Financial Stability

The Challenge

• More than 22 percent of Forsyth County’s children live in poverty. (Defined as a family of four having an income of $22,050 or less.)¹
• Over 37 percent of Forsyth County households have annual incomes of less than $35,000.²
• Credit cardholders carry an average debt of over $5,000.³
• Families spend over 14 percent of their disposable income to service their debt.⁴
• Medical costs/illness are the leading causes of family bankruptcy.⁵

¹US Census Bureau   ² Ibid  ³ money-zine.com  ⁴Ibid   ⁵Health Affairs journal, Study by Harvard Law & Medical Schools

 United Way's Goal

• Help individuals and families achieve greater financial stability

The Results

• Provided job training skills to more than 1,100 individuals and over 430 of these individuals obtained employment.
• Delivered financial management and debt counseling to 6,790 people.
• Assisted 78 households with economic self-sufficiency education in the areas of employment, budgeting, housing, childcare, transportation and health care.
• Gave 27 families low interest car loans (up to $4,000) enabling transportation to jobs or school for working adults.

United Way’s Partners

Advocacy for the Poor, Consumer Credit Counseling Service, Experiment in Self-Reliance, The Enrichment Center, Family Services, Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, Winston-Salem Urban League, YMCA of Northwest North Carolina, YWCA of Greater Winston-Salem

Success Stories

Judy Forlines got help saving her farm from foreclosure

In 2008, United Way identified an integrated, innovative service strategy that would respond to the comprehensive needs of lower-income families seeking to improve their financial situation, and opened the Career Connections and Prosperity Center at 585 Waughtown Street in mid-2008. 

 The Results

• Ninety-three individuals increased their family income by obtaining a job.

• One hundred nine families have improved their debt-to-income ratio.

• One hundred thirty-five individuals and families have learned budgeting skills, and eighty-nine improved their ability to pay basic living expenses on time.

• Other individuals received assistance to avoid foreclosure, pursue homeownership, and receive a car to help them get to work.

 United Way’s Partners

 Led by Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina in partnership with Consumer Credit Counseling Service, the Center for Homeownership, Experiment in Self-Reliance, and Family Services’ Ways to Work program.