President Barack Obama's $787 billion financial recovery package will help Wall Street and some parts of Main Street. Now, a new program at Temple is teaching community members how it might pay dividends on Broad Street, Cecil B. Moore Avenue and other neighborhoods surrounding the university.

Participants in a series of Financial Recovery workshops sponsored by the Office of Community Relations and Community Service are gaining knowledge that can help them create a more stable financial future.

During a recent seminar, Bernice Williams, a professional financial coach who works with the School of Social Administration’s Center for Social Policy and Community Development’s New Choices/New Options program, and a panel of experts showed participants how to improve their credit score, what mortgage assistance options are available and how to make your small business dreams come true. The second in a series, the workshop focused on what the financial stimulus act says, how to utilize the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, how to access financial aid for education, and mortgage assistance.


Participants were also guided in developing a CEO (Career, Education, Opportunity) plan detailing their goals for the next five years and strategy to achieve them. The plan will be used as a basis for the other workshops in the series, which runs through the summer, Williams said. Dates and topics for upcoming sessions are:

• April 21, Credit, part I
• May 19, Credit, part II
• June 16, Mortgages and financing a first home purchase (with additional information on reverse mortgages for senior citizens)
• July 21, Consumer, student and business loans.

Each session will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in room 214 of the Entertainment and Community Education Center, 1509 Cecil B. Moore Ave. All are free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.