Program gets stranded workers back on road
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By Dawn Feddersen | Monday, January 29, 2007 |
A year ago in the winter, Candy Moore’s car was barely making it. When it finally died, she didn’t know how she was going to be able to get to work every day, let alone get together with her family.
“I was having difficulty getting a loan through a bank. I had some credit problems, and I wasn’t able to get one,” Moore said.
For three cold months, Moore had to walk from her home in Colona, Ill., to her job in Moline.
Then a co-worker told her about Ways to Work.
Ways to Work is a national program offered locally through Bethany for Children and Families.
“We are a program that will offer low-interest rate loans to low-income working families so they’re able to stay employed and stay in school,” said Steve Braasch, Ways to Work family loan coordinator at Bethany.
The Ways to Work program provides up to $4,000 in low-interest financing to low-income families. Applicants must be employed or in school and be unable to acquire funding from traditional sources, such as a bank loan.
Braasch said a lack of reliable transportation can have a negative effect on many other aspects of family life.
“When you don’t have reliable transportation, you might have to take a lower-paying job or take employment just because it’s on the bus route. Day care can become an issue. All the things that we take for granted become more difficult. This struggle to find any kind of stability can be avoided if you have reliable transportation,” he said.
Moore got a loan through the program in June and was able to buy a Mercury Villager van.
“I tell you, it was just a lifesaver for me. I don’t have to worry about losing my job because I don’t have a way to get there,” she said.
She also got advice on how to repair her credit.
“At the beginning of the program, they go through a four-hour money management class,” Braasch said. They get education on basic budgeting. How to set a budget, how to set goals, how to modify their spending habits in order to live on that budget. We give them a copy of their credit report and if it’s inaccurate, we talk with them on how to work through those issues. We also help them contact creditors to set up a repayment plan.”
Moore was able to repair her credit, pay off her debts and work on becoming a home owner.
“They taught me the basic things I needed to know. Things nobody had told me before. If I’d learned these things when I was 20, I wouldn’t have had some of these problems. And now I’m able to pass on that information to my children,” she said.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
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