Ebony’s Story
Ebony was introduced to Hired through our collaboration with the Northside Achievement Zone. As a homeowner and single mother, Ebony has a lot on her plate. After many years in public housing, she finally found employment that pushed her income above the threshold to qualify for assistance. Faced with needing to find new safe and affordable (and hopefully long-term) housing for her family, she found a homeownership program that was paired with a 2-year financial literacy course aimed at improving her credit score. A successful increase in her credit score would allow her to buy the home with her own mortgage, and this was a goal she was working toward.
Things were beginning to look up for her, when Ebony was hit with very difficult challenges. She was 7 months pregnant, when her eldest son, on the way to his first job, was severely injured in community violence. Ebony was forced to take unpaid time off work, started getting behind on her mortgage, and was unable to meet the credit score goal. She was told she must vacate her home by the end of December.
Ebony had some unexpected circumstances that allowed her to avoid the foreclosure, raise her credit score, and sell the home, saving her investment and preserving her financial future.
When Ebony thinks about her journey of coming from public assistance to the homeownership journey, she says she felt like she just did not know anything about this world.
The reality of using financial literacy knowledge was challenging without consistent support. Ebony turned to credit cards to pay for daily needs for her family, and her financial goals moved further way. When she met Ge, one of Hired’s financial wellness coaches, he helped her reset her financial goals. He helped her set up with a liveable budget, and savings goal. He then enrolled her in Hired's matched savings program. With much of her financial stress alleviated, Ebony has noticed a change in her overall health as well.
She feels that Hired’s support has finally helped her to start saving for the first time. Moreover, she says that Hired genuinely listens to her and has made her feel like they want to see her succeed.
““When you have nobody else there to support you, and somebody that is a complete stranger can provide that to you… It is a game changer and a lifesaver.” ”
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