Despite a Snowstorm Heartland Alliance Graduates Are Honored

Despite a snowstorm, graduates of Heartland Human Care Services‘ (HHCS) Asset Building Programs took center stage at the Hayes Center on March 5th. Graduates of the program included participants from HHCS’s various asset building programs, including: Meet-Your-Match, IDEA, Family Self-Sufficiency, and the GEAR UP program. They each received official Illinois Saves certificates from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations (IDFPR) for completing HHCS’ IDFPR accredited financial education courses. IDFPR Acting Secretary Manuel Flores, who spoke at the event, handed out the Illinois Saves certificates to the excited graduates. Attendees also had a chance to hear from several graduates who spoke about how they have adopted the curriculum into their daily lives.

One graduate, Lisa, enrolled in the IDEA program with the aim of paying off old debt that had been plaguing her for some time. The IDEA program provides individual consultation and workshops focusing on financial education, housing and career development. As part of IDEA, Lisa worked with an Asset Development Coordinator who assisted her in setting and accomplishing her personal financial goals.

Lisa was also able to take advantage of IDEA’s matched savings program. Lisa used the hundreds of dollars of her own money and the matched money she received for saving every month to pay down her debt . At the graduation she was happy to be very close to paying it off entirely. In addition to reducing her debt, she has also been able to save by sticking to a budget even during Christmas time. Lisa shared that just before Christmas she received a letter from the state for a red light ticket her daughter had run while driving Lisa’s car. Sticking to her budget, Lisa deducted the cost of the ticket from the amount budgeted for her daughter’s presents. A financial education lesson for her daughter to be sure.

Stories like Lisa’s are not uncommon. Graduates “have been able to accomplish their goals through their persistence, focus, and hard work as well as with the support of these programs,” stated Gloria Hernandez, HHCS’s Asset Building Community Partner Liaison, in her opening remarks on Tuesday. Since 2006 over 7,000 Chicagoans have been educated by HHCS with 560 graduates of their IDFPR accredited financial education program. Their asset matching programs have helped an astounding 349 participants save $169,987 of their own money and, when combined with match money reaches, a total savings of $275,895. As Gloria shared, “1 in every 4 Illinois families do not have enough savings to meet their basic needs for just 3 months. It is through the support of asset building programs like ours that families can build the financial security they need should the unexpected happen.”

Programs like IDEA or Meet-Your-Match provide a powerful incentive for participants to start saving and get their budgets under control.You can learn more about IDEA and available resources to build an IDA program in your community through our recent webinar: Building an IDA Program For Your Organization. Check out a video recording of the webinar.