The Neighbourhood Assistance Corporation of America is doing something that should have been done a long time ago.

Beginning today, the nonprofit housing advocacy organisation will host a free five-day "Save the Dream of Homeownership" event in Washington, DC, where people can get immediate help restructuring their troubled mortgage loans.

Homeowners won't have to wait weeks for a callback from their loan servicers. They won't have to fret and fuss — and in some cases cuss — to get a mortgage servicing company to listen to their pleas to save their homes from foreclosure.

"We'll be able to provide real solutions," said Bruce Marks, NACA's chief executive.

More than 300 NACA counsellors, certified by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be on-site at the Capital Hilton Hotel to provide same-day affordable mortgage restructurings that may include reduced interest rates and/or reduced loan balances.

Marks said he expects more than 5,000 homeowners to attend, some of whom may drive eight hours or more from Ohio, Massachusetts and other Eastern states. The event is only open to people who own and occupy their homes.

NACA estimates that a counselling session will take about two hours. Appointments are encouraged but walk-ins will also be helped. For those with troubled mortgages who can't get to Washington, help is still available. Homeowners can call 1-888-302-6222 during this event to speak to a housing counsellor, although those sessions cannot provide an immediate restructuring solution. For more information about this event, go to www.naca.com.

To make the fast-track restructuring programme work, NACA has made agreements with major mortgage loan servicers, including Citigroup and Countrywide (now owned by Bank of America).

Here's what makes this event unprecedented.

If loan servicers refuse to work out a restructuring, the organisation is going to take the rejected homeowners to Capitol Hill and complain to their elected congressional representatives.

"Our frustration has been that some of these servicers have not done what we need them to do," Marks said.

I love this aggressive strategy. For months now, many financial institutions have claimed they are working hard to help homeowners stay in their homes. And yet the number of foreclosure filings keeps rising. Some reports have indicated that not enough people are being helped by the various mortgage workout plans endorsed by the Bush administration.

At this Save the Dream event, homeowners won't be refinancing their loans, Marks said. They won't be getting loan modifications that only temporarily fix their mortgage crisis. They won't be offered any adjustable rate mortgages. Instead, based on its own underwriting system, NACA will take homeowners through a series of four steps that includes a forensic-type examination of their budgets.

"We are going to be doing what should have been done on day one of when they got that mortgage," Marks said. "We are going back to the basics."

By documenting people's net income and expenses, such as food and utilities, housing counsellors will come up with an analysis of a participant's current financial situation and figure out the mortgage amount that homeowner can truly afford long-term.

Homeowners have to bring in pay stubs, bank statements and other financial information. Their credit reports will also be pulled for free to check for other liabilities.

Once all their information is verified, NACA will present restructuring packages, which may include drastically reduced fixed-rate mortgages, to loan servicers. And in some cases it could result in a reduced loan amount. All the rates under their programme are fixed for 30 years, Marks said.

Here are two examples of mortgage restructures that were approved by servicers working with NACA's Home Save programme:

— Joseph and Kathleen Renaud of Worcester, Massachusetts, were able to renegotiate their 11.875 percent loan with Countrywide to a fixed 5.25 percent. Monthly savings: $830.

— Melody Weathersby of Jackson, Mississippi, was able to restructure her 14.625 percent loan with GMAC Homecomings to a 6.75 percent fixed rate. Additionally she was able to cut her mortgage debt by $20,000. She's saving $300 a month.

In the cases where the loan amount is actually reduced, servicers may agree to write off the amount or attach it to the balance owed. But the money owed would only be repayable if the homeowner sells the home for a profit or does a cash-out refinance.

This process may be hard for some people. As a condition of getting a restructured loan package, participants have to agree to operate under a bare bones budget. That means eliminating unnecessary expenses. Some people may have to cut back on their cable TV or cell phones if such monthly expenses are deemed too high.

Some may be forced to downsize to a less expensive car or sell a second family vehicle.

"People are going to have to reduce their standard of living," Marks said. "There are going to be a lot of shared sacrifices."

I like what NACA is doing. If there is going to be a meaningful fix to the current housing crisis, there will need to be pressure like this put on financial institutions — and everyone is going to have to make a sacrifice.

Listen to Michelle Singletary discuss personal finance online at www.npr.org. Readers can write to her c/o The Washington Post, 1150 15th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20081. Her e-mail address is singletarym@washpost.com. Comments and questions are welcome, but due to the volume of mail, personal responses may not be possible. Please also note comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer's name, unless a specific request to do otherwise is indicated.