Interviews last about 30 minutes, and focus primarily on the client's financial situation and need for a loan.

"We try to assess if our loan can actually help this person," says Richard C. Worf '03, the chair of the client loans committee. "We don't want to burden them with a loan that we don't think can help them."

After learning about a client's case, the HOP interviewer then becomes an advocate for that individual, with the responsibility of supporting the claim at HOP's weekly meeting, held every Thursday at 5 p.m. At the meeting, group members debate the merits of each case and decide, by consensus, whether or not to offer the client a loan.

"It's the job of the person who does the interview to make a case for the interviewee," Worf says. "It's very rarely clear-cut--there are some tough decisions that have to be made."

If the group decides to offer a client a loan, the individual must again travel to PBH, to sign a contract specifying the terms of repayment.

After the contract signing, HOP will mail a check for $400 directly to the client's landlord.

Worf says HOP conducts about two interviews per week, and currently has about 20 active loans, most from last semester.