay their mortgages.

The center, scheduled to open Nov. 13 next door to Rhode Island Housing, at 44 Washington St., will be staffed by eight housing counselors who will provide guidance and, in some cases, loan assistance to homeowners who are delinquent or facing foreclosure. The center will be financed with a $165,000 grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“I am pleased to see that Rhode Island Housing is taking the lead in helping to educate the public on ways to avoid future foreclosures and getting answers to consumers with financial concerns,” Kennedy said at a news conference at the DaVinci Center, a nonprofit community center in Providence’s North End.

Cicilline quoted data gathered by Rhode Island Housing and the Boston-based research firm, The Warren Group, which show that about “4 in 10” of the 1,350 houses listed for foreclosure in the state during a 12-month period that ended July 31 are in Providence.

The new Help Center, Cicilline said, will provide Providence residents with “a place to go for professional advice” about foreclosure prevention or assistance to those in danger of losing their houses.

“Providence is still a thriving city [and] the overall demand for housing is very high,” Cicilline said. The Help Center and other efforts to assist homeowners are designed “to ensure the progress we’ve made continues.”

Counselors at the Help Center will also screen borrowers who may be eligible for “home saver loans” to be given later this year. The loans will allow eligible owners to refinance up to 100 percent of their houses’ value at more favorable terms than what is available through private-sector lenders, according to Rhode Island Housing’s executive director, Richard Godfrey.

The loans will be for up to $374,000 for single-family houses and condos, and up to $400,000 for two-family houses, Godfrey said. The agency will also offer secondary loans for up to 10 percent of a house’s value to cover closing costs. To be eligible to apply, borrowers must live in the houses they own and meet the federal government’s definition of low to moderate income. The eligibility criteria will probably exclude homeowners who have significant debt beyond their mortgages, he said, or whose current mortgages exceed the value of their houses.

The majority of people seeking the agency’s help are not expected to qualify for the home saver loans, which Godfrey estimated will be offered to “one in ten” owners.

Godfrey urged homeowners who are having trouble paying their mortgages to seek help early in the process. “Get good, independent advice,” he said, “and I stress independent.” Godfrey cautioned homeowners to beware of scams, saying the signs offering help that are stapled to telephone polls will “only get you in more trouble.”

When the Help Center opens Nov. 13, there will be a phone number that homeowners can call to speak with a counselor, said Rhode Island Housing spokeswoman, Jo-Ann Ryan. Until then, homeowners should call the main number at Rhode Island Housing: (401) 457-1234. The line is staffed form 8:30 a.m. to until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

larditi@projo.com