Dortha is a single mother of two young children. She has a good job at a local restaurant, but she still struggles to support her family. Sometimes she needs assistance with her utility bills and she couldn’t afford a car.
Without a car Dortha was forced to rely on the help of others to run errands or take her children to activities, and to go to work every day. This also meant she could not work any extra hours to earn more money to save towards a car, creating a vicious cycle.
Dortha enrolled in the By-Car program at Adams/Brown Counties Economic Opportunities Inc., her local Community Action Agency. The By-Car program is a matched savings fund where for every $1 a participant saves towards the purchase of a used vehicle, the program contributes $2. As part of the program, Dortha also enrolled in the Finance Fitness program and completed Adams-Brown’s three-day personal financial literacy training and consumer education training to assist her with purchasing a vehicle. She completed all of the requirements and purchased a used van.
Now Dortha can rest assured that she can get to and from work as needed, she can work extra hours to earn more money, and she can take her family to and from enriching activities.
For more information about Community Action programs in your area, visit www.oacaa.org. Note, not all Community Action Agencies offer these programs.