The coaches on The Biggest Loser might help people burn fat and shed pounds. I do something similar, only I help them shave off unnecessary, unhealthy debt.
This year, I’ve coached 234 women through the rough work of shaving off a total of $115,050 in debt through my work at the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, Inc. (MHCDO), which is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation’s Stepping Stones initiative.
Stepping Stones brings together nonprofits–like MHCDO–with other organizations throughout our region to work collaboratively to build the economic security and financial independence of low-income, single mothers.
While providing job training is a huge part of this work, this has to be coupled with financial literacy to really be effective, so that women can learn how to manage the basics of bank accounts, budgeting, saving and all the pitfalls and benefits of credit.
A big part of that journey is often getting rid of debt and the limits it places on your life, opportunities and goals.
This isn’t easy work. Just like losing weight, it requires sacrifice, changing habits and a lot of hard work. I help by providing the tools our clients need. I provide the playbook and call the plays, but in the end, our clients are truly awesome, and they’re the ones who get the job done.
One client who did an amazing job with this work is Tracey Turner. Her story of going from falling behind in rent to becoming a workforce development specialist working out of MCHDO’s office is on page 13 of The Women’s Foundation’s annual report. As she tells her clients now, "I know what it’s like to be in the other chair. I know about the sleepless nights. I know about the emotional breakdowns. I know what it’s like to go without a meal so your children have something to eat.”
She knows about the burden of carrying around excess debt.
Now a coach in her own right, she works with me at MHCDO and knows the struggles, challenges and the power of transformation that emerge when women like her do the hard work of changing the game in their own lives!
One client who embodies this change is a single parent divorcee that had accumulated excessive debt with her was-band (my slang term for former husband). They had agreed as part of the divorce settlement that he would be responsible for a car repossession repayment of $8,250.
Needless to say, that repayment never occurred.
Through the credit and financial education offered by MHCDO through Stepping Stones, she found this debt showing up on her credit report. She couldn’t locate the copy of the courthouse document confirming the agreement so I advised her to obtain another copy.
That certified copy was then forwarded to the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit bureaus to update her credit report to show that the ex was totally responsible for the debt. Their responses in writing permanently removed the $8,250 delinquency from her credit file, thus allowing her to continue with her mortgage pre-qualification. I asked her to keep me informed with the process so we can celebrate.
Another example is a Stepping Stones participant–a single parent divorcee–whose credit report showed a $6,800 car repossession because she had co-signed a loan for her brother who didn’t hold up his end of the bargain. This debt just recently appeared. Had her brother been honest with her, she would have known sooner and she could have made a more conscious decision that would not have become a detriment to her credit.
She lives at Mayfair Mansions, a joint partnership with MHCDO and other investors to help preserve affordable housing east of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8 by converting targeted apartment buildings in this historic development into affordable condos and giving first rights of refusal to current qualified residents.
She felt it was hard enough having to juggle bills before becoming a Stepping Stones participant, and now she had to deal with this new burden of debt. Under our advice, she got her brother to sign a notarized statement that he was solely responsible for the car payment, forwarded a payoff letter from the collection agency showing this and sent copies of it to all three credit bureaus. This cleared the debt from her credit, and enabled her to successfully secure a credit union loan for the full amount to buy into her condo–a tremendous leap in financial security!
These were just samplings of the 234 Stepping Stones participants that have been able to successfully reduce debt and improve their financial situation. Most of them are still working on reducing their household debt and continuing to effectively manage their budgets to be able to make intelligent financial decisions in the future, thus developing self-sufficiency and goals towards wealth-building.
To become part of the power of giving together and to support the hard work of nonprofits like MHCDO and low-income, single mothers working to gain financial literacy, shed debt and become homeowners, join us! We’re changing women’s lives, and our community, together.
Coach Geoffrey Tate is a certified credit counselor with Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, Inc., a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.
