ShareNet is offering a financial education series in partnership with Kitsap Community Resources, or KCR. The next class is May 16, 5:30-7 p.m., titled “Collections and Debt Repayment Options.”
The classes are in the activity building behind Bayside Community Church, West Kingston Road and Barber Cut Off Road. Childcare is available, as well as a light meal and coupons for use at our thrift store.
American Financial Solutions (AFS), Kitsap Credit Union and Peninsula Credit Union have partnered with KCR to provide instruction for these classes — two per month at KCR’s Bremerton office, and one per quarter at satellite locations in Port Orchard, Poulsbo, and now in Kingston.
Becky House, AFS education and communications director, will teach the class in Kingston. House has been teaching financial education classes with AFS for 12 years, as well as writing booklets and pamphlets on the same subject, some used internally and some published for wider use and distribution.
House said post-class evaluations by attendees are almost 100 percent positive. She believes some of the most significant ideas covered in this class are knowing your rights as a consumer when dealing with a collections agency, and learning there are solutions even without having much money to address the problem. She has watched many attendees go from being discouraged to being hopeful about their situations, from misunderstanding to a comprehension of the steps it will take to make a solution.
House likes to utilize reality-based teaching, including examples from her own personal life and financial history — much to her daughter’s chagrin. Kristi Basse, KCR’s financial education coordinator and chairwoman of Kitsap County’s Asset Building Coalition, believes the Collections and Debt Repayment Options class is one of the best offered locally, and she encourages anyone who can to attend.
As valuable as these classes are to local residents and their futures, all agencies report that a lot of people are reluctant to attend. House said that’s another important message that emerges from the class: even if you’re afraid and discouraged, the situation doesn’t ever get solved until you really look at your financial situation. House believes these classes empower people to examine their finances in a way they never have, and to actually reach decisions about their path forward.
A class held on March 21, “Understanding Credit,” was well-attended, with 11 attendees (18 signed up), but we would like to see more because we know of the potential benefit from the class. Of course, the class is not exactly fun, though these instructors sure do try. And examining finances can even be kind of scary. But it’s a place where lives can change in an hour and a half.
Along with many other active partners, AFS is a member of the Kitsap County Asset Building Coalition formed in 2008, whose mission is to assist Kitsap County residents in achieving financial stability and to gather local community partners who share similar interest in improving financial education and services for local residents.
AFS, a nonprofit credit counseling, financial education and debt consolidation agency in Bremerton, was originally formed as a means to fund North Seattle Community College’s job training programs and scholarships before evolving to serve the greater metro area. Any revenues AFS generates above and beyond what it takes to operate go back into these college resources, even while the majority of AFS services are free to the consumer.
Other community partners in the Asset Building Coalition include Habitat for Humanity; Housing Kitsap; Olympic College; Kitsap Legal Services, which provides free or reduced legal help on civil matters, including landlord-tenant and family services issues, to low-income residents; and BEST (Business Education Support and Training), which provides support for small-business starts with limited capital access.
— Contact Mark Ince at sharenetdirector@centurytel.net
