Washington ? Can’t afford your mortgage payment? If the bank won’t take your call, your member of Congress just might.

Several lawmakers whose districts are drowning in foreclosures are taking unprecedented steps to help people stay in their homes, including picking up the phone themselves to negotiate with banks on behalf of their constituents.

The pain of being put on hold for an eternity can be an educating experience for a member of Congress.

As a body, Congress has failed to come up with a broad fix for the foreclosure crisis. So some lawmakers are helping homeowners one at a time and seeking creative ways to make a difference in their districts.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat whose Baltimore district has been walloped by unemployment, arranged for 19 banks to set up shop at Morgan State University today to work with homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages.

Cummings is asking people to come to his anti-foreclosure fair with recent pay stubs, tax returns, their monthly budget and any late notices or foreclosure threats they’ve received by their banks. He predicted 500 people would show up.