Transcript Seattle Financial Empowerment Center

Seattle Financial Empowerment Center
City of Seattle
What is a Financial Empowerment Center (FEC)?
A FEC is a program that provides FREE high-quality professional oneon-one financial education, counseling, and coaching to help people
improve their financial stability and achieve their financial goals.
What is a Financial Empowerment Center?
The Financial Empowerment Center will help people to:
• Establish credit or improve their credit scores
• Reduce and manage their debt
• Manage their money, open and maintain affordable mainstream
bank accounts
• Save money to use in an emergency or for a goal (education, car,
housing, retirement, etc.)
The FEC will help connect clients with other services including tax
preparation, enrollment into health insurance, legal advice for
financial problems, housing, and foreclosures.
Who can receive free services at FEC sites?
Anyone living in Seattle and throughout King County and our region
who wants to improve her/his financial situation is welcome to receive
high quality personalized financial counseling at any FEC site. There is
no income or other eligibility criteria.
We especially want to encourage client referrals from housing,
homeless-serving, employment and training, education, family centers,
immigrant and refugee, citizenship, domestic violence, public health,
and other human and social services programs.
Were are the FEC sites?
Centerstone
722 18th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98122
Lee House at New Holly
7315 39th Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98118
YWCA Opportunity
Place
2024 3rd Ave.
Seattle, WA 98121
NSCC
9600 College Way N.
Seattle, WA 98103
Wiley Center at Greenbridge
9800 8th Ave. S.W.
Seattle, WA 98106
Solid Ground
1501 N. 45th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
Rainier Vista
4431 Martin
Luther King Jr.
Way S. Seattle,
WA 98108
How to make an appointment to see a FEC
counselor?
Go to: http://nhwa.fullslate.com/
I want to refer someone to the FEC
Who is sponsoring the FEC?
The FEC is brought to you by the City of Seattle with primary
funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The City
has contracted with Neighborhood House to implement and
operate the FEC sites. Neighborhood House was selected in
a competitive process and has embraced the opportunity to
help people achieve their financial goals.
The Financial Empowerment Network / Seattle & King
County (formerly the Seattle-King County Asset Building
Collaborative) has partnered with the City and Neighborhood
House to support the work of Seattle's FECs. Many nonprofit
partners are hosting FEC satellite sites, making referrals, and
providing additional services to FEC clients.
How do I know that FEC services will
help people?
The City of Seattle, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation,
and Neighborhood House are replicating the FEC model
that New York City has operated since 2008. Five additional
cities established FECs at the end of 2012. The FECs have
helped thousands of people to reduce their debt, improve
their credit, open and maintain safe, affordable bank
accounts, and save for the future.
How do I know that the financial counseling and
coaching I receive is professional and high quality?
• All FEC counselors must take and pass a rigorous course
before they can work with clients.
• City University of New York (CUNY) and the New York
City Department of Consumer Affairs/Office of Financial
Empowerment first developed and offered this course.
•
We worked with North Seattle Community College to
adapt the course for Washington State. In addition, FEC
counselors take advantage of ongoing technical
assistance and training to help their clients achieve their
financial goals.
Why are FEC services important?
• Poor credit and too much debt can hurt people in many ways
including hurting their chances to get a good job or to rent or
buy an apartment or home.
• Having a safe, affordable bank account is the entry point to
other mainstream financial services. Having money in savings
is important because without it, any emergency (such as a car
breaking down) can lead to financial ruin. Also, savings are
important to achieve financial goals (such as for education,
buying a car, obtaining housing, retirement, etc.).
• Financial insecurity is an underlying condition of many clients
participating in social services programs. We believe that FEC
services will not only help people to achieve financial
empowerment outcomes, but will also help them to do better
in the program that referred them to the FEC.
Contact the Financial Empowerment Center
Email: [email protected]
or
Phone: (206) 923-6555