Strengthening Families Issue Council

How are we Strengthening Families?

The Strengthening Families Issue Council has been working on what we can do to have the greatest impact on families in San Antonio.

What is our focus?

Increase Family financial security and stability.

Who are we targeting?

Working families with dependent children with incomes at or below 200% of poverty residing in zip codes 78202, 78203, 78204, 78205, 78207, 78210, 78220, 78225, and 78237. Click here to veiw map.

• Families showing evidence of desire to improve as exemplified by:
  • decisions to further education, decisions to buy a home, or reducing debt load

Where are we starting? We are starting by creating a seamless system for helping families increase their financial security and stability. We are approaching our work from a services integration level and a grassroots, neighborhood level. This system will leverage the assets of the people in the neighborhoods and the programs and services through non-profit agencies, financial institutions, housing providers, small business investment entities, churches and schools.

Two Initiatives: integrating the community level and the neighborhood level:

Community Financial Capacity Builders—
This initiative is building upon the assets of the families within our targeted zip codes by recruiting and training neighborhood residents to serve as Financial Capacity Builders. Their role is to serve as trusted advocates, mentors, and coaches for families in their neighborhoods.

This initiative provides a the link between neighborhood families that do not know about and/or feel isolated from current asset building programs and services to the neighborhood hubs. These hubs serve as one-stop shops for asset building opportunities sought by the local families. The Financial Capacity Builders not only link these families and help fill gaps, but through their role as trusted advocate, mentor and coach build and maintain relationships that foster the establishment, development and attainment of financial goals for the family.

Edgewood Family Network (EFN), the lead organization for the Financial Capacity Builders Initiative, utilizes the promotora model. EFN has sucessfully instituted the promotora model in the Westside of san Antonio, and trained and supported the growth of the FCB's at three hubs.

The three hubs are:

	Antioch Community Transformation Network is the hub for the Eastside of San Antonio. FCB Coordinator: Gerald Embry Community Asset Builder: Austin Dullnig Phone: 210-212-2286
	YWCA Olga Madrid Center is the Westside hub. FCB Coordinator: Yolie Rios Community Asset Builder: Dora Gomez Phone: 210-433-9922
	Presa Community Center is the hub on the Southside of San Antonio. FCB Coordinator: Vacant Community Asset Builder: Tina Gutierrez Phone: 210-532-5295

ACCESS—Alamo City Coalition for Economic Self-Sufficiency:

ACCESS is a year-round asset building model that will develop strategic partnerships with and between community groups, financial institutions, faith based institutions, non profits, city/ county/community service providers, and the corporate business community. This year-round asset building model will serve to create, link and leverage asset building opportunities for working families earning at or below 200% of poverty.

The primary approach of ACCESS will be to convene a Steering Committee and two working groups to provide a diversity of products and services to meet the financial needs and address the economic limitations of families earning at or below 200% of poverty.  The four core areas of focus are:

• Asset building and protection opportunities;
• Income supports;
• Job training and development; and
• VITA – Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and EITC Outreach (www.vitasa.org)

Through ACCESS, a broad-based partnership is helping to link the targeted areas to financial institutions, basics of borrowing, protecting credit and preparing for major investments such as homeownership. Through VITA, over 42,000 families received free tax prep services and over $61 million in re-turns last year.

For further information please contact Anna Weaver or Margaret Oser.