A year ago, Don Johnson was having some financial troubles. He decided to take a budgeting class from REACH Community Development. After completing the class, REACH referred Don to Innovative Changes for an Opportunity Loan to settle some past debts that had been bogging him down. While paying off debts, Don chose to have his Innovative Changes loan reported to the credit bureaus so that he was simultaneously building new, positive credit. This fresh financial start gave Don the ability to begin planning for the future, which he's been doing for the past year by using skills he learned from the workshop and developing new ones. Now, every three months he makes it a habit to draw up a new budget to ensure that it realistically depicts his lifestyle.

In addition to budgeting tools, Don also started exploring the world of online banking that his veteran's bank provided to see how it could help him manage his money. Don had been reluctant to use these features in the past, preferring the more traditional "pen and paper", but now finds them very useful. He advises everyone to "use the tools you have available to you" and to "communicate with your bank." He thinks that banking works best when the bank knows your situation and you know all that the bank has to offer. "Banks have gotten friendlier," says Don, so if you have a question or don't understand something, "ask!" Communication allowed Don to develop a good working relationship with his bank.  Don's bank helped him set up a direct deposit to his checking account and more recently, Don opened an IRA account. He also has set the goal of saving $20 a month for emergency funds. 

Partner Highlight: Home Forward
 

We just finished two series of classes at Home Forward's Humbolt Gardens location. Intrigued by the name change and pumped from the classes, we checked in with Home Forward staff, Nikki Blackburn for the inside scoop.

What is your role at Home Forward and what drew you to this work? 

I am the Resident and Community Services Coordinator for the Opportunity Housing Initiative Program (OHI) at our Humboldt Gardens site.  I have been with Home Forward for 24 years, 7 years doing resident service coordination. What drew me to the work in regards to OHI and self sufficiency is that the people that we serve are REAL PEOPLE with real needs and barriers that they feel are insurmountable and often feel hopeless. I recognized that families need to know that they don't have to settle for a life time of poverty. They can, with encouragement and support, set goals to work themselves off of all assistance and be completely self reliant.

What was the reason for the name change?

We've outgrown the Housing Authority of Portland as a name.  It's no longer geographically accurate, nor does it accurately reflect our mission, which is to provide stability and opportunity through housing.  Our new name and identity symbolize the goals HAP has always championed - shelter and support for those in need. The name itself communicates that homes enable our residents to move forward in life and also suggests our commitment to forward-thinking policies and programs to support that goal. 

Financial Education Galore! 

See below for our packed schedule of financial education, including our first series of Financial Household Resiliency workshops in Spanish!

Predatory Lending Seminar

July 19th, 5:30-6:30pm

Our very own Program Director, Sarah Chenven, will lead an enlightening seminar on predatory lending: How does it work?, What are the attractions?What's legal? And, what are all these fees that draw people into a never-ending cycle of debt? What are alternatives to the reckless lending system? 

*These seminars are part of our ongoing monthly seminar series covering special topics of interest to our clients. For more information about our seminar visit our website here.

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We also will be hosting our own Summer Financial Household Resiliency series in English and Spanish, open to everyone. Here is the schedule:

Financial Household Resiliency Workshops: 

Day 1: Saturday, July 23   

Part 1: Making Ends Meet, 10am-12pm

Part 2: Budgeting and Saving, 12:30pm-2:30pm                  Day 2: Saturday, July 30 

Part 3: Hands-On Banking, 10am-12pm   

Part 4: Building, Repairing and Protecting Credit, 12:30pm-2:30pm 

Our classes and seminars will be held at our new location:  

3^rd Floor of the Lloyd Center Mall (near Nordstroms), 2201 Lloyd Center, Portland

To Register: call or email Talia at (503)-943-5620/talia@innovativechanges.org.

The classes and seminars are $10 each or $30 for all four classes. Fee waivers are available for those who qualify.

 Financial Household Resiliency Workshops in Spanish!

*Every Thursday from July 21st to August 11th from 4pm-6pm. 

These classes will be held at Hacienda's Community Center Salon Comunal 6856 NE Killingsworth, Portland, OR 97218.

Please contact Norma to register or for more information:

(503) 737-7672 or nmarin@haciendacdc.org