State funding aids building prosperity center

Gov. provides $40,000 to North Columbia council

MOSES LAKE - The North Columbia Community Action Council recently received $40,000 in support from the state's governor.

Gov. Chris Gregoire recently announced $604,000 in support to 12 communities to develop and expand the work of local asset-building coalitions benefiting low-income Washington families.

The council funding is a part of the funding.

Council Executive Director Ken Sterner said the council is trying to build up a concept called a prosperity center.

The center would work to aid low-income and moderate-income people to develop financial skills to overcome poverty through the development of their personal assets.

"Which can help them either purchase a home, further their education or something to that effect to increase an asset base for them," Sterner said.

Currently, Eric Slyter is working at the prosperity center, located within the council office at 903 W. Third Ave., Sterner said.

Slyter conducts classes in a number of places with the help of the council's partners. The classes are primarily being held at SkillSource, Worksource and Big Bend Community College.

"It's not your basic budgeting classes about how do you budget your own home," Sterner explained. "We actually get into details about what it takes to close on a home, what is a mortgage, what is escrow and how does it work … We also assist people in helping them with their credit if that's become an issue and just trying to obtain a home or that type of thing. We can do a lot of different things."

The council works with people in a one-on-one or class setting, Sterner said.

The council is also looking at developing micro-enterprise small entrepreneur-type of process and has submitted an application in partnership with community action agencies in Wenatchee and Ellensburg to develop an individual development account program where people have the ability to save faster for a home, an education or a small business of their own.

The target is primarily low-income working families who are trying to make ends meet, Sterner said.

"At the end of the week when the paycheck is spent out, there just isn't anything left to save for the college education or the home they can invest in or even start up the entrepreneurial business they've always wanted to do," Sterner said. "It's really just trying to get those folks educated not only on what resources are out there to help them and to provide those resources, but also to make sure they have the ability to be successful in using those resources."

A statewide asset-building coalition is working with the legislature and the governor to maintain such programs, Sterner said.

"I don't think anyone in the state actually received full funding," he said. "We originally were hoping to try and come up with $100,000 and $40,000 is what we had to settle for; we're going to try to make it work."

The council's partners, both public and private, are working to build the coalition to give people the ability to increase their personal assets, Sterner said.

"That will help them overcome those times in everyone's life when we're switching jobs or things happen that put us in a financial bind," Sterner said. "If we can't overcome it, we end up falling back into poverty or needing public assistance. Hopefully this will create enough of an asset base that won't be necessary."

For more information, call the council at 509-765-9206.