The number of the religious and community groups pushing lenders to renegotiate troubled loans so homeowners can avoid foreclosure is growing. PICO National Network , based in Oakland, California, says it is working with hundreds of families in California facing foreclosure and plans to help as many as a million homeowners avoid foreclosure nationwide.

PICO will join over 500 clergy and community leaders from around the country to meet with representatives from Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp in a bid to stem the nationwide wave of foreclosures. Many non-profit groups are joining forces as the housing market continues to crash and foreclosures rise around the country.