LISC CEO Michael Rubinger joined Michele Sullivan, the president of the Caterpillar Foundation, to celebrate the opening of Peoria’s first Financial Opportunity Center (FOC). In Peoria and at more than 70 other sites nationwide, LISC's network of FOCs use proven tools to help low-income families manage their finances, find better jobs, build credit and improve their net worth.
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"Peoria financial center aims to help break cycle of poverty"
by Laura Nightengale, Peoria Journal Star
"LISC and METEC working to improve household wealth"
by Denisa Molina, Peoria Public Radio
Peoria financial center aims to help break cycle of poverty
PEORIA — Community leaders announced Tuesday the launch of Peoria’s first Financial Opportunity Center, championed by a national neighborhood initiative organization.
METEC, a not-for-profit housing resource center at 2605 W. Krause Ave., received $125,000 from the Local Initiatives Support Corp. to enhance efforts of bundling housing resources, financial education and job placement for a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycles of poverty.
“The beauty about it is, it doesn’t change what we’re doing. We were already helping people get jobs,” METEC Executive Director Cheryll Boswell said. “People were coming to us to help them keep their mortgage, but you can’t get your mortgage if you don’t have a job, so that’s what spurred that.”
For the soft launch in July, METEC hired one new full-time position and made one part-time staff member a full-time employee to run the FOC, with the possibility of hiring another with LISC funds, which were provided primarily by State Farm.
LISC Peoria designated METEC as its partner to create the first FOC in Peoria and the second in downstate Illinois. The program evolved out of four centers in Chicago to include 71 FOCs in 30 cities. Continued[+]...
LISC and METEC working to improve household wealth
A new partnership in Peoria will help low-income individuals and families improve their household wealth. The Local Initiatives Support Corporation, or LISC and METEC Tuesday officially opened the first Financial Opportunity Center in the city.
The Center is part of a nation-wide effort by LISC to help individuals find gainful employment and improve their financial future. Continued[+]...