BROCKTON, Mass. — The management of HarborOne Credit Union never dreamed a year ago its MultiCultural Banking Center, designed as a deterrent to Boston's payday lending industry, could turn into a community hub for financial education, language training and social services.
"It's really amazing the transformation of our center," said James A. Blake, the president/CEO of the $1.6 billion HarborOne. The CU has been winning accolades from government leaders and the leadership of the National Credit Union Foundation for undertaking the center project in a former headquarters building.
The center, which celebrated its one-year anniversary Sept. 17, continues to find new community patrons as it serves what the NCUF calls "a model for what other credit unions can do in low- and middle-income outreach."
Recommended For You
For HarborOne the center has become a magnet for drawing new members and fulfilling in a tangible and public way the people helping people mission, contend CU executives.
"I am pleased that we have gained about 900 members as a result, and though not all of it is due to the center, we have enjoyed 13% asset growth over the last year," said Blake.
Starting out with a handful of local groups brought to the center for financial education and language training, the community interest has mushroomed with 14 Boston- area organizations now using the facility for meetings and education or are providing support for ongoing programs.
The two latest groups signed up this month to start using the facility included South Shore Housing, which is occupying office space to offer rehab and rental assistance, and Signature Healthcare, linked to a hospital and providing health insurance education.
The NCUF highlighted the MultiCultural Center as an example of what CUs can do to assist the underserved while gaining members, bringing in a team led by Lois Kitsch, REAL Solutions national program manager, to tour the facility.
The team conducted a two-day liaison seminar for 40 executives of state leagues outlining ways CUs can better serve members and heard stories from HarborOne participants of how they were helped by the center.
In establishing the center in September 2007, HarborOne set a goal to save minorities and immigrants from predatory financial practices by providing financial education and language skills.
The center staffed with both CU employees and outsiders also began offering courses in the basics of personal finance, credit counseling, first-time home ownership grants and foreclosure prevention.
Because many users of payday lenders had a limited understanding of English, the center had courses taught in Spanish, Portuguese and French in addition to English. Soon more groups started using the facility as a meeting place and a base for distributing social services.
Among its products, HarborOne has been offering loans for the $675 fee for taking the U.S. citizenship exam.
The new Americans loan program provides a 9.99% rate for a 12-month term, and there is no application fee. In putting together the package, the CU partnered with local associations serving major immigrant populations, including Haitians and Cape Verdeans, to screen applicants to ensure U.S. citizenship eligibility before being referred to HarborOne.
Since last year, the center has caught the attention of Gov. Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks Steven L. Antonakes, who praised the work of HarborOne.
Antonakes lauded Blake, the HarborOne CEO, for "working tirelessly from the beginning" to put together the center, which was first launched through a collaboration of government, industry and nonprofits.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
