A bankruptcy credit counseling session
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Damian says it hurts to see a client with good credit end up in a situation where he or she wasn't the one who created the bad debt and wasn't aware of the options.

But this lack of knowledge is common.

"Most clients are four, five, six months behind on their mortgages," Damian says. "But they didn't contact a lender to see if a payment plan can be done. You see consumers who aren't financially well-educated and have a lack of money management. It hurts."

Nearly 200 miles away in Orlando, Fla., on a Thursday morning, Yazmina Bayla takes a break in an enclosed office at the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Florida. She has just concluded a bankruptcy credit counseling session with a client. She explains that the clients' income was reduced by half and the spouse was not working. The client was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and wanted legal advice, which she told the client she could not give.

"It does affect me emotionally; I sometimes get attached," says Bayla. "Basically I feel sad, wishing I could do more to help them than just the counseling."

Bayla claims that her clients often get into a chain reaction of events that leads them to bankruptcy.

"For example," she says, "I had a situation where a client's son got cancer and their home should have been appraised for $2 million and they learned a road was being built by the house. The road depreciated the value of the house. No one wanted to buy the house because of the road. They were depending on the sale of the house to pay off the medical debts and unsecured debts. They depleted all of their savings. That's a situation where you're like, 'Wow, how can I help them?'"

What she can do is go over the client's assets, liabilities and budget.

"Some people don't realize how much they spend unless they sit down and go over it with someone."

She says most people are embarrassed and afraid to ask for help.

"A lot of people see bankruptcy as a bad thing. At first they are scared. I do have emotional clients."

Bayla listens to her clients and lets them talk about their situation.

"That makes them feel comfortable. Some people that cry are thankful that they have someone that listens to them. We let them know that they are not alone. They tell me, 'This is pretty good. I'm leaving with information I didn't know.' So, maybe they think they're dealing with the IRS or something."

Bayla counsels her clients in person and over the phone, sometimes in Spanish.

"Thirty percent of my clients are Hispanic."