At 9 a.m. today, the Greater Cincinnati Mortgage Counseling Service on Reading Road will open its doors to dozens of low-income apartment dwellers who may soon be forced to find another place to live.

        More than 600 families from the Huntington Meadows apartment complex in Bond Hill have been told they may have to leave their homes because of unhealthy living conditions, including raw sewage in basements, dangerous mold and asbestos.

        A U.S. magistrate judge will decide Friday if the 65-acre complex of low-income apartments and townhouses should be closed because it's a health threat, which would require the city of Cincinnati to provide financial assistance to displaced residents.

        But regardless of the judge's decision, the property is expected to be sold at foreclosure later this year or in early 2003 because the company that runs the complex — Maryland-based Habitat America — says it's running out of cash.

        That means Huntington Meadows residents are running out of time.

        The operators of the nonprofit mortgage counseling service at 7710 Reading Road want to make sure those residents get the help they need leasing another apartment or even buying a home.

        “This is the first time we've had a situation where a whole complex has been shut down,” said Mary Crawford, a spokeswoman for the Roselawn-based counseling service.

        “At this point, some people don't know what to do or where to turn. We felt that someone needed to step up and at least see what they could do to help.”

        Housing counselors, mortgage lenders and even employers — including Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Provident Bank and Wells Fargo — will be present to help soon-to-be displaced residents get financial help, find better jobs, even buy a house.

        “Everybody may not be ready for home ownership, but some might be surprised to learn that they are,” Ms. Crawford said. “We just want people to know what their options are.”

        Ms. Crawford said the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the nonprofit Housing Opportunities Made Equal also have promised to help.

        Both organizations can offer grants of up to $2,500 in down payment assistance to Huntington Meadows residents.

        Ms. Crawford said a down payment is all many Huntington Meadows residents would need to relocate.

        “Everybody thinks people over there are in Section 8 or reduced rate housing,” she said. “But a lot of those people over there are paying market rates of up to $500 a month.”

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