Three Fahe Members Open New Financial Opportunity Centers
Fahe is partnering with Rural LISC and three Fahe Members to open Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC) to serve communities on the southwest Virginia and northwest Tennessee border in Appalachia.
The participating Fahe Members include Clinch Powell Resource Conservation and Development Council (Clinch Powell), Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Agency (KHRA), and Appalachian Community Action and Development Agency (AppCAA).
The FOC core services of income support, employment coaching, and financial coaching provides a holistic approach for assisting clients that fits well with Fahe’s strategies in serving our communities. The programs are designed to help participants secure living wage jobs, build credit, reduce debt, and gain wealth. The FOC model also allows our Members to build capacity and grow leadership, along with providing an additional tool to support economic opportunity.
Fahe started working with Rural LISC several years ago to formulate a Rural FOC Model. Rural LISC provided support to Fahe to work through the evaluation of delivery methods and the coordination of a rural model among Fahe Network Members. The new centers will expand rural community access to FOCs from three centers to six.
“Fahe is very pleased to work with Rural LISC to explore a model for the FOC that works in our rural communities,” said Fahe’s Chief Business Development Officer and Executive Vice President, Pam Johnson. “The need is great for families in the Appalachian region to obtain comprehensive financial empowerment to connect to available resources and opportunities. Fahe Members have been consistently exploring how to meet this need – this model will have further impact in the future.”
LISC has served more than 30,000 individuals and families with financial and employment coaching services through 90 FOCs operating across the country. The three new FOCs have a collective goal to support more than 100 individuals and families in the first year with financial stability action plans.
The first ribbon cutting is slated with Clinch Powell (Morristown, TN) at 2pm on August 28th, followed by KHRA (Kingsport, TN) at 11am on August 29th, and concluding with AppCAA (Jonesville, VA) at 2pm on August 29th.