FINANCIAL LITERACY RESOURCE CENTER

According to research conducted by the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Federal Reserve, and the National Endowment for Financial Education, only one quarter of Americans feel well informed about managing household finances. Among parents with children five or older, only 26% feel well prepared to teach their kids about basic personal finances. Many people in this country are lacking in their ability to read, analyze, manage, and communicate about the personal financial conditions that affect their material well-being.

Financial literacy empowers individuals to navigate the complex financial world, and assists families in entering the economic mainstream. Quality financial education assists individuals with their ability to “discern financial choices, discuss money and financial issues without (or despite) discomfort, plan for the future, and respond competently to life events that affect everyday financial decisions, including events in the general economy” (Lois Vitt, Project irector, et al, Personal Finance and the Rush to Competence: Financial Literacy in the U.S., A National Field Study Commissioned and Supported by the Fannie Mae Foundation, Institute for Socio-Financial Studies, Middleburg, VA, 2000).

Financial literacy is especially challenging for poor communities and communities of color. According to the 2001 US Census, some 12 million people do not participate in mainstream financial services (approximately 1/3 of those living under the poverty threshold), but rather, utilize fringe services like check cashing and similar services that charge higher fees and adversely affect low-income people’s economic status. Forty-three percent (43%) of adults at the lowest level of financial literacy live in poverty, compared to only 4% of those at the highest level of financial literacy.

The goal of the Emanuel CDC Financial Literacy Resource Center is to assist low-income individuals and families to acquire skills for managing personal finances. The Financial Literacy Resource Center accomplishes this by:
Sponsoring free financial management/literacy classes at easily accessible sites,
Providing free financial mentoring services. Volunteer financial professionals work one-on-one with clients for a three to six month period, assisting those clients with the development of individual financial action plans. An individual action plan may focus on credit restoration, debt consolidation, budgeting and savings goals, or other financial management concerns.
Providing free tax preparation assistance to assist low-income clients with accessing benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
Co-sponsoring free financial literacy libraries which provide educational materials and resources to help low-income people learn how to manage their finances.
 

COMMUNITY WELLNESS CHALLENGE
 

According to the most recently published needs assessment for New Brunswick, New Jersey (2001), the Middlesex County Public Health Department found that many national health promotion and disease prevention goals are not being met in the “health care city”. In particular, this municipality has failed to meet specific Healthy People 2010 goals to:

Increase healthy days of New Brunswick citizens to at least 87% of the time,
Have 30% of the population exercising,
Increase to at least 60% the prevalence of healthy weight in all people ages 20 and older, decrease obesity in adults to no more than 15% of people ages 20 and over, and
Have 75% of the population eat no more than 30% of their daily calories from fat.

The concern grows exponentially when considering these statistics in conjunction with racial distribution. African-American residents of New Brunswick constitute 24% of the population, and Latinos 41%. An examination by the Center for Health Statistics/NJDOH, found that a number of measures of health status and outcomes reveal “a dramatic disparity in these selected measures between racial groups in New Jersey”.

The risk of disease is clearly greater in minority communities such as these, many of which are poor (Healthy People 2010, Volume I, p. 12, United States Department of Health). It is imperative that this major segment of the population receive every opportunity to increase the well-being and health of its families. Such opportunities must be cost effective and affordable for all participants regardless of socioeconomic status.

The Emanuel CDC Community Wellness Challenge makes wellness education available to social service agencies, congregations and businesses. Through the ECDC Wellness Challenge teams from participating agencies and businesses compete against each other to see which is best able to meet behavioral indicators of increased wellness such as loss of excess weight, lowered cholesterol and blood pressure levels, and better management of diseases like diabetes. ECDC staff, working collaboratively with staff from the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Community Health Promotions Program and Healthier New Brunswick 2010, implement social support interventions in a community setting using strategies that have been proven to be successful.

Participants are introduced to a range of wellness topics including:

Developing a Healthy Lifestyle
Becoming More Physically Active
Choosing Healthy Fats
Choosing Healthy Carbohydrates
Achieving a Healthy Weight
Enhancing Mind-Body Connections
Coping with Stress
Healthy cooking
Nutrition

Classes are organized quarterly at nonprofit organizations that serve low-income communities. There is no cost to nonprofit organizations. Businesses, faith communities and special interest groups are charged a nominal fee.


COMMUNITY COUNSELING PROGRAM

Limited counseling services are provided for adults covering a broad range of psychological concerns including:

Depression
Anxiety
Adjustment issues
Stress and anger management
Relationship issues
Couples Counseling
Sexual identity
Recovery from trauma

Because ECDC cannot accept most insurance plans fees are based on a sliding scale system.

Our goal is to help clients gain insight into their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, and help them learn to modify those that are causing distress or interfering with their quality of life. 

©2006 Emanuel CDC All rights reserved.