Building Bridges to Financial Security for Low-Income Families

For many Americans, 家不仅仅是一个居住和养育家庭的地方——它也是一种建立和传递财富的方式. However, for families receiving federal housing assistance to pay their rent, building financial security can be a struggle, even when they are able to consistently stay ahead of their bills. A partnership between Compass Working Capital, the Boston Housing Authority, 澳博官方网站app旨在解决这个问题，帮助家庭用他们的租金来建立资产和金融稳定.

这一伙伴关系的基石是家庭自给自足(FSS)计划, 由住房和城市发展部(HUD)监管. Compass的FSS项目模式为家庭(主要由黑人和/或西班牙裔妇女领导)提供一对一的财务指导. Additionally, each household is set up with an escrow account managed by BHA, 在增加收入的同时，什么能帮助他们积累财富，实现财务目标, paying off debt, and improving their credit scores.

By building up their escrow accounts during the program, 参加FSS的人同时设定了财务目标，并积累了实现这些目标所需的储蓄. As their rent goes up, 每个登记者的联邦住房援助的一部分是由BHA储蓄. Families leave the program after five years with an average of $8,100 in savings, 一笔储备金可以帮助他们积累资产，并找到摆脱贫困的桥梁.

“FSS允许家庭通过他们本来就在做的事情来积累储蓄, and that's paying rent," says Markita Morris-Louis, CEO of Compass Working Capital. “我们认为这是一种前瞻性的投资方式，可以帮助家庭摆脱贫困, and as a preventative measure for when they face a crisis."

Caught in a Pinch

Federally, HUD requires 保障性住房的低收入家庭要把家庭收入的30%左右用于房租. 参与者可能会发现，这种租金规模似乎是改善他们财务状况的障碍, given that, as they earn more money, their rents also climb, potentially eating up gains from new income. Meanwhile, their higher wages can mean that they lose other benefits, like assistance with food or childcare.

参加FSS计划的人不会因为房租上涨而被他们的加薪所吞噬. 这些额外的钱进入储蓄账户，可以累积数年，这些钱可以让他们走上改善财务状况的道路. 莫里斯-路易斯说:“这确实是将人们与贫困拉开距离的资产。. "Income is important, 但我们相信，资产才是衡量一个家庭或一个家庭的真正标准, or a community's—financial stability."

Getting Larger Through Partnership

Compass launched its first FSS program in Boston in 2014, leveraging HUD funding, along with support from some local philanthropies. According to Compass, 在接下来的四年里，这个项目为242个家庭提供了服务——远远超出了预期. Although small and hyper-local, Compass的FSS模式脱颖而出，因为它以用户为中心，将一对一的支持与数字平台相结合，显示出扩展的潜力. 它还受益于Abt Associates进行的一项强有力的影响评估, a trusted, independent third-party evaluator, 这显示了项目参与者的财务健康状况.

“这是一个小型的本地项目，它已经有了真正有影响力的指标，并得到了外部评估者的验证," says Miriam Freeman, Vice President of Financial Health, Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase. “That really piqued our interest."

JPMorgan Chase provided Compass with philanthropic support in 2018, key aid that positioned Compass to begin a partnership with the BHA. 在过去的五年里，这对波士顿的项目起到了推动作用, Compass says, it has been able to serve 1,886 households in the Boston area, with enrollees collectively accumulating $3.8 million in savings in FSS escrow accounts.

Reconsidering Assumptions

与惩罚贫困不同，FSS计划旨在增强低收入人群的能力.

“A lot of the policies that exist are based on unstated assumptions, for example, the ability of people living on a low-income to save," says Freeman. “拥有一个对财务结果有明显影响的项目有助于反驳这种说法，并且可以极大地帮助改变现状。."

Compass' numbers speak for themselves: After just a year in the program, the nonprofit reports, 73 percent of participants are employed, with 27 percent reporting a spike in their income (on average, $20,561). Compass声称，65%的参保人的信用评分都提高了(平均39分)。, 80%的参与者已经减少或没有债务催收(债务平均减少2美元),865). Finally, Compass报告称，37%的参与者平均积累了2美元,085 in savings in their FSS escrow accounts.

Building a Future

澳博官方网站app(JPMorgan Chase)与Compass之间的合作还包括对技术创新的支持. “由于慈善事业，特别是澳博官方网站app，我们已经能够建立不同的工具来帮助使该计划更有效," Morris-Louis says.

It used to take months for residents to enroll in FSS. The process was paper-based and time-intensive, and residents used to have to take off work, get a babysitter, find transportation, and/or wait in line to enroll. Because of technological innovations enabled by JPMorgan Chase's support, 95 percent of families now enroll online.

“It's been a gamechanger for us. 它帮助我们能够在远程工作环境中提供服务，”莫里斯-路易斯说. "We know that this remote environment is going to be around for a while. 随着我们向新市场扩张，它使我们能够以一种真正具有成本效益的方式扩大规模."

Compass已经在扩张——2019年，它在费城复制了成功的FSS项目. 总的来说，它已经扩展到八个州，希望很快为更多的地方住房当局服务. And it's getting national attention: In 2022, Compass, JPMorgan Chase, BHA获得了住房和城市发展部部长公共慈善伙伴奖.

在波士顿，FSS的储蓄账户得到了州政府的公开支持. 它们已成为数千人的个人安全网和应急储备. Some enrollees have earmarked their savings for a down payment on a home, 尽管有些人打算用这些钱上大学或创业.

Nationally, about 60,000 families are currently enrolled in FSS programs, 但据Compass公司的莫里斯-路易斯说，这个数字应该高达2.2 million. As the program expands to new under-served communities, the vision is for this FSS model to become the norm at HUD. 就像员工赞助的退休计划一样，低收入居民也将自动加入.

“Generational poverty is not caused by individual action and, frankly, will not end because of individual action," says Morris-Louis. "It's caused by our policies and our systems, 它将结束，因为我们的政策和制度使人们有可能过上不同的生活."