Back in 2009, when the economy was in shambles, President Obama came to Elkhart, Indiana -- just weeks into his first term.

I wrote him a letter after seeing him speak that day. I shared my frustration over average, everyday people struggling to feed their families, pay their bills, and keep a roof over their head.

For me, this was personal. I am the mother of two teenage boys, three step-children and one grandson, and like many Americans, I work very hard to take care of my family.

My husband and I, along with help from our family, built our own house in 2002. But in 2009, the recession hit Indiana hard. We struggled to keep up with our mortgage payments, and feared we'd lose our home.

After months of dealing with my mortgage lender, I was able to get my mortgage modified under the Home Affordable Mortgage Program that President Obama implemented to help homeowners like us.

Here we are in 2016, and I am happy to say we still live in our home. Our financial situation has improved, and our future is promising. Without this program, I would not be able to say that today.

Today, President Obama is back here in Elkhart, Indiana to highlight the stories of people like us and talk about the economic progress we've made together since 2009. I hope you get a chance to watch his speech at 3:25 pm ET.

As our community struggled to recover from the economic crisis, I watched around me as people's lives crumbled and their credit scores plummeted. It was a deeper problem than not being able to pay their bills that month -- it affected their credit and their futures.

I believe that this country is full of hardworking people who sometimes need a little lift to keep moving forward. That's why I'm proud of the steps President Obama took to help Americans across the country weather that storm -- and so thankful he helped our family keep our home.

And today in Elkhart, I'm looking forward to telling him just that. I hope you can tune in at 3:25 pm ET.

Thanks,

Kelly

Kelly Rizzo
South Bend, Indiana

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