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MILWAUKEE - Stopping the foreclosure mess: Monday night, lenders are meeting with people in Milwaukee to try and save their homes before it's too late. There was a steady stream of people at the Hilton Milwaukee River Hotel since early Monday afternoon. Foreclosures are a growing problem in Milwaukee. This year alone over 1,600 people had their homes foreclosed on. “It's a hard, hard battle. I have been fighting it for a while,” Monique Ray said. Ray is in a desperate fight to save her home. “I think owning your home is one of the most important things you can do, or you can have,” Ray said. Her annual interest rate is 11percent. Her mortgage jumped from $700 to more than $1,600 a month. “I am a diabetic and I have been sick with stress worrying about bills and how I am going to pay my mortgage,” Ray said. Ray is not alone. Hundreds of homeowners in foreclosure danger met with mortgage counselors and bankers hoping to convince them to lower their interest rates. The national housing crisis is hitting close to home and now Milwaukee homeowners are feeling the squeeze. Housing advocates say this year alone foreclosure in Milwaukee increased by 37 percent. The experts say the situation is going from bad to worse. Just ask steel worker Dennis Timlin. He makes good money but he spends every dime he makes on his bad mortgage and 12 percent interest rate. He is looking for any help he can get. “I am in trouble,” Timlin said.