Save the Dream (Of Home Ownership)

I spoke to someone recently about their problems paying their mortgage due to medical bills.  However, the likelihood of them being approved for a short-sale is slim, since the both are working at the same jobs they had when the applied for the mortgage and they are not planning to move out of the area.  To complicate matters, if they lost their home through foreclosure they would have to find a rental in the area, which is very difficult here, and rents are extremely high and there's no real benefit for them that way (to save the mortgage money to pay the medical bills).  Enter programs such as Save the Dream, HARP, and HOPE NOW.  I felt good being able to give them some reasonable suggestions to explore for some relief.  I'm interested to hear how it goes for them.