The state is offering temporary mortgage payment assistance through HomeSafe Georgia.

HomeSafe Georgia is a federally funded program designed to assist homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage due to reduced income from involuntary unemployment, underemployment, or loss in income from self-employment.

Since HomeSafe Georgia began in April 2011, more than 2,000 Georgians have received assistance to help them make their mortgage payments until they find work. 

Eligible homeowners approved for the program will close on a no-interest loan. After the assistance period, the loan will be reduced at a rate of 20 percent per year for five years.

Georgia received $340 million for the program as part of the U.S. Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund, which targeted states with high rates of unemployment and foreclosure.

HomeSafe Georgia's goal is to help more than 18,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure by the end of 2014. For more information about this program, visit www.HomeSafeGeorgia.com.