Workshops Offer Low Income Californians Lessons on Accessing Credit
STOCKTON, Calif. -- After 30 years as a customer with Union Bank, Stockton resident Emma Smith was surprised to learn she did not qualify for a small loan to pay for a dental surgery because she had no credit.
“I am a practical person,” she says, pulling out a picture of her daughter from the inside flap of her hard plastic organizer. “I like to live within my means.”
Smith shared her story at a March 8 roundtable in Stockton co-hosted by the non-profit Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) and organized by New America Media.
“Anyone would assume because you had this relationship with your bank for 30 years that that was going to be meaningful to them, and it wasn’t meaningful enough,” said Meave Elise Brown, executive director of Oakland-based HERA, whose group has been working to help people like Smith understand what their options are when it comes to getting credit.
http://newamericamedia.org/2016/03/workshops-offer-low-income-californians-lessons-on-accessing-credit.php
