Brightmoor residents Larcenia Walk and Hester Williams had given up on banks. There weren’t any near them in the community and their previous experience opening a checking account had been impersonal and confusing.

“Every time I’d go to get my money, they [would say] I didn’t have no money in the bank; so I didn’t trust banks no more,” Walk said.

That is until last week. Both women attended City Mission’s Banking Workshop and opened new checking accounts with Charter One Bank.

“I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it,” Walk said. “When we were talking with the lady from Charter One, she made things more easier, more better.  I think I’ll like for my money to be in [their] bank,” she said.

The banking workshop was held for Brightmoor residents that live in City Mission’s target area, City Mission Academy parents, and City Mission staff who do not have checking accounts and have questions about banking. The workshop was hosted by the Family Independence Planning program of City Mission and was designed to help attendees, “become more financially responsible, save money and eliminate the cost they were paying [by cashing their checks] at the corner liquor store,” said Toni Stove FIP director.

Walk and Williams are participants in the FIP Job Training and Development Program where they are learning employment seeking skills, resume writing, financial responsibility and spiritual development, in addition to putting in weekly work hours.

“Since they are earning a wage, I wanted to help them with their finances,” said Stove.

Six people attended the workshop and four direct deposit checking accounts were opened. Denise Godfrey, Charter One assistant branch manager, led the discussion and opened the accounts.

“One day last week, my manager and I were talking about where we could go to do a site visit and help our customers better understand the importance of banking and financial responsibility,” said Godfrey. “The next minute, in comes Ms. Toni and Ms. Kim asking for account information for their staff and participants for their job training program.”

Another banking workshop will soon be in the works. Banking and financial information is not always available to people in the inner city. We want to help as many as we can to gain understanding and independence in their finances. It starts with making the information available to the community.

“I got a lot out of it,” said Williams. “I wouldn’t have gotten the information if I didn’t come to the meeting.”  Before opening her account at Charter One, Williams use to pay a fee and cash her checks at the corner store. “Doing banking will probably be better,” she said.

We are excited to see the families in Brightmoor making positive steps toward their independence and success. Continue to pray for their steadfastness and determination to break the cycle of poverty. Thank you.

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