According to a recently published AARP poll, African American and Latino seniors are each nearly two times more likely to be facing foreclosure compared to their white counterparts.

The poll found that 1.5 million seniors have lost their homes and another 3.5 million people over the age of 50 are struggling with or are behind on their mortgages. The issue is most critical among homeowners who are older than 75. In that group, one in thirty homeowners in that age group are facing foreclosure.

Previous research has shown that Black women and seniors are particularly at-risk, as the rate of homeownership is highest among these two groups in the African-American community. Subprime lending to African American and Latino borrowers is mainly focused on refinance loans. As a result, borrowers who have owned their homes for years or even generations have experienced expensive refinance loans that led to massive debt and eventual foreclosure.