Jamill Martinez, director of network organizing at Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc., a NeighborWorks organization in Lawrence, Massachusetts, has spent her recent afternoons visiting bodegas. That's where many residents in her community who rent single rooms in homes or apartments go to eat hot meals of empanadas, sub sandwiches, plantains and more. So that's where Martinez and her coworkers have gone to talk about the dangers of scams. They sit or stand a distance from the residents, she says, and tell them what to watch for to protect themselves.
Does it sound too good to be true? Does the person or company want to charge you just to talk or file paperwork? In February and March, staff rotated among 10 bodegas and visited each one several times. "We talked to a lot of people," Martinez says.
NeighborWorks America, aware that scammers operate when people are at their most vulnerable, started the Stop Home Scams initiative to help residents stop, prevent and report scams. The Wells Fargo Foundation, a supportive partner that knows preventing scams is particularly important now, helped fund grants so network organizations like Lawrence CommunityWorks could increase their reach in communities.
April is National Financial Capability Month. While organizations work to raise awareness about the importance of financial literacy education in the United States, NeighborWorks nonprofits are doing their part by raising awareness about scams.
Martinez and the staff at Lawrence CommunityWorks have also gone to food pantries, where they've talked to residents and put fliers in bags with the potatoes, bread and milk. "We've been on the radio twice," she says. And they're on social media daily, trying to get the word out. Martinez says so far, most of the individuals she's spoken to haven't reported any scams. "Their main concern is needing help with their rent or mortgage," she says.
Leslie Kent, director of asset building at Lawrence CommunityWorks, says the nonprofit has helped there, too, using another NeighborWorks grant, the Rental Resilience Fund, also in partnership with the Wells Fargo Foundation.
"So far, we've helped 28 residents," she says. The funding has helped people in the apartment communities pay back rent. But to get the funding, the organization has asked residents to go through financial coaching and a brief financial assessment. "It's been working well," she says. "We've helped people catch up but at the same time, we work with them on a sustainability plan. A lot of what we're seeing is people who have lost jobs or had hours cut, so they weren't able to keep up with the rent."
Kent says they follow up with the clients two months after the first coaching session. "Initially, they're just scared or stressed or worried," Kent says. "They're not in a place to really engage in coaching. They just need to find some relief."
That's why they offer coaching again later, if the client wants it, she says. "We're looking to support them going forward so they don't find themselves in this position in the future," she says. "I believe it's made a significant difference."
Martinez says that when the financial coaches reach out, they're also able to find out if families need other types of support. They can refer them to food pantries, to metal health support or daycare services. They can also help them apply for other financial aid.
Staff members at Lawrence CommunityWorks have shifted to fill in where they're needed the most, particularly with rentals. "It's been a stressful time," Kent says of the pandemic. "But I think it's brought people together in a different way."
Visit StopHomeScams.org to find more information about identifying and reporting housing scams.
04/01/2021
