Helping Women Build Financial Resilience
1.10.2020
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LISC StoriesFinancial Stability
Margarita Huaracha became a CCNP Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) participant in April 2018 after a friend referred her to CCNP for services. Central City Neighborhood Partners (CCNP) is one of three LISC LA’s Financial Opportunity Centers.
When Margarita began meeting with her financial and career coaches, she had recently left her husband of 20 years and found herself financially, on her own, with two daughters. While her ex-husband did assist the family with some finances, it was not enough to cover all the family’s needs.
Margarita opted to apply for CalFresh and CalWorks benefits and was approved for assistance. Over the last few years, Margarita has been working with SMM Manufactory Inc. as a part-time consultant. While working with her career coach, Margarita identified her career goal of becoming a full-time permanent employee. In December 2018, she made a request to her employer and was able to become an employee working 25 hours a week and earning $14 per hour. Continuing toward her goal of full-time employment, Margarita advocated for herself again in March 2019, asking to have her schedule increased to seven to eight hours daily depending on the workload. Her self-advocacy paid off and her request was approved! As of June 2019, she had begun earning $15 per hour. This increased her income so that the family no longer qualifies for CalFresh and CalWorks.
The services helped me personally understand information I did not know. When I started here [CCNP FOC], I had many problems and many things that I did not understand. Gradually, I solved problems with the much-appreciated assistance I received.
Margarita has also been able to work on her finances and open a credit-builder loan for $950 through her bank. In addition, she recently spoke to her financial coach about why she was not going to take an Oportun loan to which her sister had referred her. Margarita was proud of her decision, as she understood what it meant and why she was making it. She went on to discuss this decision with her sister and offered to give her information about loans through her current bank. Margarita is now ready and excited to begin participating in the lending circle program through the financial tech platform, Esusu.
Esusu co-founders Abbey Wemimo and Samir Goel
Esusu is an online lending circle tool. A group of individuals can use the app to save and borrow together in the form of peer-to-peer banking. Group members contribute funds to the pool on a regular basis, and then take turns withdrawing funds from the pool.
Margarita’s daughter has also enrolled with CCNP’s FOC. Additionally, in September she was able to obtain a part-time (25-30 hours per week) job that earns her $14.25 per hour. She is also thinking about joining an Esusu group and learning to save toward a goal.
The LISC LA FOC program is made possible by supporters like Capital One.
