Since losing his job in February, Scott Renfer from Jackson is now seven months behind on his mortgage and his unemployment benefits are soon running out.

"It wasn't enough to meet your mortgage payments with your monthly utilities and your other costs," says Renfer.

Renfer had a sliver of hope when Michigan launched its Hardest Hit Fund on Monday. To qualify, borrowers must contact their lenders first. The program has a budget of nearly $155 million in federal funds. With that, the state hopes to help 17,000 unemployed, underwater homeowners -- or until funds run dry.

"I thought i was a shoe in," says Renfer.

That is -- until Renfer found out his lender was not participating in the program. And he isn't alone.

As of Tuesday, only a short list of mortgage service providers were signed up. But Mary Townley from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority says that list is growing everyday.

"The lenders are in the process of filling out an application and getting it to us," Townley says.

The state housing authority tells us it can't force lenders to participate in the program. It's strictly a volunteer basis. So they encourage homeowners to call their lenders and urge them to join.

"Things will turn around eventually," Renfer says.

Without help, renfer is in danger of foreclosure. But he's planning on calling his lender again and hoping they provide a much-needed lifeline.

The State Housing Authority saw an unprecedented 30,000 calls in 2 hours when they opened phone lines yesterday for Michigan's Hardest Hit Fund. The high volume of calls caused their phone system to crash. Since then, they've increased their call staff. Officials say Tuesday's wait time was less than 5 minutes.

To find an updated list on participating lenders, visit www.michigan.gov/hardesthit